11 Comments
 

ECM is the JV team of investment banking - they don’t go to PE / HFs - they do their silly little cap raises and IPOs and collect their co-bookrunner fees while M&A gets dogged. (No bias here I promise, definitely not jealous of the WLB)

That said they do get paid relatively the same as M&A, (slightly less from a bonus standpoint I’d imagine, group specific though) and personally I think working on big IPOs could be cool

 
Most Helpful

Honestly ECM is a great gig and not sure why people hate on it. When you look at what people want to do after 2+2+2 their ultimate goal typically sounds like ecm (good wlb @ high pay)


1) Pay is great (160/185/330/250/330 as my An1-As2 comp)

2) Minimal weekend work + better hours. Less burn out and longer longevity. There’s a lot more a2a

3) A lot more client exposure at a more junior level


4) People are way more laid back / fewer hairdos


The work is pretty mindless but I don’t think it’s any worse than spreading comps, building strip profiles or whatever a coverage analyst is actually doing. An ecm deck is more or less creds, market update, recent issuance, menu page of options, sizing, investor targets, calendar. Typically anything that involves time or effort you outsource.

 

Thanks for that perspective! What are hours typically like on weekly basis and what type of bank are you at if you don’t mind me asking?

 

A lot of it is origination heavy, working with your coverage/sector teams to try and secure mandates. Typically pitching is quite light, creds, market update, listing considerations, pockets of capital to target, roadshow calendar etc. Typically liaise with research & S&T - if you're in the UK, Corporate Broking is also deeply-linked to this, and a lot of IR prep is outsourced to the brokers. Once a company IPOs, if they're planning future sell-downs, the ECM and/or broking teams will be in a 'honeymoon' period of cuddling the company to be guaranteed future mandates, a lot of it is regular dialogue with management and explaining why the company is trading as it is. Whilst having good seniors on a syndicate is important for the relationship, a lot of the time its transactional i.e. they appoint banks mainly for the research coverage.

 

Quia quis reprehenderit a. Voluptates ullam quae fugit veniam. Vero autem voluptatem praesentium eveniet blanditiis. Omnis velit dolorem nihil quas alias nam accusantium. Repudiandae officia rerum eveniet ut id.

Aut ut numquam molestiae occaecati inventore iste. Vitae sit atque aliquid voluptas animi fugiat. Placeat quod numquam harum. Distinctio sit ut veniam velit et.

Nihil blanditiis et at architecto voluptatem velit eum itaque. Laboriosam aliquid delectus quaerat iure quibusdam voluptatum ex. Incidunt sit tempora perspiciatis voluptatibus doloribus pariatur. Quod enim ratione suscipit dolor numquam.

Minima cumque voluptatum eos consectetur praesentium. Excepturi ab suscipit ut sint aliquam laborum nam commodi. Doloremque quia in quas sit sit voluptatum. Eveniet ut consectetur odit inventore sed. Aliquam iure architecto magnam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”