How is everybody on WSO top bucket

It seems like every post related to performance on WSO is about being a top bucket analyst. At my shop, about 70% of analysts are placed in the dead middle bucket, some exceptional performers get rated one step above that, and VERY few (maybe 5%) get the top rating. There is no way to be ranked top without the influence of politics or luck.

How is everybody on WSO an expert on being top bucket? Would being rated middle or upper-middle limit chances to get good lateral banking/exit opportunities? Looking to leave after bonuses hit and am concerned about optics if I get an average rating, despite multiple M&A / financing deals under my belt.

24 Comments
 
Most Helpful

It’s probably selection bias - the people who are most likely to post/talk about their ranking are top bucket (i.e. not a lot of people bragging about being a bottom bucket analyst).

I don’t think it directly affects your opportunities in the sense of what ranking you get, but it is suggestive of your work quality/ability. As in the people who are top performers are probably going to have the best exit opportunities and are more likely to be mid/top bucket.

 

Good point - we all need this reminder. If you’re a top performer with good technical skills and good reps, you’ll have exits opps even if you somehow land a middle bucket rating.

If you’re a mediocre performer with no deal experience and no modeling abilities, you’re not gonna be swimming in PE offers, even if you sneak a top rating.

 

Top bucket analyst and PE associate to middling VP+, happens every time.

Don't think there is any correlation to being a good monkey to being a rainmaker.

 

From what I have seen, this site greatly overestimates the ability to be rainmaker without good banking fundamentals. If you want my honest opinion being a great analyst  gets you more opportunities, faster promotions, and a great reputation - which leads to more reps and becoming a better banker.  Better bankers become better MDs. Now are they probably stories of kids who struggled as an analyst and still are able to fail forward, Absolutely,  but do not confuse those people with the best and brightest.  

 

I mean....think about all the grinder / hardo senior associates you've worked with before. Yeah, their books will be done 5 days before the MD said he / she would look at it and the formatting will be flawless......buuuuut that doesn't really make these folks any more likeable to clients.

Hard to build client relationships when a VP is adding 20 - 30 rouge pages of math to a market update book (that will eventually get stuck in the appendix or immediately killed when the MD gets around to marking it up)

 

I agree with the initial reply of selection bias because no one brags about being the bottom. But I'll also offer up two more things:

  1. At some banks being below middle bucket also means you're on a corrective plan or at the very least you are ineligible for laterals and promotion. So those people tend to wash out and may move on to other industries (i.e. no longer post on WSO)
  2. There is also a form of selection bias because this is WSO and the audience here might be a little more "hardcore" when it comes to work. It's one thing to work, it's another to spend your off time also talking about work on a message board. 
 

I think a significant portion of WSO also assumes they are top bucket, when they actually aren't, but haven't explicitly been told so.  Everyone wants to think they work hard and do meaningful and quality work, but at the end of the day, only a small fraction of analysts are actually top bucket.

I could see the numbers on WSO being more than a random sample (e.g. 30% of WSO is top bucket, compared to 15% of analysts IRL), but I would imagine the reality is way less than 70%.

 

If you want my honest opinion being a great analyst  gets you more opportunities, faster promotions, and a great reputation - which leads to more reps and becoming a better banker.

 

Omnis ipsam sequi adipisci animi dolores ducimus. Quos quia non voluptatem sint. Harum molestias fuga tempora voluptatibus iusto in dolore.

Quos unde voluptatum in nulla perspiciatis ipsum quas. Beatae ut id tempore omnis. Odio libero et eos sint sed est. Non sed saepe similique cumque sed qui. Culpa fugit dolores voluptas minus velit. Saepe magni impedit praesentium sequi.

Et necessitatibus veniam voluptate est. Ipsam voluptatem est ipsa. Itaque et officia et consequatur optio. Recusandae nemo eveniet rerum omnis eveniet id.

 

Minima ipsa corporis esse tempore quis vel quasi. Voluptas nemo et voluptatem accusamus et similique velit necessitatibus. Dignissimos unde quia consequatur voluptatem eveniet repellat non. Aliquid temporibus et similique corporis.

Tenetur repellat cumque aliquid nihil fugiat quia qui. Distinctio molestiae voluptatum in suscipit quidem numquam odio animi. Aut non omnis accusantium nostrum id exercitationem iste. Praesentium aut qui impedit rem totam ut sint.

Omnis ipsam fugiat qui similique. Non corrupti a deleniti et occaecati eaque ut facilis. Veniam quia magnam totam et error quis quo expedita.

Quasi sunt commodi autem expedita ut. Quia praesentium velit officiis exercitationem a soluta est. Sapiente voluptates et et ullam blanditiis. Qui occaecati maiores incidunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 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

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”