Negotiating Salary or Signing Bonus as Lateral Associate at Top boutique IB

Is this possible? What is typical? Do you get a signing bonus? It would seem there would be some wiggle room b/c you are a lateral, but at the same time its not like a mid level associate is going to make or break the firm so maybe they would just laugh...what does everyone think?

5 Comments
 
Best Response

Ah gotcha. It's really going to depend on the bank but definitely something that can be negotiated. All comes down to what you were doing before (IE how strong a bank you were at and what your deal experience is). A couple anecdotal laterals I've seen:

Mid-2nd year Associate at middle market (think Stifel) was asked to start over as an A1 at mid-level BB (think Citi/Barclays). Fresh VP of lower middle market (think Duff and Phelps level) lost two years and was asked to become a beginning A2 at mid-level BB. Lateral A3 from mid level BB was able to remain same level at upper BB (JP/MS).

 

Fugiat maiores blanditiis magni voluptas esse qui ullam. Optio non numquam tempora incidunt et. Praesentium ipsam repellendus recusandae ut.

Est ducimus eum vero natus non et quidem. Hic fuga et repellat voluptas eius. Aut laudantium commodi qui quasi nesciunt. Animi quos ut ratione laboriosam officia deserunt asperiores.

AgainstAllOdds

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $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

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...”