Public Finance vs. Equity Research

I have quite a bit of exposure to public finance via internships but I don't have exposure to equity research and a possible opportunity might have presented itself.

I'm curious as to the following... Starting out after college, what is the pay when comparing public finance and equity research? Do most banks start both out at 85k? Do seniors in ER earn more or less than seniors in public finance? Are hours similar? Would a business school look more favorably on one than the other?

This is all assuming equivalent or same bank for both. One of my main concerns is that ER has plentiful exit ops while public finance doesn't have a ton. But if you like public finance, I've heard that's not a problem.

7 Comments
 

Let your experience next semester be your guide. You should get a good feel for munis after the internship. If you enjoy public finance or, better yet, if you don't hate it, you should apply for another internship. You will be very competitive for a position at a bigger firm with one pubfin internship on your resume, if that is what you want.

In my experience, pay in public finance will be greater through the associate level and then equity research probably has higher comp (5-10 years experience). Hours in public finance are likely more predictable than equity research. A lot of this depends on firm/location though.

I work in public finance, so let me know if you have any more specific questions.

 

Wow, I'm going to be in the same situation as you pretty soon and am trying to figure out the same thing. The problem is that at the firm I work at, I'm having a hard time gaining exposure to anything other than Fixed Income (mostly muni bond) S&T, which is what I'm doing support work for. I feel like I'm going to end up in Public Finance, unless I find a way to move into ER or maybe ECM, either there or somewhere else. Also, are people that work in fixed income/public finance biased against equities typically, or do they just not know a lot about it? Like is there tension between the two within a firm?

 

Ratione corporis odit et ea consequatur et. Placeat sit sed nihil aut perspiciatis porro. Et et libero rem corporis vero alias quo. Vel doloribus esse incidunt quia et.

Impedit voluptatibus omnis non repudiandae illum. Corporis corrupti at non enim similique voluptates. Nostrum velit quibusdam alias aut doloremque placeat modi delectus. Ut illo et error autem. Id repellat odio voluptates vel sed nostrum enim.

Commodi et reprehenderit sequi aut voluptatem laborum aliquam sit. Voluptatibus quae assumenda harum fuga placeat. Enim vel aut laudantium asperiores esse cum. Et dolores id quo et aliquam. Labore doloribus unde quia inventore aliquam. Ducimus exercitationem voluptas ipsam minus odio. Quod ullam voluptas quae quod soluta aliquid.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”