TD Securities in 2025?

US office commentary, ChatGPT filter:

Pros:

1. Strong Compensation for Work-Life Balance – The pay is excellent considering the hours worked. On a per-hour basis, it's likely higher than most top investment banks (BB) and private equity (PE) firms. The total compensation at the associate level (~$400K) for a 60-70 hour workweek is tough to beat.
2. Generally a Pleasant Work Environment – Colleagues are typically respectful, and even if someone dislikes you, they won’t say it outright. No blatant hostility, discrimination, or toxic behavior—people just channel their frustrations into performance reviews and bonus decisions.
3. Decent Technical Foundation – The experience gained as an analyst provides a solid skillset, making it a reasonable launchpad for lateraling into a more competitive investment banking (IB) firm.
4. Good Internal Mobility – Plenty of opportunities to move within the firm.

Cons:

1. DEI and Promotion Policies Have Become Excessive – Recent changes in hiring and advancement have gone too far. No need for an in-depth explanation—just take a look at discussions in other threads.
2. Nepotism is Widespread – One of the few banks where both diversity hiring initiatives and blatant nepotism are rampant at the same time.
3. Lots of Work, Few Closed Deals – Many groups are consistently busy but struggle to close M&A transactions. Capital markets and financing deals don’t count in the same way. If you land in the wrong group, you could be stuck working 90-hour weeks with little to show for it. This makes lateraling more difficult since having no announced deals on your resume is a red flag compared to other candidates. Open to debate on this, but it’s a real issue.
4. Weak Exit Opportunities to Buy-Side Roles – Largely due to the issue above.
5. Lackluster Career Development – Outside of a few standout groups, the overall development pipeline is weak. Inexperienced MDs lead to ineffective VPs, which then produces another generation of weak MDs. The cycle repeats itself.
6. Significant Junior Layoffs in Recent Years – Poor post-merger management has hurt morale, and turnover has been unusually high. The firm is now rehiring in hopes of regaining lost deal flow.
7. Highly Political Bonus Process – Payouts are inconsistent. Some revenue-generating teams end up with lower bonuses than groups that barely closed any deals, which makes little sense.

Final Thoughts:

It’s a solid place to begin a career, but not somewhere you'd want to stay long-term. The junior ranks include some sharp, likable people, which is a plus.