39 Comments
 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Depends Goldman’s highest level isn’t MD but it’s actually Managing Partner. There was an article explaining how much they got paid and stuff. I think 1 million guaranteed salary and a special bonus pool they take and also they can invest into the GS funds which is pretty exclusive. But even GS managing partner vs MD at Blackstone/Apollo, PE wins every time honestly just because of the carry and how little it’s taxed.

 
Funniest

BX/Apollo VPs have fun shouting on GS MDs for not getting a deal structured the way they like. GS MDs will go to their moms for some consolation afterwards. If BX MDs step in, the GS MD will start hearing final boss music, and you will witness a grown man peeing his pants before the BX MD even starts speaking. There's a reason that black and white picture commands so much respect; it is because the street knows who has the spanking rights and who makes more. Steve Schwarzman might seem like an innocent boomer who can't say a coherent sentence without a 100 'uhs' but when he's in the office, he lines up the BB MDs and spanks them to their bones. Guide to becoming a multi-billionaire in finance right here. Keep spanking the peasants on the sell-side.

 

Well, the jobs are quite different for one.  Bankers manage processes, and in PE you're an investor.  The latter requires much more (almost exclusively) diligence and also as an MD at a PE firm your job is tied to how well your investments do.  Senior bankers just have to bring in business and oversee the execution from it and they get paid.

The pyramid for a PE firm also narrows much more quickly as you go to the top.  Banks have Analysts, Associates, VPs, Directors and MDs, whereas PE firms basically have Associates, VPs, Directors and MDs/Partners, and moving up is much harder to do.  The economics of private equity also mean that senior folks are both structurally tied to fund investments, and are much less likely to leave given the work load at senior levels is much smaller, so moving up is not only more difficult, it's also much slower given that senior folks are much slower to retire.

The probability of making it to MD in at a BB/EB vs. being a partner at a mega fund is much higher.  If you probability weight the standardized income levels of senior folks at either, the difference will appear much less stark.  That's exacerbated by the fact that people here have IMO unrealistic ideas of what an "average" senior person makes in either case.

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

And donate 10% of your comp for “services” provided by the owner of said island 👀

 

Consectetur et consequuntur ullam sunt cum. Eius quo vel veritatis harum quas pariatur ea nisi. Inventore ratione unde vero ut et quae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”