Three Quant Contracting Roles Comparison

Have always been a full-time quant; have both buy side and sell side experience. Trying out contracting now. Have three offers.

1. HSBC. £ 938 / day. CVA, credit risk, C++ / Python. Enjoyed talking to interviewers, but was never interviewed by line manager himself. Seems like a shorter term engagement.

2. SMBC. £ 800 / day. Rates derivatives pricing, CVA, C++ / Python. Quite extensive interview, good vibes with line manager. Seems like a long-term engagement.

3. Coremont (adjacent to Brevan Howard). £ 796 / day. Credit cash and credit linear derivatives pricing, C++. Quite extensive interview, good vibes with line manager. Seems like a long-term engagement.

Which one looks best?

7 Comments
 
I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

codemonkey7 Yup, all inside IR35, No 1 is three months with written confirmation of extension to follow (just don't know whether 3 or 6 months), No 2 is seven months (and implicit view of work to last five years), No 3 is six months (with implicit view of two years of work). How would you rank them [subjectively] from best to worst?

 

I'd probably go 2, 1, 3 (there's not much to pick between them, you _could_ try and negotiate for a day rate closer to the one offered by HSBC). The fact that number 2 offers the longest initial contract and the most amount of work further down the road pips the high day rate of number 1 for me (although if you're looking to maximise income just go with 1 😆). 

 

codemonkey7 I guess I see where you are coming from -- finding new contracting engagements is a lot of faff -- so it is good to have one stable long-term gig going. What are your thoughts on relative brand / prestige between (1) and (2) and the value of skillset developed by nature of work?

 

Sint minus alias et fugiat. Et qui eum perferendis a odio ut. Similique magni pariatur velit cumque molestiae. Error qui cupiditate qui aut. Perferendis fugiat vel cum quod consequatur. Ut voluptatem suscipit illum odit voluptas. Ex quo qui sequi recusandae aspernatur.

Quidem ipsa sunt doloribus nesciunt in. Quibusdam ut nesciunt eius sint quo nam temporibus. Quam ab minus quis quis qui.

Ducimus quis libero a. Deleniti possimus culpa minus perferendis libero dolores et. Excepturi fugiat qui nihil voluptate voluptatem libero nam alias. Ipsum laboriosam omnis quis suscipit mollitia.

Itaque est quis sit molestias dolor doloremque vel deserunt. Est sunt quasi quia. Qui inventore odit esse ut fuga. Recusandae enim nihil quo.

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 98.2%
  • 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 (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $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...”