Bonus Expectations

I'm currently the only analyst working alongside an MD to structure/underwrite a ~90MM bond deal. The deal has been very time intensive and I've developed several models which are the foundation for the deal. Back of the envelope estimation for our compensation is roughly 500K. How much of this should I expect to see?

15 Comments
 
"PublicGekko"

MM in Chicago

Your bonus isn't tied to the revenue of the deals you work on like that at the analyst level.
MM IB -> Corporate Development -> Strategic Finance
 

As a first year analyst I'm not privy to how bonuses are structured at my level. Given the small deal team size I figured there may be a chance I could see a cut of 50-100bp of our fee.

 
"PublicGekko"

As a first year analyst I'm not privy to how bonuses are structured at my level. Given the small deal team size I figured there may be a chance I could see a cut of 50-100bp of our fee.

You'll see part of it in a way because if your group isn't having a great year you won't get an awesome bonus, but you're not going to see it in a "PublicGekko worked on deals A, C, F, and G, which made $X. $X x 100 bps = $Y. Therefore, PublicGekko's bonus is $Y." kind of way.

MM IB -> Corporate Development -> Strategic Finance
 
Best Response

You're not winning business so your comp isn't structured that way. You carry out a service for the owner of a business (your MD). The MD brings the deal, you help execute it. The threshold between having a deal on the table and having nothing is exponentially larger than the threshold between a well executed deal and a poorly executed one.

Think of yourself as a McDonald's cashier. Some cashiers are there during lunch hour and serve a ton of customers while some work the night shift and serve fewer customers. Despite this difference, those employees are likely paid close to if not the same hourly wage. They're not responsible for bringing those customers in, they just execute an arranged transaction between the customer and the store. As a result, their compensation is not directly tied to the performance of the store but to individual performance. If the cashier performs well, they will get a raise. If they perform poorly, they will get the minimum and/or be fired.

As such, if you have performed as well as you say, you should plan to be paid among the top bucket of cashiers but shouldn't expect a percentage of the year's filet-o-fish sales.

 

You will see none of it. At least at my bank (which I'm led to believe is how it works at every major bank), analyst/associate bonuses are taken from a general analyst/associate bonus pool, and distributed based on how you ranked in your internal reviews.

 

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