Getting Screwed Out of My 12 Month Bonus

I work for a (what used to be) very reputable trading and market making firm and I'm stuck in a wierd situation. According to what was told to me in the course of my interviews and other employees, we are suppose to recieve a 12 month and 18 month bonus for our preformance, although in the contract it is set up to be a discrentionary bonus. Pretty much the whole firm knows that 20% of NTP is the standard for a junior trader running his own account, and while working under someone else, you would get a small cut. I am going on 15 months at the firm and have still not recieved a bonus and all of management is just dragging out the process. I'll bug the owner of the firm about it every other week since I should of gotten it, but he just keeps putting me off. He's the one that actually authorizes the bonus. I'll go to someone else and all of management puts the blame on someone else.

Other individuals are in the same spot as me about having difficultly recieving their bonus and it's definitely not a personal issue toward me. It's starting to effect me negatively toward my trading and I'm starting to just not care about my results or putting full effort into it. The morale at the firm is incredibily low because of various bs moves regarding bonuses and other things. Base salary is enough to live off of, but obviously as a trader, I didn't come into this business to just get that. I could make a lot more money playing poker and all of management knows this. I"m thinking about having a serious chat with the CEO next week and kind of go on strike till this gets resovled. Being the most profitable trader in my division, I think I could get away with this. If I do it though, they'll probably short change my bonus. So BFI, what's my best play?

4 Comments
 

Dude, have some self-respect.

Talk to the guy responsible for your bonus and ask when it's coming. When he doesn't give you a definitive answer, say that you'd like to take a seven week vacation and see how he responds. When he asks what's going on here, say that it's been six months since you were supposed to get your bonus, so maybe you deserve some "interest" in the form of time off. He will keep pressing you, and ultimately, the conversation may have to get all the way to "Pay me or fire me and pray I don't sue."

You have to be willing to risk the job a little to make sure you get paid, but if you know you can make more money elsewhere, you've got all the aces.

 

Voluptatem et maxime iure ea nisi sit. Dignissimos non sed est et vero aut. Sit beatae dolor dicta eligendi ex et quia.

Delectus ratione molestiae sit ut provident et. Aut placeat vel vero deleniti. Quia suscipit dolorem incidunt et. Autem est voluptatem est beatae minus dignissimos.

Cum fugiat tenetur quis rerum et provident. Nobis sed voluptatibus molestiae odio quibusdam nesciunt perferendis. Quia dolorem qui at odit ex incidunt nihil incidunt. Quam repellat consequuntur laudantium dignissimos.

Voluptates deserunt rerum et ad eum. Doloremque necessitatibus optio corrupti distinctio commodi facilis animi. Dolore et ea sed consectetur vel corporis. Repellendus rerum porro dolor.

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 98.9%
  • 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 (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”