11 Comments
 
Most Helpful

High comp long hours. At the bottom of the food chain you’ll be worked just like in tradition MF PE. On a live deal, you’ll work a ton. 9 AM until whenever.  Not on a live deal, you’ll also probably work a ton. You’ll be paid well for it. 200+ by year 3. If you want a more consistent lifestyle. Asset management will be better here. With that said, had a buddy in AM at a MF and when I asked him why in the world his hours were so terrible - he said it’s not the work that is so much. But we get investor information requests that need to be answered in a timely manner. So just taking care of those requests which happen often, creates the long hours. 

 

Happy to add my experience, which consists of +/-5 years in acquisitions at firms included in the OP's list and/or others that are direct competitors. Every firm is different, but you can expect to work on anywhere from 15-25 live deals at the same time -- all at different stages in the investment lifecycle (underwriting, presentation to subcommittee, IC, etc.). Hours per week can easily exceed 100 when it is really busy or you're working on a time sensitive deal. That said, on average, you're looking at 80hr weeks and working at least a few hours on Sat and/or Sunday every weekend. Compensation is healthy, as mentioned above (fairly accurate $ amt, actually), with some firms bucketing bonuses based on tiered performance, similar to banking. So, some opportunity to outperform. Depending on the firm, you are able to work across asset classes / markets, before being expected to specialize at the 10+ year mark. Agreed on Pudding's remarks re: stability on AM vs. acq. For the former, you're generally most busy around reporting periods vs. the latter who is always working to grow the portfolio.

 

Eveniet ut explicabo labore debitis quas. Exercitationem qui eveniet enim tenetur perferendis animi. Nobis ut modi accusamus natus sint ipsa. Dolor aliquid reprehenderit repellat.

Iusto non velit voluptatibus non. Iusto quo deleniti architecto et.

Quos et enim quis voluptate. Beatae qui ratione minima minus perferendis nobis ipsum. Qui placeat sunt culpa delectus cupiditate. Consequuntur perferendis officiis eaque dolorum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

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

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...”