No Bonuses (Lower Bucket) at Goldman
Goldman just denied bonuses for the lower bucket IB performers (100 total). Tough times for some, especially since bonuses are the bloodline and a huge motivator for many financial service workers.
Since the qty is so small is this even worth discussing?
Do you think it's likely we will see some job cuts or moves in the future?
Source: Goldman Bonus Cuts
And to think that I have read in this very forum like six months ago that "it has never been so easy and good to work in financial services" and that equity markets are at the historical peak as of today...
Personally, I don't think that this is a big deal. Just their way of shoving people out the door without firing them or laying them off. It was only 100 people too.
What would the performance of someone in the bottom 'quintile' look like? I find it hard to believe that people would work as hard as they have to to land a job like this and then allow themselves to be placed in the bottom bucket out of FIVE. Is the bottom quintile all the kids who got internships because of daddy's checkbook?
Some people just don't get it. A good attitude can only take you so far, but I have seen first year analysts at the end of their first year still struggle to get sources and uses right in their models. That is literally the first step.
This also applies across the board - there are soft skills as you move up the ranks that sometimes you just don't pick up. At the VP level you need to start accumulating a client base and thinking about banking ideas for clients...adding value for the senior guys so that they can trust you. Sometimes that transition from analyst and associate, where you are more task oriented, just doesn't click.
Getting a 0 bonus is not unusual - I am surprised that it was ONLY 100. It is usually a sign to start looking for a new job ASAP before we let you go. I would bet that anybody leaving GS wouldn't really have much trouble moving to a MM position, perhaps even one step closer to a promotion in title.
Aside from that...working brutal hours isn't for everyone. After a month or two of hell...some people just check out mentally and throw in the towel. It's one thing to gun for a 70-90 hour week job...its another thing to live that life.
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maybe we're reading this diff, but i thought it was mostly related to senior guys, rather than across the board. if it's 100 people througout the full IBD, that's not much at all...
I'd be surprised if analysts were getting zeros. From what I saw when I worked in BB banking if you showed up for work you were basically guaranteed at least something. Not the case for associates though...
never heard of analysts getting zero. heard of bottom bucket getting $10k. brutal if no bonus.
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I thought the guaranteed portion of a person's pay was called 'base salary'
Come on. You know that while that might be the mechanic, that's not actually how it works in banking. The base/bonus structure in banking is to align banker comp not only with performance but with overall firm revenues. That said, I also read the article as this being mostly limited to more senior people, and don't necessarily object to this practice, as long as people were generally aware this was a possibility. Don't know if GS has done this in the past or not.
Individual performance is usually subjective, so no they aren't entitled to any bonus
As others have hinted at, this is just resignation encouragment, ie layoffs without juicy severance packages
If any firm did this to their top performers the firm wouldn't surivive very long for obvious reasons
I bet those that missed out are absolute toilet
I disagree that this is a signal for the analyst to quit. I have seen bottom tier analysts get their shit together after their first year and go from bottom bucket to mid to near-top bucket the following year.
At the associate level it's a different story, but when I've seen this happen they will literally tell you to start looking for another job, and will keep you on the payroll while you do so (might give you 6 months or so as a cutoff).
If you were an analyst who just got zero, would you realistically put your head down and grind for a year on the off chance that you can turn around your team's rock bottom perception of you, or would you start looking for other opportunities where you can start with a clean slate?
i think you're right and others are wrong. especially given the timing, a lot of first years don't get their first full year bonus until 1.5 years into the program (some banks have moved from june to feb reviews). the review cycle has been lengthened, which means there's going to be quite a bit of surprise when they finally get ranked. realistically you're only going to have a few months to change impressions prior to the next bonus cycle, and i think that's going to be too late.
realistically, i don't think moving from a zero to top bucket is likely - not saying you can't get into the average bucket (because that isn't that hard).
You aren't moving from $0 bonus to top bucket in a year. Not only do first impressions carry over, but if your work is bad enough to get a $0 bonus, no one is going to put you on anything that has a remote chance of going live, so even if you have improved, you won't get the chance to prove it. Unless it's 2009/2010 and 3/4 of the team is taking a bagel (and even then I'm not sure that was the case), a $0 bonus is absolutely an invitation to look elsewhere--whether its at Goldman or UBS.
Hundreds of people have been fired this year. So a hundred not getting bonus this year is a petty news. At least they still get their monthly salary!
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