Some bonus figures for associates and VPs in M&A

Recruitment firm Morgan McKinley has produced a table of bonus figures for people working in M&A in London.

The figures it offers are fairly wide-ranging and aren't broken down by the size or calibre of institution, but they do offer a vague idea of what you ought to be earning if you're an M&A banker in the City. Morgan McKinley says they're based on interviews with, '30 analysts, 30 associates and 30 VPs across a range of European, U.S and Asian investment banks and boutiques based in London.'

If you can't view the table below because of a firewall, here are the salient points:

Mean bonus for associate 1: 61k

Mean bonus for associate 2: 91k

Mean bonus for associate 3: 125k

Mean bonus for VP 1 179k

Mean bonus for VP 2: 241k

Mean bonus for VP 3: 368k

Source: Morgan McKinley

Fellow M&A recruiters say the figures sound approximately correct, whilst helpfully pointing out that they're too broad to be of any real meaning.

"There's a huge differential between what you can get at a top tier investment bank, what you can get at a 2nd tier investment bank, and what you can get at a boutique," says David Howell, managing director of EM Financial. "Salaries tend to be a lot higher at boutiques, and bonuses are lower," he adds.