The best paid investment banking jobs on Wall Street

Pay on Wall Street is a fluctuating thing and so far this year the expectation is that it’ll be heading downwards.

To work in M&A was to be relatively sheltered from this clamp down on variable pay, but bonuses for advisory staff this year could be down by 15% and those in capital markets divisions could be hit with a 25% reduction, according to recent analysis from comp consultants Johnson Associates.

Given that prop trading desks in investment banks have now been shuttered thanks to the Volcker Rule, who within the industry is top of the tree?

It’s a close run thing, but according to figures provided to us by salary benchmarking website Emolument.com, origination and syndication professionals are most likely to earn the most, with total compensation of $315k at the VP level. This is closely followed by M&A and leveraged finance professionals who earn $311k in the mid-ranks.

In the markets divisions, quants lead the way, with total compensation of $290k for VPs, followed by sales traders and traders who each pull in $275k.