Morgan Stanley’s junior London bankers are not happy with bonuses
JPMorgan's investment bankers may be on track for 15% increases in their bonuses, but bankers at Morgan Stanley don't appear to have been so lucky.
Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.
As we reported earlier this week, Morgan Stanley has already announced its bonuses, making it the first US bank to do so. While initial reports on its numbers suggested they were mixed, some at the bank say this should be changed to "disappointing."
Morgan Stanley declined to comment on its bonuses, but multiple juniors at the bank told us their bonuses were lower than expected.
"I am surprised and disappointed," said one, who asked us to conceal his rank. "Working hard doesn't seem worth the effort any more." He claims that most analyst bonuses in London this year varied from between 15% to 30% of salaries, that associate bonuses were 30-60% of salaries and that most vice presidents (VPs) got 40%-60% of salary as a bonus.
As a percentage of salary, bonuses at Morgan Stanley look lower than at rival banks. Two years ago, average associate bonuses across all banks in London ranged from 50% to 100% of salary while average vice president bonuses ranged from 45% to 120%.
However, recruiters we spoke to stressed that while Morgan Stanley's bonuses are lower than at rival banks, it also pays higher salaries than elsewhere. "First year vice president salaries at Morgan Stanley in London are paid salaries of £185k," says one recruiter. "At other banks, this is closer to £150k." One headhunter said more senior Morgan Stanley bankers have been reporting bonus increases of around 30%.
Logan Naidu, CEO of recruitment firm Dartmouth Partners, said junior bankers’ bonus expectations are up on last year but that there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Our pre-Christmas bonus survey found that employees in investment banking divisions globally were expecting a (highly unlikely) 50% increase in their bonuses this year.
Morgan Stanley's M&A revenues rose 4% in the first nine months of last year. However, its equity and debt capital markets revenues were up 72% and 69% respectively.
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, WhatsApp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libellous (in which case it won’t.)
