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Archive for the ‘Compensation Report’ Category

Compensation Report: Bloodletting on Wall Street Just Beginning?

This morning, the New York Times cited a report by independent research firm Portales Partners and speculated that “bloodletting will continue at a fast and furious pace.” What is at the heart of this speculation? Portales studied the banks headcount and revenue growth since 2004 and determined that if revenues were to fall back to 2004 levels, approximately 20 percent of current employees would need to be let go. How many have been released thus far? Portales pegs that number at 1 percent. So, the remaining 19 percent may be hanging in the balance as these firms adjust. What does this all mean for MBAs right now? Well, the banks should still be on campus, but they may eliminate some non-core schools in order to streamline recruiting costs, as they did in the years following the tech bust. Further, as we have noted before, MBA students will definitely lack leverage in negotiating salaries for the foreseeable future.

 

Compensation Report: Hedge Funds and Private Equity Firms Add as I-Banks Subtract

Bloomberg recently published an article (”Hedge Funds Hire From Wall Street as Jobs Disappear, Pay Falls“) about forty-five investment bankers who have left for hedge funds and private equity firms, as traditional i-banking businesses have softened. While the article may raise the anxiety levels of those seeking to enter banking, one line in particular should give those interested in this field some solace: “The retrenchment may leave Wall Street firms short of talent if their investment-banking and trading businesses begin to recover.” Indeed, as was the case during the last slump on Wall Street (2001-2004), the large firms cut quite deeply and were clamoring for talent as the market returned. Could the MBA candidate applying today and graduating in 2011 be in great shape after all?

Compensation Report: AP Releases Data on CEO Pay

We decided to launch the compensation report, so that aspiring MBAs could follow both short and long term trends in this area, helping candidates understand one of the important variables in choosing a future career path. One trend that seems to be causing increasing consternation in the media, but shows no sign of abetting in Corporate America, is CEO pay.  The Associated Press reports that in 2007, despite the economic downturn, pay among Fortune 500 CEOs rose by $280,000, reaching an average of $8.4 million dollars per year – an increase of 3.5% over 2006. It is noteworthy that three of the top-10 pay packages belonged to CEOs from the financial industry, a contrast to the massive layoffs and declining pay expectations of those in the field.  

Compensation Report: Smart Cube Survey Shows Recruiters Expect Compensation to Drop by 20%

Yesterday morning, Smart Cube, a firm which supplies the financial services industry with research and analytics, announced the results of a survey of recruiters in the financial field. Smart Cube asked recruiters in London and New York for their opinions on hiring trends and found that they were virtually unanimous in expecting compensation to drop by as much as 20%. These recruiters also reported that senior level candidates have scaled back their expectations. 

It is clearly a “buyer’s” market right now for MBA talent. So, MBA students can expect that, for the foreseeable future, after 83,000 layoffs in financial services, the investment banks will be dictating employment terms.

New MBA Mission Blog Series: The Compensation Report

Today, we start a new series on the MBA Mission Blog: “The Compensation Report.” Unlike our “Mission Admission” and “Monday Morning Essay Tip” features, which appear weekly, the Compensation Report will be posted less predictably, due to the fact that it is more dependent on news than opinion.

While candidates have many reasons for pursuing their MBAs, a boost in salaries is often at or near the top of their list. Amid a tumultuous economy, where teh power is shifting back from the employee to the employer, this series will help candidates stay on top of hiring and salary trends across industries and thus help inform MBA goal statements and career choices.

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