If you’ve already been told your year end bonus, we’d appreciate your participation in this year’s compensation study so we can start releasing early market data. This year’s survey will capture bonus data across bank type, title, group, and geography. The survey will remain open to accommodate firms with later notification timelines, ensuring comprehensive market coverage in the final report. We kindly ask that you wait until your actual 2025 numbers are confirmed before submitting. Please note that incomplete or unreliable submissions will be discarded to preserve data integrity.
Bonus season is officially underway—and the data is starting to roll in.
Select bulge bracket banks released their 2025 compensation numbers last week, and we’ve been collecting data points daily through our annual compensation survey. While it’s still early (we’re at 156 responses and counting), the trends emerging from this year’s numbers are already telling a compelling story.
Here’s what we’re seeing so far.
The Bottom Line: A Tale of Two Markets
The headline number? Bonuses are up modestly overall—about 1-2% on average compared to 2024. But that average masks enormous variation depending on where you sit in the hierarchy.
If you’re a VP, you’re probably having a good year.
Let’s break it down.
VPs Are the Clear Winners This Year
The VP level is seeing the strongest and most consistent bonus growth across bank types. Our early data shows:
- VP3s at Bulge Brackets: +56% (average bonus jumping from ~$309K to ~$483K)
- VP4s at Bulge Brackets: +39% ($341K → $475K)
- VP1s at Elite Boutiques: +18% ($289K → $343K)
- VP2s at Middle Market: +22% ($245K → $300K)
The pattern is clear: banks are rewarding their senior execution talent. These are the people actually running deals day-to-day, and firms seem to be investing heavily to retain them.
Why? A few theories:
- Retention pressure at this level remains intense—VP is the sweet spot where bankers have enough experience to be highly productive but haven’t yet hit the MD compensation lottery
- Firms are being more surgical with compensation dollars, concentrating them where they see the highest ROI
Associate 2s Are Also Seeing Strong Gains
One of the more consistent findings across bank types: Associate 2 bonuses are up 30%+ across the board.
| Bank Type | A2 Bonus Change |
|---|---|
| Elite Boutique | +33% |
| Bulge Bracket | +30% |
| Middle Market | +31% |
Associate 1s and 3s are seeing more mixed results, with some individual data points showing significant declines. Small sample sizes make it hard to draw firm conclusions there yet.
Senior MDs: Diverging Fortunes
For MDs with 4+ years of experience, the picture is more nuanced:
- Elite Boutique senior MDs: +52%
- Bulge Bracket senior MDs: +16%
- Middle Market senior MDs: -35%
The elite boutiques appear to be concentrating compensation at the very top. If you’re a producing MD at a top elite boutique, 2025 is shaping up to be a very good year. The same can’t be said across the board at middle market firms.
Directors: Quiet Compression at Elite Boutiques
An interesting undercurrent in the data: Director-level bonuses at elite boutiques are actually down 10-20%, while Directors at bulge brackets and middle market firms are seeing increases of 18-21%.
This could suggest elite boutiques are compressing the middle of their compensation structure—paying up for star MDs and promising associates, while being more conservative with the levels in between.
Bank Type Scorecard
Rolling it all up by bank type:
| Bank Type | Average Bonus Change | Median Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bulge Bracket | +6% | +11% |
| Elite Boutique | +3% | +3% |
| Middle Market | -6% | +9% |
Bulge brackets are outperforming on a relative basis, driven largely by those big VP increases. Elite boutiques are holding steady. Middle market averages are being dragged down by MD-level declines, though the median is actually positive.
What We’re Watching
As more data comes in over the next few weeks, here’s what we’re focused on:
- How deep does the VP strength go? Are we seeing broad-based increases or a few outliers pulling up the averages?
- Regional variation. Early data suggests NYC is outperforming other markets, but we need more data points to confirm.
- Lateral activity. With 29% of respondents saying they’re actively considering a move (and another 40% saying “maybe”), the spring recruiting cycle could be interesting.
Methodology Note
A few important caveats:
- Sample sizes at some levels are small (n=1-5), which can create noise.
- Individual performance and deal attribution cause significant variance at senior levels.
- The survey remains open—these are preliminary findings that may shift as more data comes in.
Share Your Data
We’re still collecting responses for the 2025 compensation survey. If you have your numbers please consider participating to get access to the full report. https://lnkd.in/euPQ_3Fn
Stay tuned—we’ll be publishing updated analysis as more data comes in throughout January and February.