Record Profits, Deeper Cuts: Where Wall Street Is Actually Shrinking in 2026
Wall Street banks are posting record profits while cutting headcount, but the cuts are concentrated almost entirely in back-office, operations, and compliance functions — not in the front-office bankers and traders who generate revenue.
Lazard’s Not So Quiet Signal: Why Senior Bankers Everywhere Should Be Paying Attention
Lazard just did something that's easy to read the wrong way. Read as a standalone story, an 80-plus managing director reduction alongside a 91% drop in quarterly net income looks like trouble. Read in context — a record dealmaking market, a firm mid-turnaround, and a...
Every Exit Has a Story: Navigating RIFs, Voluntary Departures, and Terminations in Investment Banking
Every departure in banking carries a story, and the label attached to it — RIF, voluntary, or for cause — only holds up with recruiters when it’s consistent with the U5, references, and the facts.
The Class of 2029 Investment Banking Recruiting Guide: Bank-by-Bank Timelines, Deadlines, and Strategy for Summer 2028 Internships
The Class of 2029 Investment Banking Recruiting Guide: Bank-by-Bank Timelines, Deadlines, and Strategy for Summer 2028 Internships
What’s the Big Deal About Having Closed M&A Deals?
Explore the importance of closed M&A deals in the investment banking job market and how they impact your career prospects.
What Elite Boutiques Actually Want in This Market — and When You Can Cross the Tier Line
A hot lateral market makes every door look open. Most of that movement is happening within tiers, not across them — here’s what elite boutiques are actually hiring for right now, and where the uptier really is (and isn’t) possible.
Why Wall Street’s Summer Recruiting Slowdown May Take This Summer Off
Explore why Wall Street’s summer recruiting slowdown may not happen this year and what it means for investment banking offers.
JPMorgan First to Deploy AI Bank-Wide as Wall Street Braces for Biggest Workforce Shift
JPMorgan has become the first major global bank to deploy AI tools across its entire investment banking operation, kicking off a Wall Street-wide race that promises to transform how deals get done — and who gets to do them.
The End of the Suffering Premium: AI, Hours, and the Future of the Banking Bonus
Why AI will make investment bankers more efficient — not redundant — and what that means for how they get paid Introduction: A Philosophy Built in the MIT AI Lab Dave Blundin is a serial entrepreneur, MIT-trained artificial intelligence pioneer, and the Founder and...
Investment Banking Lateral Market Update: Offer Terms, Compensation Structures, and What It Actually Takes to Get Hired Right Now.
Ground-level market intelligence briefing for investment banking professionals at the Associate through Director level covering what the current lateral market is actually producing at the offer stage — compensation structures, clawback terms, title expectations, and who is and is not getting hired right now.