Investment banking salary, by level
A first-year investment banking analyst in London earns a base salary of £50k to £60k, with a cash bonus usually worth a third to half of base. That puts first-year total compensation near £80k. At managing director the midpoint is around £1.2m, almost all of the increase coming from bonus rather than salary.
Base salary is close to standardised across the large banks and moves in lockstep when one of them raises. The bonus is where they differ, and above analyst level it is most of the number.
Every level
The large full-service banks. Base is close to standardised across them; bonus is where they differ.
| Level | Base | Bonus | Total (mid) | Reached at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst 1 | £50k to £60k | 30% to 60% | £80k | On joining |
| Analyst 2 | £55k to £70k | 40% to 70% | £95k | 1y |
| Analyst 3 | £60k to £75k | 55% to 80% | £115k | 2y |
| Associate 1 | £90k to £105k | 55% to 95% | £170k | 3y |
| Associate 2 | £105k to £125k | 60% to 105% | £210k | 4y |
| Associate 3 | £120k to £140k | 70% to 125% | £255k | 5y |
| VP 1 | £135k to £175k | 70% to 140% | £320k | 6y |
| VP 2 | £145k to £175k | 80% to 150% | £345k | 7y |
| VP 3 | £150k to £180k | 95% to 175% | £390k | 8y |
| Director | £170k to £250k | 115% to 180% | £520k | 9y 6m |
| Managing Director | £250k to £500k | 150% to 300% | £1.2m | 12y |
Figures describe 2021. Bonus is stored as a multiple of base because that is what the surveys measure and what moves between firms. Rounded to five percentage points.
What the cash figures leave out
Bonus is the whole story above analyst level and it is discretionary: two people at the same level and the same firm can be a year of base apart on total. Names vary at the top. What is shown here as Director is Executive Director at JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, and Director at Goldman Sachs and Citi.
Where these numbers come from
Arkesden Partners, Compensation Report 2020/212021
Bulge bracket base and bonus by level in London, and promotion cycles.
Alan Mitchell Financial Recruitment, Salary and Bonus Survey2021
Boutique, bulge, mid-cap broking and corporate finance bands in London.
Advisory-only houses. Lower base at junior levels, materially higher bonus multiples further up.
| Level | Base | Bonus | Total (mid) | Reached at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst 1 | £45k to £55k | 20% to 45% | £65k | On joining |
| Analyst 2 | £50k to £65k | 30% to 60% | £85k | 1y |
| Analyst 3 | £60k to £75k | 40% to 70% | £105k | 2y |
| Associate 1 | £80k to £95k | 55% to 85% | £150k | 3y |
| Associate 2 | £90k to £110k | 60% to 95% | £180k | 4y |
| Associate 3 | £100k to £120k | 70% to 115% | £210k | 5y |
| VP 1 | £110k to £150k | 85% to 140% | £275k | 6y |
| VP 2 | £120k to £155k | 95% to 160% | £315k | 7y |
| VP 3 | £130k to £165k | 110% to 180% | £360k | 8y |
| Director | £150k to £250k | 95% to 160% | £455k | 9y 6m |
| Managing Director | £250k to £500k | 180% to 320% | £1.3m | 12y |
Figures describe 2021. Bonus is stored as a multiple of base because that is what the surveys measure and what moves between firms. Rounded to five percentage points.
What the cash figures leave out
Bonus is the whole story above analyst level and it is discretionary: two people at the same level and the same firm can be a year of base apart on total. Names vary at the top. What is shown here as Director is Executive Director at JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, and Director at Goldman Sachs and Citi.
Where these numbers come from
Arkesden Partners, Compensation Report 2020/212021
Bulge bracket base and bonus by level in London, and promotion cycles.
Alan Mitchell Financial Recruitment, Salary and Bonus Survey2021
Boutique, bulge, mid-cap broking and corporate finance bands in London.
Smaller mandates, smaller pools, and usually better hours for the same level.
| Level | Base | Bonus | Total (mid) | Reached at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst 1 | £40k to £50k | 20% to 45% | £60k | On joining |
| Analyst 2 | £45k to £60k | 30% to 60% | £75k | 1y |
| Analyst 3 | £50k to £65k | 40% to 65% | £90k | 2y |
| Associate 1 | £55k to £70k | 40% to 60% | £95k | 3y |
| Associate 2 | £65k to £85k | 55% to 80% | £125k | 4y |
| Associate 3 | £75k to £95k | 65% to 100% | £155k | 5y |
| VP 1 | £85k to £105k | 80% to 115% | £190k | 6y |
| VP 2 | £90k to £115k | 80% to 120% | £205k | 7y |
| VP 3 | £95k to £125k | 85% to 130% | £230k | 8y |
| Director | £100k to £160k | 95% to 160% | £295k | 9y 6m |
| Managing Director | £160k to £280k | 120% to 200% | £570k | 12y |
Figures describe 2021. Bonus is stored as a multiple of base because that is what the surveys measure and what moves between firms. Rounded to five percentage points.
What the cash figures leave out
Bonus is the whole story above analyst level and it is discretionary: two people at the same level and the same firm can be a year of base apart on total. Names vary at the top. What is shown here as Director is Executive Director at JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, and Director at Goldman Sachs and Citi.
Where these numbers come from
Arkesden Partners, Compensation Report 2020/212021
Bulge bracket base and bonus by level in London, and promotion cycles.
Alan Mitchell Financial Recruitment, Salary and Bonus Survey2021
Boutique, bulge, mid-cap broking and corporate finance bands in London.
Mid-cap corporate finance, equity research and equity sales. The flattest curve of the four.
| Level | Base | Bonus | Total (mid) | Reached at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst 1 | £40k to £50k | 20% to 40% | £60k | On joining |
| Analyst 2 | £45k to £60k | 25% to 50% | £70k | 1y |
| Analyst 3 | £55k to £70k | 30% to 60% | £90k | 2y |
| Associate 1 | £60k to £75k | 30% to 60% | £100k | 3y |
| Associate 2 | £70k to £85k | 40% to 65% | £120k | 4y |
| Associate 3 | £80k to £95k | 55% to 85% | £150k | 5y |
| VP 1 | £85k to £110k | 65% to 100% | £180k | 6y |
| VP 2 | £90k to £120k | 70% to 105% | £195k | 7y |
| VP 3 | £95k to £125k | 80% to 115% | £215k | 8y |
| Director | £120k to £200k | 85% to 120% | £325k | 9y 6m |
| Managing Director | £200k to £500k | 120% to 180% | £875k | 12y |
Figures describe 2021. Bonus is stored as a multiple of base because that is what the surveys measure and what moves between firms. Rounded to five percentage points.
What the cash figures leave out
Bonus is the whole story above analyst level and it is discretionary: two people at the same level and the same firm can be a year of base apart on total. Names vary at the top. What is shown here as Director is Executive Director at JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, and Director at Goldman Sachs and Citi.
Where these numbers come from
Arkesden Partners, Compensation Report 2020/212021
Bulge bracket base and bonus by level in London, and promotion cycles.
Alan Mitchell Financial Recruitment, Salary and Bonus Survey2021
Boutique, bulge, mid-cap broking and corporate finance bands in London.
Large banks in New York. Elite boutiques run $50,000 to $100,000 above these from associate upwards, and pay the bonus entirely in cash.
| Level | Base | Bonus | Total (mid) | Reached at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst | $100k to $125k | 65% to 80% | $195k | On joining |
| Associate | $175k to $225k | 60% to 125% | $385k | 2y 6m |
| Vice president | $250k to $300k | 110% to 165% | $655k | 6y |
| Director / SVP | $300k to $350k | 135% to 155% | $795k | 9y 6m |
| Managing director | $400k to $600k | 150% to 235% | $1.5m | 12y |
Figures describe 2025. Base is as published. The bonus range is derived from the same source’s total compensation range, bottom paired with bottom and top with top, then rounded to five percentage points.
What the cash figures leave out
The published base figures and the visa disclosure filings agree to within a few thousand dollars at every junior level, which is the closest thing to corroboration this page has anywhere. What neither captures is the spread: the reports quote 25th to 75th percentile, so a quarter of the market sits above the top of each band and a quarter below the bottom. London runs a 15% to 30% discount to these numbers.
Where these numbers come from
Published industry salary and bonus reports, aggregatedCovering 2025 year-end bonuses, read September 2026
New York base and total compensation by level at large banks, 25th to 75th percentile. Rounded across reports rather than reproduced from any single one.
US Department of Labor, H-1B Labor Condition Application disclosure data2025 filings
Offered annual base wage by employer, job title and worksite. Percentiles below are computed from those rows, not taken from anyone else’s summary.
Licence: US public domain
Ranges, not offers. Compare every track.
Weighing it against something else
Other tracks
For what these jobs involve day to day and how people get into them, see the career path map. For open roles and deadlines, the opportunity tracker.