Wall Street's Bonanza Bodes Well for Bonuses, Jobs Expansion

Wall Street MBAs and other finance workers can expect bigger year-end bonuses this year, according to a report in the November 8 edition of the Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal. And not only are bonuses up, so are hiring opportunities. At of the end of September, several top banks had expanded their staffs by approximately 5 percent during the 2006 calendar year. A number of those new hires are coming from top U.S. business schools, where corporate recruiting has been strong throughout this year.

The report says that a strong stock market, successful corporate mergers, and higher profits should mean an increase in the bonuses that investment bankers and traders receive at the end of the fiscal year.

Personnel consultants estimate that bonuses will increase by 10 to 20 percent. Bonuses for entry-level analysts may range from $130,000 to $150,000.

Top Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman Brothers, saw their net revenue rise by approximately a third in the first 9 months of 2006.

Those profits are going into increased hiring as well as greater rewards for existing staff.

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