Young Talent Isn’t Following the Money to Wall Street
Long hours, the pandemic and the lure of startups are taking their toll on recruitment for the traditional investment banks.
Too much bull?
Photographer: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North AmericaDeutsche Bank AG is the latest investment bank dangling a juicier carrot at prospective first-year analysts. An extra $10,000 sounds nice but, unfortunately, Wall Street is just appealing to individuals focused on short-term compensation — the kind who won’t hang around long anyway. The banks are going to have to up their game to attract and retain talent. And it’s not all about money.
“There is no substitute for hard work” has long been the industry mantra. But those first few years are brutal. There is now a number for how much toil is required to reach "base-level mastery" at an investment bank: The golden ticket to elite level is 10,000 hours or roughly three years worth of 72-hour weeks, according to Mary Erdoes, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset and wealth management business.