Art by Nigel Buchanan
Blackstone topped the overall ranking of North American banks based on prestige and quality of life as the “most prestigious program for budding investment bankers,” according to career research firm Vault.
Ranked by nearly 3,600 banking professionals in North America, Blackstone scored in the top five in quality of life, firm leadership, and business outlook by survey respondents.
Its employees said the firm offers “the opportunity work with the best collective talent on Wall Street” with “unlimited opportunity for responsibility and career progression, with extremely little bureaucracy and corporate nonsense.”
Goldman Sachs remained at number two for the second year, according to Vault’s survey. While the firm was rated the “cream of the crop” in prestige, it lagged in work-life balance—a quality that is “extremely difficult to achieve, given very high expectations”—despite the new no-work Saturday initiative.
Morgan Stanley stepped up to the number three spot this year, supported by reorganizing efforts and an increased focus on wealth management, the research firm said. However, there’s room for improvement in spite of high profile transactions, including Facebook and Alibaba’s IPOs, the employees said, due to lower than average pay and long hours.
Still suffering from the aftermath of the London Whale scandal, JP Morgan slipped to fourth place from third last year.
Centerview, a New York-based boutique firm, jumped to number five on the rankings with prominent mergers and acquisitions transactions. It also ranked first in compensation and fourth in job satisfaction, according to Vault, beating out well-known top firms.
Quality of life and workforce diversity are also improving on Wall Street, according to Vault.
Survey respondents said work-life balance was better this year than last, largely due to changing workplace policies such as “protected Saturdays.” Its average rating rose almost 3% from 6.9 to 7.09 out of a possible 10.
Diversity scores climbed again this year as firms are increasingly “hiring managers [who] understand the effectiveness of diversity and the need for ideas coming from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences,” survey participants said.
Since 2010, female diversity scores have risen by 8.1%, ethnic diversity by 7.7%, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender scores by 12.1%.
Source: Vault's 2015 Banking Employers Rankings
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