If you’re looking to start an MBA programme later this year, you’re probably only interested in one thing: the money you’ll make after graduating. Course-quality MBA league tables are one thing; compensation league tables are altogether more important.
Where to study (and typically spend $100k-plus in fees) to reap the rewards when you return to the workforce? MBA website Poets&Quants has crunched the numbers from the latest U.S. News business schools rankings and found that Stanford Graduate School of Business offered the best average compensation package (salary plus bonus) in 2017, at $173,989 (a $144,455 salary an a $29,534 bonus).
The figures, which are across sectors and for American MBAs only, show that Stanford has edged out rivals Harvard Business School ($167,148), the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania ($166,930), Columbia Business School ($163,577), and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business ($159,911). Stanford also registered the largest increase (at 26.5%) in total comp among all top-10 schools, helping it rise from fourth to first place over three years.
But if you work in finance and have a Stanford MBA, should you really be satisfied with earning the $173k average? The school’s own Employment Report for its 2017 class suggests you should be much more aspirational, at least on the buy-side. The upper base-salary range for Stanford MBAs working in venture capital is $285k, while in private equity and hedge funds it’s $250k and $200k, respectively. Your bonus in VC? Almost $200k at the top end.
Such earnings mean many Stanford grads in the finance sector shouldn’t find it too difficult to pay off any debt from their tuition fees, which stood at $137,736 in 2017, making Stanford only the ninth most expensive US business school.
Separately, wealth management – particularly in Asia – has arguably been the best place to work in at Credit Suisse ever since CEO Tidjane Thiam started expanding the function in 2015. But now there’s a surprising new contender: equities. Mike Stewart, the boss of the division, has told Bloomberg that after losing market share between 2015 and 2017, CS is now aiming to break into the top-five largest equity trading house by revenue. He didn’t provide a timeframe and the jump (of two places) would require the bank to boost its business by one third, but Stewart has already been on a hiring spree – he’s taken on 18 senior equities professionals since joining in June.
Meanwhile:
If you look at mean figures, the gender pay gap at banks in the UK is even worse than expected. (Bloomberg)
At least nine crypto hedge funds have been shuttered this year. (Bloomberg)
Brexit transition deal not as good for the City of London as you might think. (Financial Times)
Broker sues Morgan Stanley for firing him for bad behaviour before he joined the firm. (New York Post)
Family of deceased J.P. Morgan broker file wrongful death lawsuit against the bank. (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs falls down M&A league tables in the UK. (City AM)
Deutsche Bank needs “an outsider”. (Bloomberg)
Bank of America to move into RBS’s building in Stamford. (Stamford Advocate)
Why data scientists quit their jobs. (Towards Data Science)
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