Quote from Surdo:
Why do many support staff make over $100K then?
GS only hires the best, period.
Since they pay, they are able to get the best, whether it be the receptionist, backoffice clerk, or the Trading Algorithm writing Geek making $1MM plus.
It amazes me the jealousy and animosity that festers here.
Good thought. First of all, 100k a year is not a lot of money, go to a wall street and take a look, a lot of support staff would make 100k including bonus. They are an integral part of the team, no different from anybody else. When I was part of a hedge fund, we made sure that we compensated the supporting staff well (we gave the secretary a $40k bonus one year, almost doubling her salary), frankly, people that are willing to do ops and support work (and not thinking every minute about doing something else) is rare, and those who are good are very prized. I am glad that a CMO ops staff would make $120k, good for them. A good ops person detecting an out-trade early can reduce the desk's position risk significantly.
Second of all, investment banks operate in a very systematic way, it is not a bunch of cowboys gunslingers playing with the firm's money, it is a bunch of very analytical, smart people making calculated bets with the firm's money, and operate under very restrictive risk management parameters. In fact, if anything, I haven't seen a real "cowboy" type being head of a desk for quite a few years now, most head of desks are now quiet, analytical type that appreciates what everyond have done.
Like others, I have started making some calls around the GS crowd, it seems a Partner (MD invited to be a part of the partnership pool) would make between 10-20, your typical MD for trading would make 2-5, and a 3rd year VP making 500-1. But those guys put in the time, at 8-9 pm, none of them goes home, and they have the P&Ls to back them up. Good for them.
