THERE'S never been a better time to be a banker, or so Mr Yeo
Soen Ming will tell you.
The 34-year-old MBA holder from London Business School expects to
earn more than US$500,000 (S$771,025) this year, including
bonuses.
As a banker working in institutional equity sales, Mr Yeo helps
clients make money through buying and selling stocks.
'The thrill at the end of the day is knowing that you made the
right calls and made money for the client,' said the father of
one.
The handsome reward he is expecting is the result of a banner year
for bankers and traders across the globe, spurred on by a booming
stocks and commodities market and a high number of company sales
and takeovers.
The US$3.46 trillion in acquisition deals this year broke the
record set in 2000. The global nature of the job means that even
those in Singapore handle clients around the world, and reap the
rewards.
Just last week, Goldman Sachs Group announced earnings of US$9.54
billion - the highest in Wall Street history.
It will set aside US$16.5 billion for salaries, bonuses and
benefits - translating to an average of US$622,000 for each
employee.
Other top investment banks such as Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers
and Merrill Lynch have also benefited this year from the robust
world economy.
The cash that they are handing out to employees is turning the
traditional idea of a lucrative career on its head.
Yes, doctors and lawyers make a lot of money, but they have to wait
for years until they reach a senior enough level.
Investment bankers and traders are raking in the really big bucks
this year - even when they are relatively young.
Checks by The Sunday Times showed that the remuneration in
investment banking and trading exceeds that in law and
medicine.
In their first year on the job, investment bankers and those in
sales and trading can earn a basic annual pay of $100,000.
By the time they are 35, this can go up to $500,000 including
bonuses - $40,000 a month.
Lawyers, on the other hand, are paid a starting salary of about
$50,000 at big firms such as Drew and Napier and Rajah and
Tan.
Doctors start off with about $60,000 after housemanship.
But while a lawyer may make $400,000 a year by 35 if he is made a
partner, a doctor would earn that kind of money only when he
becomes a specialist in private practice - which usually does not
happen till about 45.
So it is just as well that Ms Janice Foo, 28, did not become a
doctor.
Working in foreign exchange sales - buying and selling currency for
institutional investors - in an American investment house, she is
another of Singapore's young high-fliers.
Although she declined to disclose her pay, she told The Sunday
Times that she could well afford the downpayment and instalments
for a BMW and a swanky apartment in town.
Her businessman father had always wanted a doctor in the family,
but she decided to do a bachelor's degree in accounting and
finance, and a master's in finance from the University of New South
Wales in Sydney.
The decision has paid off.
Headhunter Declan O'Sullivan, from Kerry Consulting, explained that
bankers like Ms Foo are highly paid because there are only a
handful who can do the job well.
'Each of them is like a fighter pilot, you only need one really
good guy flying the plane,' he said, adding that each of them is
often responsible for millions of dollars.
The unforgiving nature of the job also accounts for the high
pay.
Trader Joao Lay, 32, who did his masters in finance at the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology and now earns more than $200,000
a year, said: 'When things go your way, you're rewarded handsomely,
but if you don't live up to expectations, you're out.'
Mr O'Sullivan agreed: 'It's high risk, high return.'
Then there are the long days and punishing schedules.
Ms Foo, who just got engaged, works 12-hour days which begin at
7am, stares at six computer screens throughout the day, and only
allows herself a five-minute break. Getting calls from clients in
the US at 3am is par for the course.
Investment bankers have it worse. They work 16-hour days, seven
days a week and hardly ever get the chance to take annual
leave.
Mr Yeo cited the case of a former colleague who called in sick one
day, thinking he could have the day off. But his boss couriered all
the documents to him so that he could work from home.
Investment banker G. Lim, 26, said that the long hours and ad hoc
business trips truly take a toll.
'We make intra-day trips at really short notice, we get up at 4am,
fly at 7am, attend a two-hour meeting, fly back and are expected to
finish up all the day's usual work,' he said.
All the people interviewed declined to name their employers.
National University of Singapore graduate X.W. Lee, who is in her
mid-20s and works in institutional sales, enjoys what she does, but
says that the stress level is high.
She works from 5.30am to 6pm and spends her weekends doing research
and planning proposals.
'Those who say they envy us because of our pay must understand
that, in reality, the job is not as glamorous as it appears,' she
said.
(Straits Times, Dec 17)
