Hi everyone.

I almost finished my graduate studies in quant finance and guess it's time to become a "respectable" member of the society

I see that salaries for front office (trading) positions for analysts in Zurich are higher than London (CHF 110k vs £50k ish) but what I don't know and can't find anywhere on the net is whether this higher base reflects on a poor bonus cheque at the end of the year or it is simply due to the COL in Switzerland? i.e. do Zurich based analysts receive bonus (not 13th salary) as their british and american counterparts do?

many thanks

dende

COL is higher in CH, on a spending power basis it's a wash. Bonus's in London will be higher & you will have to work longer hours for them.

sitting on my hands, sitting on my hands, sitting on my hands

Thanks for your prompt response. I interned last summer in the city and the amount of hours was not significantly different to my current internship in Zurich (6am-5.30pm vs 6.30am-5pm), trading hours are market hours and cannot vary too much...

I guess the people who get the biggest bonus's don't watch the clock that much. Announcements & results are often made out of hours, the best analyists won't have gone home!
Of course 4 years ago with 2.40 CHF to the £ London would have been the better deal.

I was/am in the fx desk which is a team work, after passing the book to the next time zone, NY in this case (at 4pm london time) there is not much to do.. of course as intern/analyst I am supposed to be last to leave the desk, but honestly never stayed in the office after 6pm, even in london! that's why fx traders are always happy!
Ok, London is the place to be in fx, no doubt about it. Big guys in the city eclipse swiss bankers, but at analyst level it seems that being in Zurich makes more sense (financially)... that's what I'm asking.


PS a strong GBP does not make londoners richer in the UK

I guess it's down to how much arbitrage they do buying things abroad on Ebay!

Odd question, to be honest. Every job will have its own package and conditions. Apply for the job, then ask the employer

Who would import Ebay goods from Switzerland?! I purchased my Swatch in Glasgow!

Investment banking analyst bonuses are pretty much the same in NY and London... and being still an intern don't want to ask my MD (possibly future boss) how big my first bonus will be. You know, no one is doing this job for the money involved!