That's a misconception. How many of your friends in banking were fired in the last crisis? For me, I only know of 1, out of more than 100 acquaintances, friends and family.

It's a misconception propagated by those not in the know and by those in the know who deliberately want to portray a "high risk high reward" image to make them look macho.

any suggestion of good banks that will take in a fresh engineering graduate with 3rd class honors...

A typical rm usually has aum ( assets under management) of around 100 million. They are expected to churn them and earn 1%.

Around 40% of revenues are used for salaries+bonus for rm, investment advisors, credit risk, back office, senior management.

So you would expect rm at vp level with 100m would get max 300k per year for base+bonus

ppl already look down on 2nd lower and u got 3rd class... assuming u not super good looking and dun haf connections, i will say u most prob can only work in back office of banks...

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Dude, people usually don t just start off in private banking.

My advice, start off as a personal banker. Work your ass off. You got sales, within 1-2 years you will be able to move to priority banking. Work your ass off again (usually by second or third year you may be able to slack off if you re good enough). By than if you got sales, the headhunters and the private banks will come knocking.

The basic will usually be quite near to your last drawn, depends on what you bargain for also. Anyway its usually above 10k a month not including bonus. But you better make sure you got the AUM to bring over coz if not within a year you re probably out again.

The other way is start off as a private banking assistant, and hope that one fine day when your private banker is old enough and going to retire he might pass you his portfolio to manage.

Max 300K on a US 100M pot is a myth.
If you are smart, you leverage up your pot of gold.
A USd 100M can easily be USd 150M
Revenue could easily be USD 2M (Assuming you are active in your trades)

A USd 2 M Rev = a pay of USd 300K to USD 400 K or SGd 360 to SGD 480K depending on how generous your boss are.

Aim for blue sky.

BUT first, slog for a good 5 years or more from the basic bank to acquire your assets and experience

So that's how private bankers do the churning and make money.

Churning is a dirty word. Leverage is not necessary dirty business but smart business for clients.

You just need to know how to use it wisely.
A successful Private Banker is not one that churns and churns , that is consumer banking style. If you churn, rest assure, you will not last long.
In Private Banking business , it is not a race but a marathon. so you dont churn for the sake of making money. you do by volume , not necessary bigger margin.

Not a easy business to go into...

you serious? Advising clients to have 50% gain is quite impossible esp now where the banks are not extending much leverage to the client. Plus these days, clients are in risk avoidance mode, no more accumlator structures, no more structured finance stuff. how to make money without taking risk or leverage? good old days are gone, that is why CS and UBS are cutting staff as their revenues are not increasing as fast as salary compensations as their churn rate is getting lower....

anyway, if you can make 50% for client, you are actually better off running your own hedge fund.

couldn't agree more...