What is M&A and what do M&A analysts do?

• M&A professionals work with clients on deals to buy and sell companies.
• M&A juniors work on Excel models to help value the companies involved in deals.
• M&A juniors put together pitchbooks in PowerPoint to help banks win a role advising on deals.
• M&A jobs are well paid. $110k salaries in year one are considered typical.
• M&A jobs can involve grueling hours. Juniors complain about 100-hour weeks.
• Even just two years in M&A can leave you well positioned for the future. Opportunities are available in private equity, hedge funds and elsewhere.

A job working in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) is one of the most sought-after and high-profile roles in investment banking. Senior M&A bankers travel the world and advise on the world’s biggest and most complex deals, reshaping entire industries.

Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.

M&A bankers are professional advisors. They operate at the highest levels, working with large global companies (“corporates”, as they’re known in banking), advising chief executives how best to position their organizations for the future.

Unlike management consultants, who help companies determine and implement the best strategy without necessarily changing the company’s component parts, M&A bankers drive strategy through structural change. They encourage the companies they’re working with (clients) to join together with other companies as equals (a merger), to buy and control a smaller company or part of a company (an acquisition), or to sell part of their own operations (a disposal). 

Mergers, acquisitions, and disposals happen for different strategic reasons. For example, a client may decide to merge with a rival operating in the same business area in order to increase its market share. This is known as a horizontal merger.

Alternatively, a client may decide to acquire one of the companies that supplies the components necessary to fabricate its product. This is a vertical merger. There are also conglomerate mergers, when a company merges with or acquires a firm operating in a totally different market. And there are congeneric mergers, which take place when companies are in the same industry but offer different products. Conglomerate mergers have the advantage of allowing clients to enter completely different markets. Congeneric mergers bring advantages like established distribution channels, or whole new product lines.

Globally, the top three banks in M&A are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan, as shown in the table below. These are the banks that work on the biggest and the most complex deals, often involving buyers and sellers in different countries. But there are a number of other big U.S. and European banks that are also active in M&A, and many also lend the money to finance the deals.

While the biggest, multi-billion-dollar deals grab the headlines, the majority of deals are below $500m in size, and there are a number of so-called mid-market M&A firms which earn good money advising on these deals. There is also a large number of so-called boutiques, which are often independent, privately-owned firms run by a small number of senior M&A bankers who’ve left big banks to set up on their own.

Boutiques are typically pure advisory houses – unlike banks, they don’t provide the financing for deals themselves. Some of the largest boutiques are publicly listed. The best-known boutiques include Evercore, Rothschild, Moelis, Lazard, Centerview Partners, PJT Partners, and Perella Weinberg Partners. 

The top M&A bankers are known as “rainmakers” for their ability to land big deals, but beneath the glamour the hours are long. Junior bankers have to spend years learning their trade before they can generate their own deals.

What does an M&A analyst actually do?

M&A analysts are the lowest rung in the banking hierarchy.

Working as an analyst in an M&A division means being flexible because you can work on multiple projects at any point in time. You will be working on live deals and pitching new ones. When you’re working on a live deal, you’ll be involved in deal execution or helping a client buy or sell an asset - respectively called buy-side or sell-side mandates. When you’re pitching, you’ll be preparing documents for senior bankers to use as they persuade clients to do new deals.  

Typically, an M&A analyst will be responsible for the financial analysis that underpins an M&A deal. This includes building a financial model, running the valuation and financial impact analysis, and preparing materials to present this analysis to the client. Very rarely, an M&A analyst will also be asked to present this analysis to the client. Sometimes they will also be the point of contact for any questions or requests from the client relating to the analysis.  

“Day-to-day life as an M&A analyst largely depends on the deals you are working on,” says the head of UK M&A at one European bank. “Broadly speaking, mornings and early afternoons involve client interaction, status and/or diligence calls and discussions to agree on the workstreams the deal team should focus on as well as next steps. By the afternoon or evening, meetings are less frequent, and you can focus on progressing on the deliverables, which can range from excel models to the preparation of marketing materials [pitchbooks].”

What are hours like in an M&A job?

In the past few years, the arduous nature of work in some M&A teams has become very apparent. When deals boomed after the COVID pandemic, some junior bankers at Goldman Sachs complained that they were working more than 100 hours a week and were on the verge of collapse. M&A analysts at other banks voiced similar complaints and the banking industry responded by increasing junior bankers’ salaries and making sure juniors get some time off at weekends.

In 2025, however, long hours are still common. 75 hours a week are not unusual at big banks – especially American ones – and boutiques can regularly reach 85-hour work weeks on average.

When Leo Lukenas, a 35-year-old Bank of America associate died of a coronary artery thrombus last year, there were concerns that overwork and alleged 120-hour weeks may have contributed. Bank of America said Lukenas hadn't worked 120 hour weeks. But an external recruiter said Lukenas had been looking for a new job as his working hours were excessive.

The death of Jefferies associate Carter McIntosh was also suspected at the time of being due to "pulling crazy hours" - a later investigation showed it was a fatal combination of cocaine and fentanyl. The long work hours mean that drugs are rife in investment banking - Adderall is a popular choice.

Junior M&A bankers work so hard because M&A is a fast-paced job, and juniors will often work on multiple deals. Deal execution tends to be unpredictable by nature: it’s a live situation and a client-driven activity.

The work of pitching clients who might participate in M&A deals tends to be more predictable, but senior bankers will often ask juniors to make changes to the PowerPoint presentations advertising the deal late at night. But the hours aren't always extreme. “Working full weekends and very late nights may occasionally happen around a particular deal, but these hours are not the norm,” says the M&A head.

There are upsides. One Morgan Stanley banker tells us that “M&A analysts have the opportunity to manage their own time, and as long as the work gets delivered to a high standard, you have the freedom to fit the job around your personal commitments.”

What’s your career path in M&A?

One of the benefits of a career in M&A is that there’s regular and steady progression and a clear promotion path from analyst to associate, to Vice President (VP), to director, and to Managing Director (MD). The exact titles can vary between different banks. “Meritocracy is key to this path,” says Joe Hannon, head of UK mergers & acquisitions for UBS. The time it takes to reach the top rung varies, but as a (very rough) rule of thumb, it’s around 15 years… If you get there at all.

As your M&A career develops, your job becomes increasingly client-facing. The role evolves from being technical and analysis-driven to becoming strategic and advice-driven. 

M&A jobs offer a wide variety of exit options. Many graduates stay at banks for their two-year M&A analyst training program and then leave (if not even sooner) for jobs in private equity, hedge funds, corporate development teams in large companies, or even consulting firms. After completing an analyst training program, it was historically the case that people left to study a top MBA. Today, it’s more common to leave for another job or to stay in banking and become an associate.

M&A analysts are in very high demand. They are frequently poached by rivals firms and rival industries, such as private equity: as such, banks are going to increased lengths to prevent their juniors from leaving. JPMorgan, for example, recently told analysts that they are immediately obliged to disclose if they have accepted a job offer elsewhere. In return for honesty, the bank will fire anyone who accepts an offer elsewhere. Goldman Sachs, also recently, now requires analysts to swear an oath every three months that they haven’t accepted a job elsewhere.

Which skills do you need for a career in M&A?

If you want to work in M&A, you’ll need to be able to work autonomously. “M&A analysts are expected to get up the curve in terms of financial analysis and technical skills in a short period of time, and the role also requires a degree of independent and proactive work (for example reading broker notes) to stay current on the market environment,” a member of the global M&A team at Morgan Stanley says.

Alongside independence, proactivity, and having a desire to learn, M&A analysts need to be confident with numbers and have a quantitative mindset. They also need to have good people skills and to be able to communicate and interact with people confidently. Ultimately this is a client-facing job, and clients look to M&A bankers to provide their judgement and advice. 

Along with good analytical skills, a strong work ethic and a good attitude are essential. “A good banker needs to be committed to the job and the deals they are working on,” says Hannon, who also notes that a good attitude is vital. “It is essential to maintain a positive attitude as you are constantly interacting with others; a bad attitude could be detrimental to the whole team.” Hannon also says a sense of humor is important, although that probably won’t be enough on its own.

As an analyst starts to climb up the ladder, his or her career evolves in many directions. “This is a career that celebrates achievement by changing your role,” Goldman Sachs’ head of entertainment banking, Aaron Siegel, told Business Insider in June.

“As an analyst, you spend two- or three-years mastering modeling,” Siegel said. “As an associate, your task is to oversee the narrative of presentation materials. And once you master that, you are then moved into a new role whereas a VP managing projects and the day-to-day work with clients.”

After that, your life and career slowly begin to merge into one. Managing and developing client relationships is the name of the game. Siegel, who is a managing director, noted that he goes for a run in Central Park in the morning – if he’s up early enough – and uses the chance to call and catch up with ongoing projects in Europe and Asia. 

Education and qualifications for M&A

The fierce competition for M&A roles means that you need to maximise your chances of getting an internship. In all likelihood, that means forgoing your dream English Literature degree for something more analytical such as finance, or a STEM subject. 

A look at recent recruits in Goldman Sachs' M&A team suggests the most popular degree subjects for junior M&A bankers are economics, finance and business management. At JPMorgan, they include much the same thing. Some of the off-piste degree subjects include philosophy and foreign languages.

How else can you embellish your CV? If you’re in the UK, you might want to try the Certificate in Corporate Finance offered by the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI). The Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA) qualification, offered by the Corporate Finance Institute, could also help you out. 

You may also want to study for the exams run by CFA Institute. Historically, the three CFA exams, which lead to a CFA Charter, were used by people working in research jobs and the asset management industry. In the past few decades, the CFA has also become much more popular in areas like M&A, with junior bankers and students studying for the CFA Level I qualification to differentiate their CVs, successfully or not.

The other key qualification for achieving an M&A job has historically been a top MBA. MBA qualifications are usually open to people with a few years' experience at work. Historically, junior bankers would spend two years as an analyst before leaving to complete an MBA and then returning to work as an associate, but this process has changed: MBAs are no longer mandatory. Even so, MBAs can still be a way to enter an M&A job mid-career or to swap into a top tier bank.

Salaries and bonuses in M&A

M&A jobs pay large salaries and bonuses. Following complaints about working conditions, banks are now offering first year analysts a base salary of around $110k (£86k) before bonuses. Two or three years later, a first-year associate typically earns around $175k to $200k (£129k to £147k) in salary.

Another two or three years later, a vice president can expect a salary of $200k to $300k. And, if you make the highest rung of managing director (MD), salaries can be $400k to $500k. However, bonuses vary widely by performance. 

When you work in M&A, however, your pay isn’t just about your salary: your compensation also includes a sizable bonus. For M&A bankers, their bonus depends strongly on fees paid to the bank when the company it is advising completes an M&A transaction. Fees vary depending on the size and complexity of the deal, but a rule of thumb is that fees equate to between 0.5% and 1% of the value of the transaction.

When the proportion of the fee allocated to bonuses is shared among the team that worked on the deal, the MD who originated or won the deal earns the most. Bonuses at most banks are paid predominantly in shares, with a smaller cash element. Bonuses can be 80% of your salary as an analyst and many multiples of your salary as an MD.

Pay is typically highest in the most prestigious M&A boutiques like Evercore, PJT Partners, and Perella Weinberg Partners, followed by major US banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. Pay is generally lowest at mid-market firms.

Our 2025 Salary and Bonus Report suggests that M&A bankers at all levels earn average salaries of $195k and average bonuses of $229k. The table below refers to all investment banking professionals (both M&A and capital markets professionals). 

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)