eFinancialCareers’ global study of over 8,000 candidates and professionals ranks employers in economically critical financial services sector
- JPMorgan is the most popular employer among candidates and professionals, and the employer of choice for young professionals and people of colour
- UK firms are falling behind as the top ten employers become increasingly dominated by US headquartered companies who make up more than half of the top ten
- Private Equity is losing its allure, with no PE firms in the top 20 ideal employer ranking
- Compensation valued a lot by young professionals, with 42% ranking their ideal employer extremely highly for this category
JPMorgan is revealed as the ideal employer for candidates and professionals according to new research by eFinancialCareers, the global financial services careers platform. The American bank particularly excelled in the categories of ‘compensation’ and ‘career progression’ – scoring significantly higher in both than the overall average.
JPMorgan also ranked highest among entry-level candidates and employees starting out in the industry (those under the age of 25), as well as among people of colour. Both demographic groups valued the interesting work offered by the firm, with entry-level candidates also attracted to the career progression and perceived integrity provided by the employer.
JPMorgan tops the popularity leaderboard, with eFinancialCareers’ study revealing that US firms are now noticeably more popular than their UK counterparts. Among the top ten ideal employers, six are US-based (JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, BlackRock, American Express, Citigroup), while only three UK firms (HSBC, Barclays, Deloitte) made the list.
Table 1: Top Ten employers in Financial Services 2024-25
Source: eFinancialCareers, 2024 Ideal Employer Report.
The US dominates the rankings
JPMorgan has established a commanding lead in the ranking, with the gap in votes between second-placed Goldman Sachs being nearly five times larger than the gap between Goldman and tenth placed Allianz.
Overall, the US is solidifying its place as the top financial service employer, with a total of six US firms represented in the top ten, and large American banks outperforming even large European, Asian, or British banks in the popularity stakes.
The difference becomes even more pronounced when looking at the best perceived employers for compensation (Table 2), with only one UK firm present in the top 10 compared to five US firms.
Table 2: Top Ten employers for compensation 2024-25
Source: eFinancialCareers, 2024 Ideal Employer Report.
Looking beyond the top ten and at those who haven’t made the cut, like Morgan Stanley who dropped to 13th, this reflects the changing nature of financial services. With a stronger emphasis on culture and wellbeing, the United Arab Emirates have become a more appealing place to work, with native firms such as the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank being more popular as potential employers than previously.
Perception vs reality
While the overall rankings show clear winners, perceptions changed when employees had actually worked for the company. For instance, 90% of candidates identified BlackRock as their ideal employer, while 89% chose Goldman Sachs.
However, among employees who have actually worked at these firms, only 11% of employees from both Goldman Sachs and BlackRock still regard their employer as ideal. In comparison, HSBC and Barclays – both headquartered in the UK – show a more favourable perception among their employees. They scored 35% and 30% respectively among current and former staff.
Table 3: Ideal Employer Perceptions Among Candidates and Employees
Source: eFinancialCareers, 2024 Ideal Employer Report.
Private equity employers drop off the radar
While eFinancialCareers’ report last year had three private equity firms in the top twenty, no PE firms made the cut this year, reflecting the difficulties the industry faced over the past few years.
Despite this, private equity jobs remain one of the most competitive in the industry. Blackstone, the biggest alternate asset manager in the world, topped the popularity rankings (Table 3) but at the same time had an acceptance rate of just 0.27% to their graduate programme. Respondents particularly valued the company’s compensation, long-term career opportunities and the interesting work.
Table 4: Top Ten employers in Private Equity and Private Credit 2024-’25
Source: eFinancialCareers, 2024 Ideal Employer Report.
Peter Healey, CEO of eFinancialCareers, comments: “Financial services is a fast-moving sector where there is fierce competition between firms and across geographies. Our insights show the importance of compensation, culture, and employee wellbeing to the challenge of recruiting and retaining staff.
“As firms strive to attract top talent, understanding these dynamics will be crucial for future success. In particular, if UK firms want to continue to be competitive, they will have to ensure their offerings compete with leading institutions like JPMorgan.
“In the wake of the new Government’s first Budget and Mansion House reforms, the prospect of shaking up financial services regulation will create new challenges for businesses to get to grips with. It’s vitally important that businesses don’t lose sight of the importance of culture and career progression to candidates in the drive for innovation and growth.”
