Where the Sell-Side Is Hiring Right Now

Investment banking, research, institutional sales, and sales trading — late August 2026

Campus books and experienced-hire boards are both open. Ranked by current visible volume in investment banking, investment research, institutional sales, and sales trading, the five banks below are posting the most. Counts move daily. Use each firm’s career site for the live tape.

1. JPMorgan Chase

JPM is the volume leader on the junior IB side, with roughly two dozen intern and graduate banking seats in recent snapshots, plus a large Markets class. New York is the center of gravity. London, Singapore, and Chicago pick up Markets and coverage. Most ads are summer or full-time analyst programs, with associate seats in institutional equity sales and financing.

The split is execution plus distribution: sponsor- and ECM-adjacent banking on one side, equity sales, EM credit sales, and generalist sales/trading/structuring tracks on the other. That is a franchise adding revenue juniors, not only backfilling seniors. Desk-specific trader ads are thinner than the rotational Markets programs.

2. Goldman Sachs

Goldman leads the early-career S&T book, with about 18 intern and graduate Markets roles, and stays active in Global Investment Research and GBM. New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and São Paulo all show up. The mix is Markets-first: FICC and equities sales and trading, quant strats, structuring, sector research associates, and a thinner IB/capital-solutions slate.

Classic coverage banking is not the story. Quant, EM structuring, and research sit beside cash sales and trading. The work is electronic, structured, and research-linked. IB ads exist, but they lean solutions and derivatives more than generalist coverage classes.

3. Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley sits third on combined early-career S&T and IB/GCM seats. Institutional Equity is the core: cash and sales-trading, derivatives sales, QIS and structured sales, research associates, and GCM/IB summer programs. New York, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore are the usual locations.

Versus JPM, the book is equities-heavy rather than broad FICC. A large share of roles are associate seats that want product or client experience, not only campus generalists. Research and sales postings sit next to IED, which is how this firm turns research into institutional equity flow.

4. Bank of America

BofA’s public tape is experienced GCIB and Global Research, not a giant campus S&T class. A recent IB search showed about 20 coverage roles — associates and VPs in insurance, industrials, FIG, infrastructure, and consumer/retail — across New York, London, Paris, Sydney, Frankfurt, and Tokyo. Research ads name sectors and include strategist and VP seats.

Seniority runs higher than the JPM and Goldman campus lists. Hiring is coverage-specific, not generalist analyst intake. Sector research is still being staffed, which means the firm is maintaining the coverage map. Public sales-trading ads are thinner than the IB and research book.

5. Citi

Citi is the only name on this list that is clearly hiring across all four functions at once: IB summers and VP coverage, named equity-research associate seats, research-sales directors, and Markets sales-and-trading internships. New York and Hong Kong dominate. London and the rest of APAC show up in derivatives sales and research.

The book is barbelled. Campus Markets and IB programs sit next to senior research-sales and coverage VPs. Research hiring is sector-named — banks, internet, metals — which reads as coverage replacement. Institutional sales roles sit next to research, so Citi is staffing the layer that turns notes into client flow, not only originators.

To discuss any of these positions with a experienced financial markets recruiter please call 480-579-4557 or email Edward storm at edward@thestreetscoutllc.com

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