Workers are like stocks: with the best ones, any potential gains are often priced in.
That certainly was the case in recent years as executives shoveled out huge sums to keep "top talent" from defecting. Since 2006, profit at 35 of the country's biggest banks, brokerages and PE firms has plunged 25%, while compensation has surged 23%, according to a recent analysis by The Wall Street Journal.
Which begs the question, which firms are the best value investors when it comes to Wall Street talent?
We got our hands on the Journal's pay spreadsheet and crunched the numbers, comparing compensation-per-employee to revenue-per-employee. A firm that pays the most per capita should, theoretically, pocket the most revenue per capita. And this was the case with Blackstone Group and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group.
What we found interesting were firms like CME Group and Raymond James where there were large gaps between the two data points.
The numbers are skewed by one-time events and particularly hot business sectors, but roughly speaking here's who's getting the most bang for their buck this year:
Firm (Compensation Rank, Revenue Rank)
1. CME Group (26, 6)
2. Waddell & Reed Financial (34, 18)
3. IntercontinentalExchange (17, 5)
4. Franklin Resources (27, 17)
5. NYSE Euronext (21, 12)
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And all the way at the bottom of the list are firms paying the most in compensation for every dollar of revenue generated:
Firm (Compensation Rank, Revenue Rank)
31. Lazard Ltd. (5, 15)
32. Stifel Financial (25, 25)
33. Fortress Investment Group (3, 15)
34. Evercore Partners (9, 22)
35. Raymond James (15, 31)
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Write to Kyle Stock
Related: Making It Rain: Wall Street's Most Productive Workforces in 2010 | Making Bank: Wall Street's Most Generous Firms in 2010