Bear Stearns: Latest Job Openings, Reviews and Ratings & Profile wise Salary Distribution

Bear Stearns Careers & Info

Former CEO’s: Alan Schwartz, James Cayne

Status: Defunct

Bear Stearns was formed in as an equity trading house in New York City in 1923 by Robert Stearns, Joseph Bear and Harold Mayer. The company grew stronger throughout the 20s and 30s; it survived the Great Depression without losing any employees and opened the first branch office in Chicago in 1933. The company opened additional domestic and foreign offices over the next decades and went public in 1985.

Working at the Bear Stearns provided employees exposure to the financial industry and a diverse array of products and services. Business included mergers and acquisitions, fixed income sales, trading and research, futures sales and trading, foreign exchange sales as well as asset management, custody services, and private client services for individuals, companies and government institutions. The Bear Stearns culture was fast paced with opportunities for growth and success, but often included overtime and long hours. Before it’s sale to JP Morgan Chase, the company employed more than 15,00 people throughout the world. Recognized as a top company and one of the “most admired” securities firms, The Bear Stearns benefits and compensation packages were competitive with other large firms. In turn, the company had a selective hiring process that screened for top talent with extensive background checks and interviews.

Along with other institutions involved in the subprime mortgage crisis, Bear Stearns became heavily leveraged with worthless assets by 2007 and lost investor and lender confidence. The company faced legal actions – including arbitration claims and civil lawsuits - from investors; some senior members were arrested and charged with fraud, but later found not guilty. In 2008 the Federal Reserve provided a $30 billion loan to JP Morgan to buy Bear Stearns for much less than the company’s market value.

Many employees of Bear Stearns were laid off after the acquisition by JP Morgan. The Bear Stearns careers included jobs in finance and accounting, asset management, investment trading and legal, as well as administrative, technical and customer service positions. Similar opportunities exist with JP Morgan, a large and diverse organization that employs more than 200,000 people and operates in 60 countries. They provide excellent benefits and special employee services like backup childcare, maternity and paternity leave, and discounts on gym memberships, cars, cell phones and computers as part of employee benefit programs.

What jobs pay the most at Bear Stearns?

Senior Managing Director is the highest paying job at Bear Stearns at $256,000 annually.