Goldman, KKR or Paulson: Which Is Most Prestigious?

This year, our annual Banking Survey (which is being administered now to professionals at 75 investment banks in North America) includes a couple of new questions. One of which has to do with finding out, once and for all, which finance firm is the most prestigious place to work in the Western Hemisphere.

That is, for the first time in a decade (which is how long we've been surveying bankers and rankings banks) we're asking professionals to rank, in terms of prestige as employers, the top investment banks (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, etc.) against the top private equity firms (KKR, TPG Capital, Carlyle, etc.) as well as the top hedge fund firms (Paulson & Co., Bridgewater Associates, D.E. Shaw, etc.).

Will the the kings of investment management (even though some of them, such as "Big Short" Paulson, are in the red as of late) beat the banks? Or will Wall Street (despite the continual court dates, less than stellar earnings, and layoff rumors) lay claim to having the most desired employer in North America?

We'll be releasing the results to this question, and scores of others, later this summer. So stay tuned. (And, stay cool: RealFeel just hit triple digits down on the street called Wall).

(Vault: Banking Employer Rankings 2011: Prestige)