Best Response

It's really hard to tell bc funds vary a lot in how they comp but let's work some numbers.

Assume $300 mm under management, 2% mgmt fee, so $6 mm just in fees. Let's also assume a 20% performance fee and a +10% year, so $30 mm gain in assets and the fund gets 1/5 of that, or another $6 mm.

So, $6 plus $6 gets you $12 mm of 'revenue'. Probably half of that is wrapped up in rent, computers, base salaries, and non-invesment professional staff, so there's $6 mm left for the investment professionals. I'll assume there are 10 professionals, which is 1 senior PM, and then you and everyone else. Senior PM takes a quarter, $4.5 mm left for the other 9, or average $500,000 each. If the average for these guys is $500,000, maybe average experience is 7 years, and you roughly double your total comp every 5 years, in your first year you should expect around $31,250, for total all in comp of $65,000 + 31,000 = $96,000.

For another reference point, Glocap's 2008 report (note the world has changed a lot since then) investment professionals with 1-4 yrs exp avg base was $126,000 and bonus was $166,000, but this is regardless of fund size, performance, or investment style. At 5-9 yrs experience, the numbers are $187k and $490k, total $677k, and 10+ years experience it's $221k and $765k, total $986k. This is where I get the 'double every 5 years' estimate.

All things considered I think total comp of around $100,000 or a little more would be about right for the first year at a small fund.

Hope that helps, and let us know how things go!

if you like it then you shoulda put a banana on it
 

At a small fund in your first year with no prior experience, you should set your expectations low. In my opinion, even 15% would be a nice bonus at this stage in your career. It's not 2007 anymore - consider that your peers who went into other fields may not get a bonus at all.

You work at a small business and your pay is totally discretionary. Considering that most likely you still represent an investment in training, you're not being 'screwed' at all if you're not paid much in the near term. The value of a foot in the door in the industry and the experience you're getting, which positions you to make multiples of what you do now in a few years, means you should be pretty happy with any bonus now as long as there's visibility into comp increases in the future.

Ultimately, market comparisons are kind of irrelevant because it depends entirely on your PM's generosity.

 

At a small HF out of undergrad, expect 15%- 25%, or all in comp 75k - 85k. I am sure you are thinking it would be more (i.e. IB makes more, etc.) but from everything I have seen this is not the case; Even at larger PE/HFs, out of UG pay is relatively low (by larger I do not mean KKR, Blackstone, etc.). Check the comp database for analyst with PE/HFs.

However, the work and hours are better than IB so there is a trade-off.

On the will your boss screw you, he already isn’t at 65k base, so remember that. Also remember to assume he will screw you on bonus. And finally, he may screw and then lead you on by bumping your next year comp to 95-110k all in.

 

Labore porro inventore perspiciatis et quaerat autem. Nulla facere aliquam vel pariatur blanditiis culpa qui. Nemo in iusto sequi modi dolorem aut. Natus veritatis quia ut doloribus quo sit nobis. Fugiat veritatis voluptas quos. Unde minus consequatur excepturi eius libero est omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 98.9%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.9%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.8%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.8%
  • AQR Capital Management 94.7%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 98.9%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.8%
  • Blackstone Group 96.8%
  • Two Sigma Investments 95.7%
  • Citadel Investment Group 94.6%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 97.9%
  • D.E. Shaw 96.9%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.8%
  • Citadel Investment Group 94.8%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (23) $474
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (6) $322
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (24) $287
  • Manager (4) $282
  • Engineer/Quant (71) $274
  • 2nd Year Associate (30) $251
  • 1st Year Associate (73) $190
  • Analysts (225) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (23) $131
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (250) $85
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”