$140 base w/ up to 100% bonus is a common comp structure... It varies fund to fund based on size, performance, employees, etc...

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 

I've seen 180-250 for MM PE, once you get to 250-300+ you get into megafund pay. But the whole designation of "MM" for PE is quite incorrect. This isn't banking. There are funds that do "smaller" deals than the megafunds and pay more than them. LG for example is extremely lean and not usually considered a megafund but pays more than most megafunds.

Not to mention I've seen some funds that give equity at the associate level and they can end up making as much as megafund associates if their fund does well.

 
SanityCheck:
But the whole designation of "MM" for PE is quite incorrect. This isn't banking. There are funds that do "smaller" deals than the megafunds and pay more than them. LG for example is extremely lean and not usually considered a megafund but pays more than most megafunds.

This is definitely true, Sanity. I have a few friends working at very reputable shops that are certainly not Megas based on AUM or equity check, but they pay very well because they have very lean structures...

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 
SanityCheck:
I've seen 180-250 for MM PE, once you get to 250-300+ you get into megafund pay. But the whole designation of "MM" for PE is quite incorrect. This isn't banking. There are funds that do "smaller" deals than the megafunds and pay more than them. LG for example is extremely lean and not usually considered a megafund but pays more than most megafunds.

Not to mention I've seen some funds that give equity at the associate level and they can end up making as much as megafund associates if their fund does well.

By LG, I assume you mean Leonard Green?

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
NorthSider:
SanityCheck:
I've seen 180-250 for MM PE, once you get to 250-300+ you get into megafund pay. But the whole designation of "MM" for PE is quite incorrect. This isn't banking. There are funds that do "smaller" deals than the megafunds and pay more than them. LG for example is extremely lean and not usually considered a megafund but pays more than most megafunds.

Not to mention I've seen some funds that give equity at the associate level and they can end up making as much as megafund associates if their fund does well.

By LG, I assume you mean Leonard Green?

I think this is Lindsay Goldberg, we worked with them on a couple deals.

 
highlylevered88:
what do tpg, warburg, apollo, bx, kkr, bain pay? i've heard some of them pay 350-400? is that true?

The numbers circulated on these boards are typically extremely inflated, and then confirmed to be accurate by college kids and other individuals with no basis for authenticating these numbers.

Most, if not all of the mega funds pay well south of $400k. Just do the math, a top ranked 2nd year analyst makes about $180k.... absolute top of the street. For him to go from 180 to 400... means hea making more than he would in banking if he skipped 4 years.

The disparity in banking to PE comp is significantly more meaningful as you move up through the ranks in PE. At a megafund, first year you'll make $250-300k, that's still a fuck load more than you'd make had you remained in banking. Top HF is a bit higher, call it $275-350.

People see a high water mark and tend to make that the norm, cuz it sounds a lot cooler. Case in point I know someone who made $550k their first year at SAC cuz he did really well and his group his really well, but that package is clearly not the norm. Now suddenly I'm hearing 1st years at SAC clear over $500. Not true.

 
Marcus_Halberstram:
highlylevered88:
what do tpg, warburg, apollo, bx, kkr, bain pay? i've heard some of them pay 350-400? is that true?

The numbers circulated on these boards are typically extremely inflated, and then confirmed to be accurate by college kids and other individuals with no basis for authenticating these numbers.

Most, if not all of the mega funds pay well south of $400k. Just do the math, a top ranked 2nd year analyst makes about $180k.... absolute top of the street. For him to go from 180 to 400... means hea making more than he would in banking if he skipped 4 years.

The disparity in banking to PE comp is significantly more meaningful as you move up through the ranks in PE. At a megafund, first year you'll make $250-300k, that's still a fuck load more than you'd make had you remained in banking. Top HF is a bit higher, call it $275-350.

People see a high water mark and tend to make that the norm, cuz it sounds a lot cooler. Case in point I know someone who made $550k their first year at SAC cuz he did really well and his group his really well, but that package is clearly not the norm. Now suddenly I'm hearing 1st years at SAC clear over $500. Not true.

Kind of a given on these boards - I usually discount numbers by 20% or take the lower end of the range because there's so much variation, etc.

 
Marcus_Halberstram:
highlylevered88:
what do tpg, warburg, apollo, bx, kkr, bain pay? i've heard some of them pay 350-400? is that true?

The numbers circulated on these boards are typically extremely inflated, and then confirmed to be accurate by college kids and other individuals with no basis for authenticating these numbers.

Most, if not all of the mega funds pay well south of $400k. Just do the math, a top ranked 2nd year analyst makes about $180k.... absolute top of the street. For him to go from 180 to 400... means hea making more than he would in banking if he skipped 4 years.

The disparity in banking to PE comp is significantly more meaningful as you move up through the ranks in PE. At a megafund, first year you'll make $250-300k, that's still a fuck load more than you'd make had you remained in banking. Top HF is a bit higher, call it $275-350.

People see a high water mark and tend to make that the norm, cuz it sounds a lot cooler. Case in point I know someone who made $550k their first year at SAC cuz he did really well and his group his really well, but that package is clearly not the norm. Now suddenly I'm hearing 1st years at SAC clear over $500. Not true.

Funny thing is, I recall you were one of those people making posts that the pay is around 300-400k-ish a few years back based on a few guys you knew. Always interesting to see how people evolve.

 
highlylevered88:
what do tpg, warburg, apollo, bx, kkr, bain pay? i've heard some of them pay 350-400? is that true?

Apollo pays $400+ (know someone there), but they are a HUGE outlier

Most megafunds are 250-300 all in.

LG = probably lindsay goldberg. they pay like 300 which is on the high end

 
AstonMartin:
highlylevered88:
what do tpg, warburg, apollo, bx, kkr, bain pay? i've heard some of them pay 350-400? is that true?

Apollo pays $400+ (know someone there), but they are a HUGE outlier

Most megafunds are 250-300 all in.

LG = probably lindsay goldberg. they pay like 300 which is on the high end

Apollo does not pay 400k+. Atleast not as a 1st year pre-mba.

comp is 140k base + 100-150% bonus.

 
State of Trance:

I can confirm most if not all of the mega funds pay in the range of 250 -325 all inclusive as a 1st year pre MBA associate.

Are people generally joining these funds straight out of undergrad? Or would 1st Year Pre-MBA generally include a couple years at a BB Investment Bank?

 
SuitUp7:
State of Trance:

I can confirm most if not all of the mega funds pay in the range of 250 -325 all inclusive as a 1st year pre MBA associate.

Are people generally joining these funds straight out of undergrad? Or would 1st Year Pre-MBA generally include a couple years at a BB Investment Bank?

LOL. You think people are jumping into $250k/yr+ jobs right out of UG?? Of course, this is after two years of banking.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 

Totally agree with the inflated estimates of carry or shadow equity. My package is worth around $400k if you count shadow equity at $1 per $1 (which could be the case, but it won't be paid back in full for like 5 years). My offer is for $250-300K cash + ~$100K (shadow equity + retirement/etc.); I don't want to be too specific, as private equity comp numbers are pretty firm-specific. That being said, until the first year's bonuses are paid, I will not be living significantly better than I do right now. Regardless of specific numbers, as people say over and over again, associate comp should not be the deciding factor for a given offer. The difference in experience/lifestyle/deal type is easily worth more in the long run than the incremental $50k or so.

 
TheSquale:

Do you know if numbers are about the same for REPE ? (about 200-250k I mean).

It doesn't matter what industry you're investing in, what matters is AUM. Larger firms have more management fees to work this and thus pay higher salaries.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
Best Response

I have managed associate recruitment for years (large MM) and have worked with each of the reputable pre-MBA search firms, each of which have given me stat sheets of associate comp (1st, 2nd, 3rd and sr. associate level, but i'm really focusing on 1st year in this post) at all of the well known PE firms as well as many that you guys probably have not heard of.

Also, having spoken to some of my buddies at other well known PE shops, i can confirm the numbers are correct.

These numbers do not include carry. Also, the low end i'm giving is salary + low end of bonus range.

On the megafund side, the pay is a large range, but on the low end around $275K and can go as high as $400K depending on what firm, group within the firm, and location.

Large MM ($5bn+) is a little less but still pretty good. $200K is the low end and can go up to $300K. Average is probably closer to $250-$275K.

Lower MM ($1bn to $5bn) can go as low as $175K and tops out around $275 but the average in this set is probably around $225K.

Keep in mind the pay obviously varies by location, but the above should be a good basis.

 
PEguy2011:

I have managed associate recruitment for years (large MM) and have worked with each of the reputable pre-MBA search firms, each of which have given me stat sheets of associate comp (1st, 2nd, 3rd and sr. associate level, but i'm really focusing on 1st year in this post) at all of the well known PE firms as well as many that you guys probably have not heard of.

Also, having spoken to some of my buddies at other well known PE shops, i can confirm the numbers are correct.

These numbers do not include carry. Also, the low end i'm giving is salary + low end of bonus range.

On the megafund side, the pay is a large range, but on the low end around $275K and can go as high as $400K depending on what firm, group within the firm, and location.

Large MM ($5bn+) is a little less but still pretty good. $200K is the low end and can go up to $300K. Average is probably closer to $250-$275K.

Lower MM ($1bn to $5bn) can go as low as $175K and tops out around $275 but the average in this set is probably around $225K.

Keep in mind the pay obviously varies by location, but the above should be a good basis.

Any idea on 500MM ~ 1B MM PE comp?

 
PEguy2011:

I have managed associate recruitment for years (large MM) and have worked with each of the reputable pre-MBA search firms, each of which have given me stat sheets of associate comp (1st, 2nd, 3rd and sr. associate level, but i'm really focusing on 1st year in this post) at all of the well known PE firms as well as many that you guys probably have not heard of.

Also, having spoken to some of my buddies at other well known PE shops, i can confirm the numbers are correct.

These numbers do not include carry. Also, the low end i'm giving is salary + low end of bonus range.

On the megafund side, the pay is a large range, but on the low end around $275K and can go as high as $400K depending on what firm, group within the firm, and location.

Large MM ($5bn+) is a little less but still pretty good. $200K is the low end and can go up to $300K. Average is probably closer to $250-$275K.

Lower MM ($1bn to $5bn) can go as low as $175K and tops out around $275 but the average in this set is probably around $225K.

Keep in mind the pay obviously varies by location, but the above should be a good basis.

Any sense on growth equity guys like GA, TA, Summit.

 

$500-1B has such a wide range for comp... more so than any other size bracket and location plays a much bigger part compared to larger funds. Some funds don't pay very much due to their small size whereas other funds will pay up because they want to compete for the talent. I've seen some that pay as low as $150K all-in and others that pay up to $250K.

 

I'm at a smaller fund (~$400M), and my all-in is ~$160-$170K. It was admittedly less than I believed I'd be getting in PE, but as PEguy2011 mentioned, it's a bit of a crap shoot with the smaller funds.

 
PEguy2011:

gekko's right, for those 3, would expect between $250k and $300.

GA and TA are ~$250k. Summit is significantly less (just under $200 target all-in).
When one man, for whatever reason, has an opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.
 

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