Saw the HF thread started so thought I would kick it off for the long only guys here.
Strategy (Firm Type / Asset Class / Scale): Boutique LO equity shop, $1b+ AUM/IP.
Buyside Experience: 7 YOE, third year with this firm
Total 2025 Comp (Base + Bonus): $425k ($200 base + $225 bonus)
Total 2024 Comp (Base + Bonus): $350k ($200 base + $150 bonus)
Notes / Performance: Really good year for the fund and my picks. Top quartile performance and beat the benchmark by a mile. Comp grew as expected and should continue to scale. LO is a great place to be but this year showed how limited the upside is without formulaic payouts.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's a breakdown of the 2025 LO AM bonus thread you referenced:
This aligns with the general sentiment in WSO threads that while LO roles offer stability and strong comp, the upside is often capped compared to hedge funds or other performance-driven structures.
Sources: L/S vs LO from a non-monetary perspective, LifeCo Positions on the Equity Side, Breaking into buy-side equity research - my experience, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/elite-boutique-consensus-associate-compensation?customgpt=1, Charles Aris 2015 Strategy Consulting Compensation Study released
Very curious to see this thread fill out, LO pay at the mid level ranks is clear as mud these days.
congrats on getting 2x bonus! Would you say your firm is one of the more generous or more performance oriented LO?
may I know how large is your fund roughly? and do you guys have a culture for bonus to be tied to performance?
I'm just curious what's the bonus max potential for people staying in LO long term? Discussed this with a few friends, seems to get the feeling LO bonus will cap at 2x, but obviously I have very limited sample size
From my sense of talking to others at other funds, I think mine is slightly more performance oriented, but only after a few years of being within a tighter range.
AUM in the range of $10B-$100B. Trying not to dox myself.
I would disappointed if max bonus potential is not much higher than 2x
bump
Given you are at a MFO, I'm guessing the advisors keep most of the economics. How does your firm balance priority/economics between advisors and investment personnel, assuming they are not one in the same?
that Q is above my paygrade, in general whoever has the relationship has the leverage though, but good investment results is definitely helpful for relationships
In LO land, roughly what AUM constitutes boutique vs large cap (Wellington, Fidelity, etc)? Or is it more about firm structure?
Happy to be corrected, but would think megacap would be 500bn+ and maybe scaled but not megacap would be 100bn - 500bn? There also seem to be a long tail of 25bn smaller long only funds that have some institutional anchors and maybe 5-15 IPs. Just my observations as an outsider
IMO it might make more sense to classify based on revenue, since it makes a difference whether you're mostly a vanguard with 500bn charging a few bps versus an LO with 50bn and 1% fees.
Approximately above 3bn revenue I think you're a large player, and below 1bn you're boutique.
I'm a bit surprised to see the salaries be lower than estimated. I'm not all too familiar with the base and bonus structure of LO AM, so I'd love some clarity, but what is the typical pay progression from landing (post 2-yr IB) to where you are now and above?
I've always thought that at ~7-10 years, you'd have $500k USD + consistently in base and bonus, but the numbers are far more varied than I initially thought.
Id say it takes a 4-6 years to get an analyst seat (sometimes longer). Once an analyst at one of the >500b funds you can expect to start around 300-350k TC. Progression from there is opaque and non-linear but I would expect 50-100k step-ups per year depending on performance.
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to add my data point, okay yr for us (boutique lo). comp in the range of $450K. 5+ yoe
How big is your shop?
Bumping in the new year for visibility.
I have 8 yoe: 3 SS, 3 small LO, 2 large-ish LO
I was 380k this year, 270 base 110 bonus. This is the same comp as last yr pretty disappointed but was a bad yr for perf. Hoped to not flatline this early in my career but o well.
Damn. Fund size?
LSD $b
Outsiders,
What's the rough fee structure on the fund? 1% flat? Or 1% + 10% performance on the alpha capture above the index? Or institutional clients so 50bps flat? I am unfamiliar with where boutique long-only fees are these days.
$1b per IP is a lot of capital, your comp numbers seem low (and you're not the only one).
Mostly flat fee on AUM. Also mostly institutional money so average fees are between 50 and 100bps. Not bad business if you can get it.
There is a lot of money in the bonus pool. The PM keeps most of this but analyst pay can scale up for a long time. Think 20%+ annual comp growth for a lot of years. This has been the case with more senior guys on my team so my PM has a track record of paying guys that perform.
It's a good business. Look, your numbers are still a bit low considering it was a really good year for your picks and the fund. But if there is a good chance pay continues to step up consistently for many years, then I'd stay.
what do you think comp should be for LO fund analysts at various levels of yoe
let's say 3-5 yrs vs 6-8 vs 10+ yrs of exp?
Bump
Large LO >10B, NYC
5YOE, 3YOE on buyside
2024: base 95, bonus 75
2025: base 110, bonus 75
Positive performance on my coverage but firm performance was mixed
Am I underpaid?
Seems very much so
Depends. Are you an analyst or an associate?
These seem in-line with some of the numbers I see thrown around for associates but are materially below market for post-MBA analyst seats.
Started as Asso for one year then was promoted to analyst with own coverage/carve. No MBA. Definitely been disappointed with comp
7 yoe: 3 SS, 3 BS
>$20B Family Office
305k all in: 175k base
Wildly disappointing - recruiting now
Damn, how are the hours? If this is career track, the lifestyle may be difficult to replicate elsewhere.
40 hour week, max job security
Large LO >30B
7YOE, all on buyside
2024: base 145, bonus 180
2025: base 155, bonus 195
Firm performance wasn't all that great this year so can't complain.
LO fundraising at a > 1B/IP boutique:
2024: 150k, 60k bonus
2025: 170k, 65k bonus
Would you guys say it's normal for LO to have bonus exceeding 100% of base?
I'm in the market exploring now, but see all the job posting seem to have a base cap of $185k (rarely 200k) even for 10 years of experience... that doesn't stack up with $500k total comp unless bonus will be more than 100% base? i.e. when job hunting, I should ignore the base as that's not indicative of anything?
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