Comp Negotiation - L/S Equity at a Pod
Getting close to an offer at one of the platforms (C/P/M, etc.) and wanted to see if anyone here has experience negotiating guarantees / comp structure.
Background: I’m ~2 years into my first buyside role at another platform. My PM recently left for non-performance-related reasons, so my non-compete has been waived. My current platform is trying to re-pod me, but while that process is ongoing I’ve also been interviewing externally and am getting close to an offer.
Last time I negotiated comp, I was coming over from the sell side with no real buyside track record or leverage. This time around, I’d think I have a bit more negotiating power given the experience and circumstances.
Main question is how people typically negotiate guarantees at this level. Is it usually framed as a guaranteed first-year bonus, minimum total comp, sign-on / make-whole, or some combination? How much room is there realistically to negotiate?
Part of the motivation is that, after seeing how quickly things can change when a PM leaves, I’d prefer to reduce income volatility for the first year or two if possible.
Would appreciate any datapoints from people who have made similar moves, particularly at the larger multi-manager platforms.
While I unfortunately can't answer your question, can you tell us more about your first move from the sell-side and how those negotiations went? What was the package like?
I unfortunately can’t answer that — still in the sell side. Can you talk about your experience in ER?
Thanks
It really is all about leverage. Unfortunately, I don't think you have as much leverage as you think. People negotiate guarantees when being poached away i.e. they have max leverage because they are not necessarily looking for a new role. You don't currently have a seat. You really have no idea who else they're considering. The hiring party presumably knows this and is therefore unlikely to be incentivized to negotiate much with you.
Getting your first year comp guaranteed (at least a minimum) is possible, and as prior poster said it depends on how much leverage you have (not much?).
2nd year guaranteed, no chance.
Yeah i would think a reasonable bonus floor for 2027 similar to your last bonus year in comp. This is just to compensate you for your ramp up time and non compete period. All of the big numbers you hear about are for more senior hires being poached off good years.
If they sense you are unemployed/close to being unemployed your leverage is pretty much zero unless you have another offer in hand for higher. They are still likely to give you some year 1 floor just because with non-compete period, ramp-up etc you wont even have time to make money.
You are reading way too much about comp packages for senior analysts if you’re asking this question seriously. Like what, you don’t even have a PM, why would there be a make-whole in your package lol. At 2 YOE, you have zero leverage. Unless your strategy is very esoteric and your PM was 1 of 5 on the Street running it. As others have said, you should ask for a first year total comp minimum guarantee. You will likely be laughed out the door if you try for much more than that. Not sure why you think your “circumstance” is favorable to you? You are seen as basically not having a job currently lol
This is the real answer.
Above upvoted comments seem good. From my time in this business and my experience with HF people until you have something concrete in writing, there is nothing to negotiate. You seemingly should be focused on making money in the stock market or whatever instrument you trade/play. I don’t think they are hiring a lawyer with negotiation skills and they probably don’t want one for this. Anyway, if you are so focused on the 1 year guarantee and such, it’s probably a losing bet for the employer since they make most of their money in the other years and all these MMHF are institutional platforms investing in their businesses for the long term.
Maybe I’m misunderstanding. Sharing some thoughts to hopefully sharpen your thinking. Good luck. I hope you get a great offer when all is said and done and print a ton of money. Cheers
Separate but appreciate thoughts from commenters on this thread -- How about if negotiating title? I want to ask for an Analyst title instead of Sr. Associate. IB+PE and had a corporate stint for a little while. Now returning buyside. Staying silent on comp though.
Same with above concept. If you have an offer in writing then maybe there is something to talk about. Get an offer. Assess it. If it’s a good deal take it. If not then you can say no or renegotiate or whatever. Hoping this helps. Good luck.
Thank you
There is zero chance you get an analyst title if it’s your first investing role. Analyst means you’re fully ramped on coverage and able to make money from day 1 essentially so no way you’re getting by an analyst seat for first investing role.
Totally see how it's different to HF but did PE for 3 years post IB in the same sector, so it wouldn't be a first-time investing role. J/W given clicking around LinkedIn most 2+2s start as Analyst titles at MMs. Thanks for the input
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