Dodge and Cox Compensation and Culture
Question: what are the hours of top LO firms like D&C and what is the compensation and trajectory from post/MBA (year 0) through 20 years on the job? How do your responsibilities over a career at a place like this evolve?
Context: I am at Harvard / Stanford for my MBA after MF PE. I burned out of MF PE because of process work, hours, and culture, but found it interesting and liked the comp.
Situation: Have a conversation with someone at D&C coming up about working there. I have a general idea of how publics work but only considered L/S before. Before the conversation I would like to know if I should entertain LO insofar as whether or not it ticks the boxes for my compensation and culture desires.
Thank you!
Hello! I think LO is actually a really solid option. I work at a large LO in public equities as well
Hours: I work ~50-55 hours per week on average. Could be as low as 35 (August and December), could be as much as 80 (earnings season).
Trajectory: Largely up to you. You'll be fairly independent on the job; it's nothing like IB where you have an Associate sitting right next to you as an Analyst turning comments. Starting off, you may be supporting another analyst or a PM, or may be given your own coverage of a stock right away. After this, you can continue either covering stocks for your whole career or becoming a PM.
After 5-6 years is when most companies allow people to manage their own funds, but I know D&C has the various committees for their funds instead instead of single PMs for each fund. I don't know how that works at all, so I would inquire with the person you're talking to about career progression based on getting on a committee. That said, many industrywide remain analysts for their whole career shifting or maintaining coverage and can make considerable upside if you do well on the job. So even if your title doesn't ever change, you may still hit 7 figures (although this admittedly is increasingly rare). If you get on a committee, I'd say you have a pretty solid pathway to 7 figures.
Backgrounds: Most people in this space at D&C and similar firms come from one of HSWCC. Everyone at my current firm who recruited into equity this year came from Harvard. IB + PE + HSWCC is the plurality in my firm, but not even remotely the majority. Many also came from SS ER, S&T, L/S, and Tech PM, with either SS ER + Tech PM + HSW or S&T + Tech PM + HSW being the next most common pathway. But again, anyone can be an analyst. One of our top analysts (likely makes well into the 7 digits) is an ex-Lone Pine MD whose whole job when he joined was quite literally to only cover Meta / Facebook, Apple, Netflix, and Google / Alphabet.
Culture: In terms of culture, my company is fairly supportive and friendly while still being no BS. It's the polar opposite of the sharp-elbowed investment banks of NYC while still demanding intellectual rigor and investment prowess from every one of its employees. Overall, I'd rate my firm's culture as one of the best in the entire sector. However, other well-known top players do not maintain this kind of positive culture. I don't know how D&C works, but I think this is really important for being able to stay in this space long term.
If you have any questions for me or my experience in LO, feel free to reply or DM me.
Generally, things work similarly across big LOs. They focus on the long-term (longer hold periods, less portfolio turnover) and that means long-term retention of employees. That means supportive cultures and less MF churn and burn, fast money culture because they want people to stay. You'll find many career analysts at all these shops where they've spent decades there. Comp won't ramp as fast as MF PE initially, but over the long-run 20+ years, you'll be better compensated as you become a partner in the firm. There are questions about passive taking share and difficulty beating the market, so comp could look different further in the future.
Everyone entertains LOs after talking with them because they really market the lifestyle, work, prestige and opportunity well. There are so few spots available and that's alluring to people in and of itself lol.
Good comments above me. I have the same background as you and decided on LO (think Capital/Fido/Well/TROW) post b school after a lot of conversations and soul searching. The day to day is so much more fulfilling than IB/PE, I love it
Comp is generally $300/350 out the gate which was a haircut for me, but ramps quickly into mid 6s and can get to 7 figures in 5-10 years. Analysts will generally tap out in the low 7s, PMs can make as much as mid 8s (but very rare). Note this is only for the top LOs, comp will be materially lower elsewhere
Analysts can start managing money after ~3yrs and senior analysts can manage billions. This was an attractive piece of the LO vs L/S decision for me. The other key factors were a) there are a lot of investors with different styles to learn from, b) very long leash for young investors - I can’t imagine working at a place that doesn’t let you make and learn from your mistakes, c) stability - I was deciding between one of the tigers / tiger-likes, and watching them implode this year made me appreciate the longevity of the big LOs, d) resources and access to management, e) ability to think and invest long term
The key to ask yourself is how much you value autonomy and how well you’ll be able to deal with public markets stress. If you answer “a lot” and “I think my temperament is suited for that” - this is the best job in the world
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