HF Analyst Base 2026
Highly interested in pursuing a hedge fund career, but the immediate backdrop in pay is prohibiting an immediate move, and provided I'm in my mid-late 20s, may full-stop the pursuit.
Is there any hedge fund that pays $175,000 for a first year analyst coming of out of IB?
Believe most reputable shops are at $150,000
Assuming comp looks something like the below...
First Year Analyst: $150-300
Second Year Analyst: $155-500
Third Year Analyst: $160-900
Etc...
Comp for these funds still is very unclear, less a few threads with data points that may be top performers.
Majority of info is outdated or interns, if available at all
Lol
unlike banking (or even PE) base comp isn't really standardized though some firms "catchup" to the perceived market rate if you negotiate enough (if they are under market). It's not really the industry to join if you're worried about comp volatility and a short term step down in comp...
SMs are more dispersed... anywhere from 150k to 250k depending on AUM/YOE/performance... some outliers that are under/above that range as well. No yearly bump as you get in banking... your base as a jnr analyst at an SM in most cases be the same as your snr analyst, PMs might make slightly more in base
MMs may be relatively more standardized... maybe someone else can comment on this but IIRC balyasny had the highest base ~225k(?) when I was recruiting.. though I didn't focus on MMs so someone else can comment here
Certain LOs pay upwards of 200k base, but I can only confirm that for a certain T1 LO. Again, slow rise in base/nothing yearly
what's more important is the probability of getting a good bonus year in year out... requires hard work from you and stars to align as well (good enough AUM + fund level performance + not a stingy PM/CIO)
Don’t know whether the $225k at BAM is valid or not, but even if so, that would not be given to a 0 YOE IB hire. OP is going to get $150k base unless he finds a sympathetic MM PM (unlikely given no leverage) or lands at a good SM (unlikely given general low probability of this happening)
Indeed, you shouldn’t consider HFs at all if you are griping over $25k in base pay lol what is this poor judgment
The poor judgement is high student loans, expensive apartment, and going into the red with a salary deduct of $25k
It’s just not HFs work. It’s all bonus or bust.
Sooooooooooo…… you still have lots of student loans and living in an expensive apartment? Probably adjust your spending first
This is the right answer.
What makes you want to pursue a career in HF?
public markets
This job is stressful as hell even when you're wealthy. Trust me, you don't want to be doing this if you're going to be concerned about covering next month's rent.
To answer your question directly: probably not. And I’ve worked at 2 of the 4 multi managers. You get a salary bump w seniority but there’s a cap too. And that cap is low.
As a follow up, do they cover your health insurance?
Cover as in what, pay for it 100%? No they don’t. Cover as in they offer coverage? Well of course, this is America. My fund pays for 75% of health insurance premiums though, which means I spend less than $5k per year for full coverage for my wife and me.
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