Realistic Comp at L/S MM-style places?

I want to go the HF route after a 1-2yr banking stint. I want to do this regardless of any answers in this thread, but I wanted to ask this as more of a reality check. See a lot of discussion in this thread about PMs making high 7s-8 figures a year (how many of these there are I'm not sure about), but by the time you get to PM it's generally all in your hands at that point as far as generating P&L and getting a cut of it at these types of shops. I guess my question is, you join a MM style place when you're 24, and do pretty well and scale up gradually for 6-8 years. What can someone expect in terms of comp progression throughout those 6-8yrs pre-PM in a P72/Holocene/Baly/Woodline type-place? Piggybacking off this, would love to hear about relative turnover (HF is obviously horrible compared to any other job in finance) as well across the board--p sure Citadel is the worst but wondering about others.

I'm not trying to be tacky/sound arrogant with this post, but just trying to see if I get some real insight into planning for the future because I've seen numbers thrown around that are wildly different (i.e. anywhere from 200k to 3mm for positions under a PM). Not that I am aspiring to be average in this profession (if you do you're likely already toast) but I mean what's my expected value base+bonus income progression if you can stay with an MM-like firm for a good chunk of time and produce consistent work under a tenured PM who comps appropriately?

2 Comments
 

.. what are you going to plan for exactly with our responses?

Hedge fund life, esp at MM shops you mentioned, has a EXTREMELY wide range of outcomes

If you are good you will make a killing. If you can’t generate alpha you’ll job hop for a handful of years and leave the industry

I would focus on how much you’ll enjoy the job, how capable you might be, and whether you are comfortable with the level of career volatility you’d be underwriting

 

Recusandae qui numquam dolorum autem. Possimus eaque ab sint iste beatae rerum.

Odio ullam provident atque laboriosam ipsa et maiores nihil. Odio beatae quos quia voluptatem earum ipsam. Necessitatibus laudantium commodi porro sint ab tenetur facilis. Earum placeat sint nostrum alias quaerat cumque est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $355
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $193
  • Analysts (235) $177
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (277) $95
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”