12 Comments
 

Could you provide more color on big SMs — what size / strategy / and AUM per head are we talking?

Also, at these funds do PMs / sr analysts get points in the GP or are they just paid discretionarily?

Are these still “attractive” seats (my definition: senior person making low 7 figures in bad year off mgmt fees and then playing for material upside — $10-20mm+ in great years) given high watermarks?

 

No one gets paid 7 figures in a bad year lol - you get your base and deferred comp and that’s it. Unless you are superstar threatening to leave and even then expect mid 6 figures max. I swear these super outlier hypotheticals give me cancer. There are like a collective 75-100 seats in total in the world at these large SMs that can offer 8 figure paydays on the regular and designing your career on these super tail outcomes is silly. Work hard to get a good seat at a fund you like and grind to get where you want and you should be comped ok- people expecting 8 figure comp days don’t need to ask on WSO.

 

Yes 7 figs isn’t that rare for semi senior levels in any finance discipline.

The question should be if you’re good and driven, where can you make multi 7 figures or beyond. And then the answer within finance is partner at an at-scale SM, a successful PM at tier 1 MM, or of course director level or above at a PE with nice carry.

Each path requires different skillsets and chracter traits to be successful.

 

Everything is possibly, if, you believe. 

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Sit animi eum ut deleniti. Adipisci in sed fuga blanditiis. Cumque qui exercitationem laudantium voluptatem dolorem quo. Eum veritatis eveniet repellendus ab quo omnis ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • Millennium Partners 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Blackstone Group 96.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 95.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.1%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.2%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.3%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $192
  • Analysts (240) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (28) $146
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
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...”