Ducera Partners: The elite boutique where associates earn up to $650k
Saw an article on efinancial careers today about Ducera's ridiculous comp for Analysts and Associates.
Worked across from these guys on a restructuring 2 years ago but have heard they are doing a lot of M&A and SA right now given the lack of activity in the RX market.
Can't post the article link in here for some reason on here but the article said comp is:
- Analyst 1: $110k base, $215k - $230k total comp
- Analyst 2: $125k base, $210k - $270k total comp
- Analyst 3: $140k base, $310k - $330k total comp
- Associate 1: $200k base, $430k - $490k total comp
- Associate 2: $225k base, $560k - $590k total comp
- Associate 3: $250k base, $620k - $650k total comp
We make more at FT PARTNERS
commemorative coins are priceless
Dang. Tons of semi-target & non-target on LinkedIn too.
Edit: I dont go to a target
RIP target kid
I'm guessing they attract lots of non-target hustlers willing to work their asses off because they believe money will solve all their problems.
Who hurt you
From my understanding, one of the partners/founders came from a non-target and cause of that they like to open themselves to non-core schools. Not to say they don't take targets but they like to pride themselves as a firm that finds diamonds in the rough. Smart people that may be overlooked because they don't have as polished of a background. Honestly I got a culture vibe close to the HLRX group.
Not sure where this comment is coming from, HL RX is very very focused on pedigree, analyst class is always 50% Wharton, and rest is like one kid max from MIT/Duke/Uva
…
nah mid
How does one break in?
Would either CS or Accounting be applicable to breaking in?
Or MBA?
More resources / other threads on WSO to answer that question.
Lmao ask anyone at Ducera what fresh air has looked like in the last six months
Heard this place is hell on earth. Anyone have insight into hours? and if this comp is real?
Heard the comp is real
If the comp is real, Id expect the hours to be worse than a Temu sweatshop
Some of the the heaviest hours across any bank on wall street. Once spoke with an employee there who has since left because he couldn't bear the workload. He mentioned that juniors were always in the office with hours during the busiest weeks around 120-130 hours/week.
the guy who moved to jef?
I met a guy who left Ducera after 2 years to go to a shit tier bank as a 25 year old 3rd year analyst. I was shocked that he said he was an analyst because he had massive bags under his eyes, was really thin, and his hair looked like it was thinning out. I would've pegged the guy as in his 30s. Banking drains your life and Ducera does it the most.
So guys in 30 have thin hair and bags under their eyes? Ok then
It's the age-old tradeoff between money and being able to have a life. Some people don't mind taking 3-6 years of shit to make sure they're millionaires before they're 30 whilst others (myself included) would rather have half the money for half the hours.
Ducera's WLB is really bad. Case in point, A Ducera analyst lateraled to a pretty sweaty group at JEF for better WLB.
They've also been doing a bunch of O&G work over the past couple of years.
Ducera is super sweaty. Knew a summer analyst there who gained legit 25 lbs during his internship. He turned down $230k comp as a first year and lateraled to a middle market instead.
Expect to sell your soul to make the incremental coin
I am not saying your friend didn't gain weight but, I am calling BS on 25 lbs - 1 pound of fat is approximately 3500 cals. Over 10 weeks that would be ~1,250 cals a day - if 14 weeks ~900 a day.
That is about equivalent to either running 7+ miles a day and then stopping
or drinking a 6 pack of beer everyday
I am guessing that there is some split of less working out and an increasing bad diet - but 25 lbs is just a lot.
1200 isn't a lot bro. If you started treating yourself to a shake & cookie from Shake Shack to get you through til 2AM+ every night then ur done for
Not that hard to eat a lot lol if you've ever lifted or been an athlete you'd know how easy it is to put away 4000+ calories in a day easily and still be hungry
Have an alumni there, can verify they do very interesting deals and have solid pipeline. Rainmaker MDs, but culture is super cutthroat and horrible. No talks about pay, but based on how he treating himself, they should do alright.
Honestly if they have a sweatshop culture then ok fine. But if they have a cutthroat culture I don't see the appeal for making $50-80k more.
I know a guy who left after only a couple months because it was so bad. Mind you, this was not an analyst, but a mid level role. Sometimes comp just ain’t worth it.
Would be interested to hear the reasoning - anyone mid-level in IB knows what they are getting into, especially with a small shop, so have to imagine that sweatshop/hard charging environment wouldn't have been a reason to leave.
Anyone know how supportive they are of buyside recruiting?
They have had historically solid exits. sent 1 person to EQT, brigade, king street, KKR credit and 2 to HIG. Most exit to SS or distressed shops. But heard they are not supportive of buyside recruiting.
will they sponsor a Canadian?
Friend of a friend worked there. Comp was very high and they had great things to say about the culture. Tight-knit group that works and plays hard
Works hard plays hard. Classic
"Work hard play hard" is code for sweatshop haha. If you hear that in an interview, run away
Actually heard multiple times during my FT partners interviews lmao
How can you play hard when you're working all the time?
How does this differ from Apollo?
seconded. Heavy on technicals and long hours but high comp with interesting deals (passionate people about RX from what I've heard).
Good to know, thanks. Nontarget background getting in, what would be relevant?
Find it funny how people on here go into IB then complain about the hours..what are you expecting? Understand the mid/low tier firms (rayjay, piper sandler, baird, etc.) don’t get great flow/prestige at the deal level but why go into finance if you’re not willing to work the hours?
Greater question…but why is our generation so SOFT and not willing to work hard?
Maybe they like the work but don't want to work crazy hours? Why does working in finance have to mean working x number of hours?
Agree - huge difference between 85 and 110
Found the guy whose entire personality is his job.
Had a friend there for two years. He became a shell of his former self - was constant 9-3/4 6 days a week. The light in his eyes was dark and only came back after he left.
Banking can obviously have tough hours, but Ducera is a notch above. Sure that sticker number looks great, but there’s a real trade off for it (i.e. your life).
Would strongly advise starting at another firm and test the waters if you have it in you. I’ll take the odds you’ll take the Analyst comp and WLB at another firm over Ducera once you realize $150-$190k p.a. with 80hrs on average is a whole different story than 90-110hrs and whatever they pay.
Comp is real, place is hell on earth. The type of place where MD is 35 and super smart, but also totally bald and looks 50 yo, and will push you to
borderline brain stroke daily.
This is the 1st thread I've seen where the guys in IB are valuing their own WLB at 80 hours a week.
Yeah as others have said - while the comp sounds good (is almost twice what I make now as a MM PE associate) is it worth completely destroying yourself for?
You might immediately say “yes” but let me ask you this - even if you are the money-hungriest guy in the world, do you really want to take the risk you’ll burn out after 2 years and swear off banking forever? As let’s be honest - in this career your best earnings are massively back-ended (at VP/Director/MD level). So if you want to make banking a long-term career, then you could be well advised to go to a non (or at least less) sweatshop-oriented place - think of your career as a marathon, not a sprint (unless you’re a robot you won’t be able to sprint for 10/20/30yrs straight trust me!)
On the other hand if you want to absolutely maximize your comp in 2yrs and then get out, might be worth going for. But bear in mind after taxes it won’t necessarily be as much as you’re hoping for (and like I said certainly not enough to offset the massive delta of earnings over time between you in a $150k corporate development job vs an IB VP your age making $500k+)
That’s just my personal take though - to whoever is in a sweatshop right now, I say good luck (you’ll probably need it lol)
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