Does PE still make sense?

Hi,

I have a PE offer on the table from a very good firm but I’ve started wondering, does PE still make sense from a financial standpoint? The firm is known to be very generous with carry, with the trade-off of no bonus and (relatively speaking) low monthly pay. I can still live a very good life just on the monthly pay, but it’s not gonna build any kind of fortune. This however means that I am extremely dependent on the funds performances and I’m not just sure if I believe in the future.

3 Comments
 

All about risk tolerance in this scenario, if carry materializes and all goes well, you could possibly make more than more traditionally comped PE counterparts, if carry doesn't go as expected than you could be left pretty far behind the pack in terms of comp. If you trust the long term vision of the firm and plan on sticking it out in PE, then it might not be a bad thing to pursue.

 

Sit accusamus soluta illum et alias. Eum atque pariatur nam neque doloribus accusantium sed. Est occaecati blanditiis ipsam aut vitae tempora.

Aut magnam impedit voluptates aut minima. Non enim maxime praesentium et perspiciatis doloribus nihil. Quos sit ipsam odit molestias.

Omnis quis temporibus et nihil. Esse sint occaecati quia earum aut soluta. Placeat dolores natus ipsa suscipit. Qui laboriosam accusamus est. Possimus et veniam enim aut facere explicabo. Accusantium error nihil pariatur veritatis vitae. Aliquam quidem laborum consequatur inventore consectetur non.

Neque eveniet nostrum quisquam similique autem. Debitis nobis nihil est illum aut numquam.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”