Post-Associate Stint Comp Expectations
Currently contemplating what I want to do next as I am in my final year of my 3-year PE Associate program (following 2 years of IB). I know there are a lot of different routes people go at this point in their career (corp dev, corp fin, strategic finance, others) and I am staying pretty open minded, other than I do not want to get an MBA, stay in PE, or go back to IB.
I think there is a lack of good data for people to reference at this point in their career given the wide range of paths and outcomes, so was hoping to get some specific data points similar to other compensation threads (years out of school, role, cash + bonus + any stock options. I also think IB associates/senior associates who leave IB but don't go into PE would be helpful to see.
I'll start, since we just hired an ex-PE associate at one of our portcos.
3 years IB + 3 years PE = 6 years out of school
Corp Dev at a PE rollup (LCOL)
$120k base + 65k bonus = $185k TCC + pretty generous stock options
Hi Associate 1 in PE - LBOs, the silence is deafening, sorry about that.... Any of the threads below helpful?
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
Bump
Bump
Adding a data point, keep in mind no PE experience:
3 years IB + 4 years Corp Dev
Current comp: 150k all in. 100k base + 50k bonus
Have an offer for head of Corp Dev role at PE roll up: Target $300k total comp. $175k base + ~$125k bonus
Sounds low...you're basically the 3rd most important person at the company behind CEO and CFO
Edit: just saw your current comp and congrats on the big jump but damn that current comp is crazy low. Hope it is at least LCOL
This is not low based on my experience with hiring similar backgrounds into my LMM portco's. If this is a $100M EBITDA business, then yes, that is low, but if you're LMM $10M EBITDA roll-up, that would be in line if not high
What was the comp first year in corp dev out of IB?
Ignore headline not sure why that changed. It was low maybe $110k all in. Also, keep in this was pre COVID IB analyst salary bump.
I know a guy doing CD at a roll-up in a LCOL city. 4 years of transaction advisory experience at a Big 4 (no IB or PE experience).
Starting Comp:
Base: 100
Bonus: 75
TCC: 175
Damn, these comp ranges aren’t that high, doing roll-up CD probably has chill hours but after 6 years of experience and getting paid IB analyst all-in comp, that’s quite a pay cut
Agree that this would be a big pay cut for someone with IB experience.
I would be interested to see more CD data points for people with IB experience.
Are IB analysts really exiting to the same positions at the same comp level as people from big 4?
corp dev comp is huge huge scam
they somehow trick burned out bankers that making 100k base and 50k bonus after 5 years IB is ok
i used to work on the corporate non finance/deal side in corporate america. we paid HR girls 2 years out of school the same pay rate as some of these corp dev compm figures posted here. this was for roles where they basically coordinated interviews and made sure people got enrolled in benefits.
for the life of me why ex bankers are ok with this makes no sense to me. you are bringing a valuable skillset (M&A) that your own company will pay outside advisors 4 times as much as they try and pay you for basically doing the same role. no reason to do the same work as IB and get paid what 23 year old HR girls get paid.
now if you exit IB and do HR or public relations etc I get your salary will be different and thats ok. But deal work....yeah forget it.
As someone who moved to CD after IB I don't completely disagree with your comment but I think you are significantly discounting the other benefits working in CD offers.
1. There are some weeks I work 20 hours tops. If I want to go play an afternoon round of golf, run to the gym or spend the entire afternoon at a bar watching Champions League soccer I can do that pretty much 0 questions asked.
2. The work most CD teams do is still extremely interesting deal work. You can be at F100 CD team working on splashy front page of the WSJ deals or If you are at a sponsor backed company executing a roll up strategy you are directly responsible for the majority of value creation.
3. Not being in a client services role makes a huge difference. I used to dread getting data requests and question lists for prospective buyers that caused me to work until 2am pulling bs data knowing damn well this PE firm was going to ask for a ton of data then pass on the deal for the 3rd time in a row.
4. My days of meticulously formatting slides and worrying about the correct items being uploaded to the data room are way beyond me. Shapes and graphics don't line up its no big deal, font / colors slightly off ehh nobody cares. If I want to rip the whole presentation directly from the CIM nobody bats an eye.
5. CD still puts you in a position to make a very good living long term. Making $300 / $400k in a LCOL city is likely a $1 million dollar home and your kids are going to private school. This does not factor in equity which can be another a couple million.
So yes, the comp at the junior levels is dog sh*t and you are probably being paid in the same range as the 23 year old HR girl but I can guarantee you the 23 year old HR girl is not on the same career path as the CD professional who is on a first name basis with the C-suite.
Sounds like copium in some ways but I’ll take a stab - if I sacrifice some of the best years of my life to sit behind a computer and grind out ppt and excel, I damn well expect to be comped better both during it and after it than Becky from HR who goes to Wednesday happy hours religiously
People seem to really forget that Corp Dev comp is meant to be aligned with Big 4 and not IB...
1yr of ppt isn't crazy valuable. Acting like this is earth moving shit
Finally, someone who gets it
My comp as head of corp dev for a roll-up from 2019-2021 for a company valued at $400M (With $100M of debt on it):
Base: $180K
Bonus: $70K
Equity: 0.5% (Or $1.5M DAW). 50% time-based, 50% performance split 1/3rd each at 2.0x, 2.5x, and 3x tranches for the performance based portions.
Took home about $4M after tax during that stint.
What was your background prior?
2 Years at a BB, 2 Years at a MF
Wow that’s a great
Was the 4M your equity payout post tax? That's incredible, what's next?
Makes me feel good about my offer. 2 years of IB to Corp Dev. 120k base
My friend recently interviewed for bizops positions at startups (Series A - pre-IPO). 2 years IB + 2.5 years PE. He received offers in the ranges below:
Base + expected bonus: $140-180k (usually bonus was a pretty small portion of TC, <15%)
Stock options: approximate value as of latest funding round of ~$150-250k, vesting over 4 years (so ~$40-60k per year, although for earlier stage startups this portion of comp is more of a lottery ticket than anything else)
Depending upon on how much you saved, buying your own business is always an option.
Bump - interested in more corporate data points post IB or PE especially now at the end of 2023.
F100 Corp Dev / Strat - 180 base / 230k all in cash + 20-50K of options. 9-5 (honestly probably less) and fully remote with 5 weeks of PTO that you can actually take (including 2 weeks at a time) + ESPP and other benefits.
The best opportunities out of PE are $175-225K all in, anyone making less than that is underselling themselves. $300K+ all in for Corp Dev at a large corporate isn’t unreasonable either, but it is admittedly more rare. You have to have an extremely high bar for what you will take and network and apply aggressively though.
Are the options yearly grants or total at sign on?
Yearly grants. It's usually some combination of Options or RSUs. Our company stock has 5x'd since 2015, which makes me think that some of our senior people have done extremely well. Unlikely it continues to grow that way for me, but it does kind of highlight how much wealth can be created at large "boring" corporates if you have the right role, right comp package, right employer, and right time.
how many YoE?
2 years BB + 2 years UMM, now ~2 years into my current role. My comp right out of PE was ~190K all in before growing to my current rate after 1 year.
FWIW I feel like I’m actually relatively underpaid vs what I could get (friends in similar roles are at ~$300K cash), but being remote is worth that pay hit for me and I get so much time off that I can actually use (it’s treated as part of your comp package and it’s basically sacred / no questions asked whenever you want to take it). I also work in a great supportive culture (eg: nice normal people who I’d actually want to be like when I’m older) and rarely crack 30 hours a week in work, so being slightly under market is fine for me.
You guys leaving PE really need to make sure not to undersell yourself and find roles that recognize the value of the skillset you bring to the table. If you don’t, you’ll be paid and treated like someone with 4 years of fp&a experience vs someone with years working one of the hardest jobs out there.
4 years in IB (2 at MM & 2 at BB) -> corp dev. manager. 170K base 340K TCC. NYC. 9-6, no weekend work
Wtf...
? what's up?
Any advice on how to go about finding/recruiting for these opportunities? Interested in Corp Dev in NYC also.
I wish I can provide some insight. There is definitely luck involved
Quoted at around ~300k all-in for a strategic finance / corp. dev role at a start up. Have 2 years IB, 1.5 years into PE. Got through a personal connect though (old MD). Communicated that hours would be more on the intense side with the role likely touching across capital raising / M&A execution / general corp fin. / IR duties.
For those on the higher end (200-300k), what type of companies are these? The large, F500 type roles I've seen are starting much lower. Is it only worth exiting to startups and portcos? Is there any benefit to a larger established company?
I think the inherent difference is your F500 is pretty safe/secure, likely on the chiller end hourswise given the engrained corporate wlb culture. Start-Ups/PortCo inherently more likely to be volatile in both job security and hours, just my hunch but that seems like a reasonable explanation for the delta.
It’s def much lower comp for more junior positions in f500. That said, you should be looking for associate director / manager / senior manager positions and at pe portcos you can flex up one level to maybe director level. So basically don’t recruit for more junior positions and you will be paid more. Please for the love of god don’t leave PE for a senior financial analyst role in the fp&a department where you make $100K lol
I think manager level definitely works but senior manager / director sounds like pushing it at a larger corp. Is it worth prioritizing portcos for a better title or any other benefits of a large corp worth considering? Appreciate the stability mentioned from the other reply.
To add a datapoint - FP&A Manager reporting to CFO at a portco in LCOL
Only staff in "finance" department, help with treasury, M&A and help alongside business dev / commercial (2 man team) with corp dev and strategy
150K, 20% bonus, one-time equity grant (after working 3 months) ~500K (today) vesting over five years
6 years big 4 audit to manager, 2 years in current role
Super helpful. Similar role here but going on ~5 YOE & $130K base w/ 0 bonus & minimal options (company doing poorly). Is this tech? Sounds like you guys are in a pretty good spot if still paying out that strong of a bonus!
We fall under "energy, utilities, and natural resources" to put it broadly. And yes, we are doing well, made a small acquisition right as I joined and have since expanded our operations organically. Small divesture of a non-core business along the way.
When I had 5 YOE, I was making $90K TCC wrangling associates to test internal controls and finish tie-outs, so you're doing great!
Common thread here is that there is wide dispersion and you need to look extensively, network, and be choosy to find the rightly comped role - it's not necessarily tied to industry or stage or financial backing. Probably a fair amount of negotiating that creates noise in these numbers too.
Is LinkedIn / traditional job boards the best way to find the right opportunities? Are there headhunters that specialize in corporate roles? How have you all found these specific roles?
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