I've been offered a job at a LMM PE firm.
(0YOE) Analyst: £50k base and 10% bonus
I'm a final year uni student and I don't know anything about working in the UK.
Is this a good offer? According to this post, it is in line with other LMM firms but I thought it would be best to double check. Thanks.
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Seems pretty low tbh
That's roughly half of what first-year analysts in IB earn
Would think it's on the low end but reasonable. In any case would not prioritize comp as a 1st year, get good experience and exit a few years in if you want to
Depends what else you have to go for but vs pretty much all other front office positions at any decent sized firm, you're being screwed. Your total comp is gonna be materially less than even the base of someone working in IB (55k Vs 65-70k). Not to mention total comp.
The base isn't really the kicker here - you can live with that, it's the bonus that's quite terrible.
If I was to take this role I'd want to understand, very well, 1) comp progression 2) WLB 3) opps to leave
Thanks for the response, I appreciate it. It seems like everyone agrees that I'm being screwed. Any idea what I should be looking for? It seems from this post that all analyst PE salaries in London are considerably lower than analyst IB jobs (especially LMM PE).
Fwiw, that post looked like complete nonsense to me based on the limited data points I have.
It's definitely not market pay, but a base like that is not unheard of in lower markets. Bonus seems ridiculous though. Doesn't sound right.
I appreciate the response. Would you say that this post is an accurate representation of UK pay? Seems like everyone agrees that I'm being screwed but this post makes it seem it like its decent.
Listen it's all situational: I had to whore around to help a family member get a place for his work sabbatical post-MBA with a totally random precision engineering background, full hail mary pivot into any PE that would take him in the UK of all places - zero leverage, zero real skills, zero connections, minus myself, perhaps not dissimiliar to a final year student.
Entrepreneurial LMMs are not going to drop 70-80k on people that don't know what they are doing. One anecdote was a guy raising a 100m first fund, he said 70k buys an analyst with 2-3 years of solid experience from a top school - that's where the market was earlier in the summer.
Another was an 80m shop soaking up qualified accountants with multiple years of experience in big 6 TS groups, but paying them like shit for the privilige of being in PE. The UK is a curious place where sometimes the lower market has extremely qualified but very unpaid people.
1.) If this is the only way for you to build a career in PE, you might have to do it.
2.) If you have a shot at getting into a large bank/ top consulting/ something with a better cachet you shouldn't do this gig. avoid this at all costs.
3.) If you can't get to a good place as I listed above, you need to consider getting a master's from a top university to allow you to beat the odds.
3.) Because once you become a downmarket guy, escape becomes very hard. I saw people getting burned with lower-market even though they went to funds with legit founding crews. Both sides of the pond. After a couple of years you become stuck.
4.) You need to understand that headhunters/ recruiters / junior-ish people sorting CVs, will be looking for cookie cutter backgrounds and will hate your profile. Especially if you actually work on a decent number of deals and build better experience than the juniors that are likely to interview you down the line.
5.) LMM almost always compensate either with bonus, carry or progression. If you intend to take it, you need to have the balls to fight for a bigger bonus.
6.) If you take it, you have to jump and leave fast so you don't become pigeonholed.
Thank you for your response — it’s great to hear your advice as I start thinking about the beginning of my career.
For context, the firm I’ve been offered to join is very entrepreneurial: it has fewer than 10 employees and has only been around for a few years, so make of that what you will.
Also, just to clarify, when you say 70-80k, are you referring to USD to GBP?
I’ll respond to your points in the same order as you presented them:
Question: What do you think about pursuing a master’s after 1–3 years in entrepreneurial LMM PE? What kind of exits would this open up — would it make sense for re-recruiting into BB/EB IB, or perhaps a more prestigious PE/buy-side firm?
4. This doesn’t sound particularly promising, but again, I’m not spoiled for choice. Based on my question above, would getting a master’s or attending business school afterward “reset” my profile?
5. I appreciate this advice. I will make sure to understand these points fully before accepting an offer.
Thanks again for the response.
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