Secondaries PE Comp – Base, Bonus, and Carry
Hi Monkeys,
Given all the buzz around Secondaries on the forum lately, it’s surprising there’s no consensus or clear data on comp for these roles. I never knew much about the space and confused it with vanilla FoF, but am now looking at it as a legitimate potential exit. Hoping to gather some insights to help paint a better picture.
If you have some data, please report :
- Title & Year of Comp Data: (e.g., Analyst 2023, Associate 2021, VP 2024, etc.)
- Base: $
- Bonus: % of base or $
- Carry: DAW, Structure etc.
Would appreciate any datapoints—whether from GP Led, LP/GP split, even secondaries advisory — to get a clearer view of the landscape. Thanks - hopefully this can shed light on the space.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s a breakdown of Secondaries PE compensation insights:
Base Salary:
Bonus:
Carry:
Work-Life Balance:
For more detailed data, you can explore the WSO thread on Secondaries compensation here: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/data-average-priva…</a">Secondaries/Coinvestment Compensation.
Sources: Data: Average Private Equity Compensation and Carry from Associate to Managing Partner, Secondaries Comp / Culture in 2023, Data: Average Private Equity Compensation and Carry from Associate to Managing Partner, Secondaries/Coinvestment Compensation, From Private Equity Associate to VP in Private Equity
Bump
That’s carry you received as an associate? What do you expect cash TC to be?
I received carry when I joined as an analyst. Small / lean fund. Expect total comp around $170. If we get some exits could scale significantly. We have a shorter fund life. I am OK with indexing more to economics than cash comp. Staying forever if I can given the good lifestyle.
1. Assoc 2, 2024
2. 140
3. 170
4. na
1. Analyst 3, 2024 @ MF
2. 140
3. 160
4. NA
Would be helpful if people can mention latest fund size as well
Incoming An1 @ MF NYC
Base 110k Expected Bonus 60-100%
Carry N/A
Would be helpful to also see average hours worked
Averaging 50 with a couple very chill weeks throughout the year and some busier weeks around reporting or when big deals overlap.
Disregard Title
An1 in NYC $85k base Probably 50%bonus 70-80hrs
Sounds awful.
1. VP 1, Generalist fund
2. $200k
3. $250k
4. $2m DAW
Hire me?
Still interested to hear figures from others.
1. VP 1 (now VP 2)
2. 200
3. 300
4. $2.0-$2.5 (can't remember the exact math anymore)
5. fund size is $4-8B
i feel underpaid given the amount of money we manage, but that's life...
What kind of firm is this? Seems a bit low for VP ?
a secondary firm....
Although curious how much higher a VP1 should be making in your opinion (not saying I disagree, I'm curious how much I'm underpaid.
Wow very healthy for Secondaries imho - how are hours/stress?
really? I would have thought that's low. What would you expect a VP1 in secondaries to be making?
Still feel underpaid given that associates at banks have higher base salaries than I do though...
Good WLB IMO. I can really manage expectations at this point given that I've been here a while and know what needs to be done. Of course, if we're going to IC, writing the memo can mean longer hours but only going to final IC 2-4 times a year
Is there typically senior associate before VP?
most places yes. ICG appears to go from associate to VP in 2 years. I am crazy jealous of this.
I’m on the advisory side and these numbers really make me question if buyside would ever be worth it…
What is comp like on the advisory side?
I made 230k TC as an AN3 last year with base bump to 175k as an AS1 and expecting min $300k TC but I’m sure it could be higher since things are going well. I’m not even at one of the top shops where comp is most certainly higher (for a meaningful hit to WLB). It seems like the only places that meet / exceed these numbers are the MFs. For VPs it’s pretty much just M&A comp assuming your at a shop that performs… not to mention people getting guarantees with the fight for talent.
Have been in some process and spoken to recruiters for non-MF shops and TC target for AS1 has been in the 175k-225k range which is a hard haircut to stomach… maybe with a few bps of carry it’s worth it but not many shops offer that.
1. VP 2
2. 250
3. 250
4. $4.0m
size of fund?
$5bn+
Any figures for LDN and if possible on the advisory side at boutique PCA (i.e. Cambell, Rede, Asante, MVision etc)?
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