Top Growth firms comp out of undergrad
Just wanted to get a thread started on comp at the analyst level (out of undergrad) for growth equity firms. Seems like it is asked a lot so an organized thread would be very useful. All of this is from previous threads/online. Please add more in the comments if you have information or if my reporting is wrong so I can update.
Insight Partners: ($85k base + $75k bonus + $10K signing bonus)
Lead Edge: $100K base + $75K bonus + carry (up to $220k)
JMI Equity: $125K
Spectrum Equity: $90k all in
Volition Capital : $90k all in
Kayne Anderson: $115K all in
Lead edge doesnt pay that much, source:close friend works there
I know that base is less than 85, i think its 80, and with bonus i think could be all in around 110, as you mentioned though carry can be huge, depending on if you source a good investment can be almost 2x your annual take home, depends on tons of outside factors though so obviously dont bank on it
Know someone going there as well. Due to the most recent fundraise (added $1b to fund which is now at $3b) and small investment team, they’ve increased base/bonus. Base is 100k, bonus is 75% I believe. There is also phantom equity. 1st year all in can be upwards of 200k.
I was surprised as well - guess that’s what they do
Carry is the 20% of profits that the GP gets. That carry is split among the mid-level & senior investment professionals.
To make things simple, assume a fund makes $100M of profit (excess return).
1. The PE firm would get 20% of the total profits, while the LPs get the rest. So $20M remaining.
2. Now assuming that a VP has 1% carry, the VP would earn $200K ($20M * 1%) of carry from the fund.
3. That $200K is subject to various vesting schedules and terms, so you're unlikely to get it all at once. For example, it could vest over 5 years, meaning the VP will be paid $40K in carry every year for 5 years from that fund.
The actual carry pool and percentage of carry for an employee will vary from fund to fund depending on size.
I don't know if this is true, but I could see lead edge paying a lot because it's a cold calling factory. They have to incentivize people to go there :)
aren't all of these firms a lot of sourcing at the junior level?
it's at least 50% sourcing at all the top group equity firms at the analyst level. You generally get to work on the deals that you source, so there's already incentive for that. Sourcing is definitely more than cold-calling tho, it has to do with understanding your segment well and maintaining relationships with all the top prospects in the market. I think Summit is smile and dial tho, so basically a call center. Would avoid that.
Mostly cold-calling and emailing. Once you get a meeting set-up with the founder/ceo, you would ask about the story, operational metrics, valuation, strategies, what you would do with funding, etc. It's actually quite interesting as you get to talk to company management, ask the important questions, and make the decision if you should push it to the VPs/Partners to do further diligence. Most of the work is sourcing at the entry level as "Intern in IB" mentioned; however, if you source the investment you are a part of the full due-diligence process (valuation, operational work, business dev, etc) and there is a potential to get a board seat if the company is small. Source: interviewed there and know someone. Regarding pay - the team is ~15 investment professionals managing around $3b, hence the higher comp.