Would you sell equity in your future earnings (carry) for upfront cash today?

One of my favorite topics is income share agreements whereby students finance their tuition by essentially selling equity in their future earnings (e.g., entitlement to X% of salary for Y years with a >100% cap on the "principal" of the "loan") instead of taking on traditional debt.

It made me think about this question: would you sell a future portion of your earnings for some of that money upfront today?

Please do not consider any questions of gaming the system (e.g., I sell myself on being a PE MD, take the money, then go work at McDonalds). I don't think that's in the spirit of the conversation. but I do otherwise welcome any discussion on the logistics of how this would work.

For PE professionals, the benefit would be achieving liquidity early on when the balance of PE earnings come from locked up carried interest. This would effectively allow you to bring tomorrow's earnings into today, for a price.

Potential questions would be: At what price would you be willing to trade future earnings for present earnings? How do you value potential future earnings given an uncertain professional outcome in investing?

7 Comments
 

I'd sell 100% of my future earnings for 10 mil, short the company that bought them, then not work for a while. Once the company goes under, my agreement is void and my shorts are through the roof. Work smarter not harder monkeys 

 

Looked it up. Seems like you are right, except in this case, my argument wins every time. Those are just the rules

 

Quaerat aut voluptate sunt molestiae ex autem iusto optio. Ducimus deserunt aut voluptates aut. Alias ullam ex et eligendi. Voluptates eveniet quam hic laboriosam corrupti id. Quae a dolorem expedita ab necessitatibus necessitatibus voluptatem.

Voluptates ipsa quam repudiandae vero quaerat nulla iusto. Adipisci consequatur quos qui officiis quod. Ea eos dolore odio quo omnis neque. Quam ut facilis cumque voluptate. Laborum veritatis perspiciatis praesentium. Praesentium possimus quae magni.

Velit atque harum dolores rerum sint quibusdam sint. Ut mollitia voluptatem occaecati expedita. Consequatur reprehenderit a nihil quaerat soluta. Non magnam delectus eos neque in. Fugiat sequi dolorum saepe natus et ea.

Quae pariatur nihil nihil ipsa. Saepe eius minima quidem quidem. Alias qui eum in. Eius laudantium ab unde qui veritatis. Aspernatur harum eius cum animi. Praesentium optio quo dolorem dolor sit eius. Optio quia pariatur et fugiat minima suscipit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.2%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (236) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (274) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (40) $79
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (357) $61
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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”