Associate comp - am I market? What are you guys getting paid?

Curious what other associates are making in NY/SF. I’m an associate with ~4 years of experience post undergrad and am paid $130k base with a 55% target bonus so call it $200k all in.

not at a MF but large REPE firm. Probably average 40-50 hours per week.

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I work as an AM Associate for a GP in a Tier 2 city.

Work life is excellent 40 hours normal times and 50-60 during budget season.

Have 2.5 years of exp and have been in this role for 8-months.

Base is 90k with 30k Bonus. (120 all-in)

Got a 5k raise and expecting a higher bonus for next year. (135 all-in)

Array
 

FWIW, I also spoke to recruiters and tested the market myself in 2021 and know new associate 1s were being offered at least:

Blackstone: $300k (generalist acquisitions)

TPG: $350k (generalist both acq and AM)

Brookfield: $300k ($270k cash+~$30k carry; generalist acquisitions)

These are obviously 3 of only a handful of top shops that are aspirational for most peeps.

 
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This is the case because, generally, private equity firms with funds have more cash available to them. While developers can make huge amounts of promotes, they fees they generate as a nominal dollar value are just not as large as the fees a fund generates. 
 

For example, a $150M development might have a 4% developer fee - so $6MM over the 3 year build, or $2MM per year. The private equity fund seeding the asset as the LP may have $750MM under management, at 1.5% management fee is $11,250,000 per year in management fees. They might only have 10 people who work at the fund. What I’m trying to get at is there is just more money to pay people more at a fund because the fund just manages more capital so therefore the nominal dollars are higher. 

 

Seems pretty low to me for NY. I have 3 friends that exited from REGL groups with similar years of experience. All are in acquisitions/investment roles:

1. 3 years, ~300k all in (150/150) working for a new real estate arm of a UMM PE shop

2. 2 years, ~275k all in working for PERE Top 15 firm

3. 2 years, ~250k all in (significant upside in year 3-4) working for a much smaller fund that runs really lean and does opportunistic deals in a more niche sector

All work 60-70 hours. Based on the lifestyle, your pay may make sense, but id say 250k is market

 

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