Too Late for Debt --> Equity?

Straight to the point - I've been on the debt side my whole career (7 years) ... hypothetically, would it be too late to make the switch from debt to equity, without having to drop pay and to a lesser extent, title?

Just got a promo to VP this past cycle and have a total comp package of ~$250k on a decent/good year. 

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I'm in your shoes, from what I have seen, if you make the switch, you will have to sacrifice pay at least initially. Specifically your base will be lower on the equity side even though your total comp may or may not be the same or higher. Be a little skeptical though about any promises, tons of stories about how promises and expectations on promote/carry/bonuses did not pan out the way people expected them to on the equity side. I am staying because of the higher base than what I am finding on the equity side (cannot beat guaranteed cash), stability, work life balance, etc. There is a reason you have tons of lifers in the space, it's a pretty good career in regards to comp and work life balance. Ignore the title on the equity side if you switch. Even if you are say a senior associate at Nuveen, on Linkedin you can just put Acquisitions at Nuveen and no one outside your team will know that you are a senior associate. Within a year or two you will get promoted to VP  and then update your Linkedin, it will then look like you were a VP all along when you switched jobs. Are you getting serious interest though from the equity side? Because if your competition is already from the eqwuity side (even if its from smaller shops), from what I have seen, they will have the edge. 

 

Appreciate the comment. I'm not actively applying but have in the past and got pretty far. But that was during my analyst/associate days and now I'm kind of wondering if the buyside is where I really want to be or if I am just interested in the unknown. 

As I get older, the less I actually care about what I do for a living, so honestly might sit back on the debt side and enjoy the lifestyle I have now and presumably will have in the future. 

 

Great insights. Any chance you could PM me? I'm currently in a transition and would appreciate some advice. Thanks!

 

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