1st Year Mega Fund (MF) Associate Compensation

Hi,

I've heard various numbers thrown around for all-in first-year associate compensation at a Mega-Fund like KKR, TPG, Silver Lake, or Apollo. I've heard anything from $250K to $400K. Can anyone help me pinpoint a realistic expectation?

Thanks!

Starting Salary for PE Analysts

While the starting salary varies from firm to firm, mega fund associates can expect to make between $200 k - $300 k.

Madden_Arps - Private Equity Vice President:
This is for Summer 2013 Starts:
  • Apollo: $140k base + $125k stub
  • Bain: $115k base + $175k full year
  • Carlyle: $105k base + $175k
  • KKR: $100k base + $175k
  • TPG: $110k base + $70k stub
  • Warburg Pincus: $125k base + $125k

User @big unit", a private equity analyst, shared what the overall compensation will be for associates over 2 years working there:

big unit - Private Equity Analyst:
Over the two years in a standard associate program at a MF (after completing 2-3 years of investment banking), you can expect a range of $600-$750 total comp over that time. Bases range from $100k to $150k.

2018 Private Equity Salary and Bonus

Check out the Wall Street Oasis 2018 Private Equity Salary Guide for a more updated salary overview for the PE industry.

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Funniest
notthehospitalER:

I saw someone in here (on an MBA offers thread) say they are going to D.E. Shaw post-MBA with a guaranteed base of $400,000 and I believe (could be wrong here) a bonus of 100-500% of base. That being said, I'm that's the exception rather than the rule.

lol you got trolled hard...
-MBP
 
Slash-Finance:

This is for Summer 2013 Starts:

Apollo: $140k base + $125k stub
Bain: $115k base + $175k full year
Carlyle: $105k base + $175k
KKR: $100k base + $175k
TPG: $110k base + $70k stub
Warburg Pincus: $125k base + $125k

Can you explain the stub? Is it for July - Dec?

Is 140k + 125 stub comparable to 140k + 250k full year?

 
parvenu:
Slash-Finance:

This is for Summer 2013 Starts:

Apollo: $140k base + $125k stub
Bain: $115k base + $175k full year
Carlyle: $105k base + $175k
KKR: $100k base + $175k
TPG: $110k base + $70k stub
Warburg Pincus: $125k base + $125k

Can you explain the stub? Is it for July - Dec?

Is 140k + 125 stub comparable to 140k + 250k full year?

Apollo pays first year associates $390k?? fuck me...how do I get a job there

 
Black Jack:
Slash-Finance:

This is for Summer 2013 Starts:

Apollo: $140k base + $125k stub
Bain: $115k base + $175k full year
Carlyle: $105k base + $175k
KKR: $100k base + $175k
TPG: $110k base + $70k stub
Warburg Pincus: $125k base + $125k

Is TPG meant to be 70k or is there a 1 missing?

It says stub, which I assume means the 70k is from summer to year end 2013. So it's probably like a 140k annual bonus.

Apollo definitely does the stub thing because it's not a two year program, but I'm surprised TPG does that.

 

70k stub means you get 70k after 6 months to normalize you to a year-end schedule since you start in the summer - so 140k pro-rated in TPG's case assuming those numbers are correct

most of these places do the same thing regarding stubs, even some of the ones that don't have a stub noted on that list, and in most cases, first years all get the same bonus since it's too soon to really base things on performance at that point

 

I've put this on a couple threads but in case it helps, here you go:

2012-2013 Holt – Thomson Reuters Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report: http://career.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/docs/2012-2013_holt_thomson_reu…

What you're looking for: Large LBO/Growth Equity Associate Salary 50%: $125K Salary + Bonus 50%: $200K Salary + Bonus + carry 50%: $210K

The mean obviously skews higher than the median numbers above.

"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."
 

Hey @big unit - I believe that would be for a pre-MBA associate, which falls in line with a few PE associates I know that just left banking. Most fall in the $115K-$125K base + 100% bonus potential.

From numbers I've heard around my network, I'd assume a post-MBA Mega Fund salary would be something on pages 67 or 69 of the report (senior associate / VP comp).

For those the all in 50% comp at a large LBO shop is between $303K - $476K

One thing no one here seems to be talking about and that report don't discuss is co-investment ability. A good friend of mine had a basic associate comp but had a $200K line of credit from the fund to co-invest in deals. He put $25K-$50K into each deal he worked on at little cost (just the interest on the LOC). Well, he doesn't even work there anymore and one of his $50K co-investments just got acquired for a 5X! Talk about a nice Christmas bonus for a from a firm you left over a year ago...

"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."
 

How does this coinvestment work? Is the loan recourse only to the equity? Or you have personal liability? And is it a loan to lever some of your own money or is it not required for you to put your money on the line and just have to fund the interest.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

You should expect >$600k over 2 years as a pre-MBA associate at a MF. It's very likely that the report posted above doesn't include any of the MFs and as such provides a sample heavily skewed towards MM funds.

Firstly, the "partial" list on p.12 doesn't include any megafunds. Secondly, looking at p.15, the LBO/Growth Equity (Large) bucket includes 18 firms. The 75th percentile for overall AUM in that bucket is $3bn and for the latest fund it's $1bn, so there's max 5 LBO firms included in the entire report investing out of funds larger than $1bn or with overall AUM >$3bn. The average AUM is $2.2bn, so the total across all of them is around $40bn. I'm not aware of any megafunds with AUM below $15bn, so the average should be a lot higher if any of them were included. Same thing with the latest fund size (total sample of $17bn when most MFs have funds >$10bn).

Also, the associate numbers are post-MBA, so you should instead be looking at the senior analyst numbers as per p.65. Based on p.73, these are: $90-100k Base $150-175k Base+bonus $150-195k Base+bonus+carry

I think this is on the low-end even for a MM fund, but it might just be because HIG is included. Those guys work on minimum wage.

 
WallStreetOasis.com:
highlylevered88:
Anyone know what megafunds (BX, TPG, Bain, Providence, Carlyle, etc) are paying this recruiting cycle for incoming Associate hires?

definitely some recent compensation data for these firms in our Company Database.

^best answer, the database has company, salary, interview, etc info and it's ALL new (2011+)

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!
 

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