Dec 14, 2021

2021 Private Credit Year End Comp

Title speaks for itself here, but I am hearing some bonkers comp figures from friends in private credit. Some firms seeing 2022 comp up 30-40% with up to a 25% salary increase at the Associate, Sr Associate, and VP level. Lot of fees generated this year for comp.

Let the anecdotes begin

206 Comments
 

Would a 15% - 20% increase in total comp be considered bad given the busy year? 

 

What I mentioned is the highest level I had heard. Based on a massive database that Litquidity put together, private credit comp is up an average 17% on average and 15% median at the Sr. Assoc./ VP level. So no, I wouldn't consider that "bad" at all. That's on market. 

Life is more than dollars
 

any chance you could drop ur username so I could PM you? Also a senior with similar job

 

I'm at a pension fund. Base is 140K and minimum/target bonus is 40% for a senior associate for what its worth

hours are also about 50 a week

 
Most Helpful

I can't speak to those details, as I've never worked for a BDC. However, I can say that you're comparing apples-to-apples. BDCs can be public or private, but they are mostly affiliated with private credit funds. For example, Oaktree Capital has several different BDC funds. I shared a link below from Monroe Capital's website (another example of illustrating the differences in fund types to prospective investors), but they are effectively the same work.

Business Development Company (BDC) Funds Overview | Monroe Capital LLC

 

At some of the larger firms you're not necessarily working "for" a BDC, it's just another vehicle to place assets. 

 

Diversified private credit 

AN2 last year - 215k

AS1 this year - 250k

AS2 next year - guided to 280k 

 

$500M AUM non-NY/SF/LA, but very lean team with 5 investment professionals. 1st year VP.

$170k salary/ $170K bonus with 7-10% raise TBD. 4% carry hasn't hit yet. The pay bump is below market but it's a pretty nice gig with solid upward mobility and a great group of folks. 

Life is more than dollars
 

Interesting data points on this thread. I received MF Credit offers and was guided to ~$300k all-in for Associate 1. This is not for special sits/distressed groups, but for capital structure flexible groups doing mostly sponsor financing. No carry or co invest, but total comp seemed to scale nicely YoY. Would like to see some Senior Associate / VP numbers as well.

 

Do MF Credit teams solely recruit from IB for associate roles? Interested if it would be possible from an analyst role in private credit with flexible mandate to get to a MF Credit team and what that process would look like

 

Many places? Which shops are these? I’ve only seen one that would consider hiring an associate with 1 year’s experience.

 

You're not wrong. Golub Capital senior associates raised to $175 base, got a midyear bonus of ~$50k, hoping for at least 1x bonus.

 

Also - any information on VP comp would be helpful as well. Had heard that ASO 1 base comp was raised to $160 on another forum. Maybe wrong - $5 bump in base per year from ASO 1 to Sr. ASO doesn't sound right. 

Array
 

LMM Distressed Debt / special sits Private Credit fund. Around $750mm AUM, should hit $1bn when new fund closes this year. 

Associate 2 on the Portfolio Mgmt side

Base: $140k

Bonus: $75k

Should be promoted to Senior Associate towards the end of 2022 which would include pay bump and carry. Probably a bit on the lower end of the comp spectrum but I usually work around 50-55 hours a week (occasional 65s during crazy periods). Fund is growing at quite a fast pace and we charge 2/20 so hopefully carry is meaningful.  

 

This is not an optimal comp: hours ratio. You can move to the investment side at MM shops and easily clear 175/175 salary/bonus as a VP with some carry. 

Life is more than dollars
 

Thanks for all the feedback, folks. Following up on a recent post, I submitted all datapoints given to me to the LitCap Survey: 

Hey - I submitted all these results to the LitCap survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ShxNiwyMepwNVkLYvVpXH6IkAEQ5k6G…

There were too many Anon submissions so it made the most sense here.

My 2021 figures: Salary and bonus up 9%. A little disappointed considering the big direct lenders increase comp 15-20% with bonuses up 20-40%... however, I am at an opportunistic fund and we focus on junior capital and didn't deploy as much capital as the direct lenders... So goes life. 

Cheers

Life is more than dollars
 

In my experience, this is pretty in line with non-NYC year 1 VP at a smaller AUM shop. Bonus % of salary is a little higher though, so congrats!

Life is more than dollars
 

For reference - signed with an MF firm earlier this year (one with a more pronounced PE platform). Associate 1 offer is 150 + 150 target. Was told that most credit firms made a killing last year so target bonus stretched from 100% to 110%-115%, although this firm in particular tends to rewards top bucket performance with an extra 8-10% on the YE bonus anyways. $300 all-in is now market for MF firms - those were my expectations going into recruiting and turned down an offer from another large player that was offering ~250. 

 

Cum quo magni ea incidunt voluptatem architecto. Quis mollitia hic aliquam est accusamus. Nam tenetur voluptatem laudantium deserunt soluta ex.

 

Molestiae quasi assumenda fuga sit voluptatibus suscipit. Quaerat vero sunt dolor doloribus id. Et qui sed quisquam sed corrupti id mollitia. Laboriosam enim consectetur exercitationem aut quia reiciendis. Accusamus ea quod minima in. Voluptas soluta recusandae architecto aspernatur et odio nulla.

Provident neque eius veritatis unde sed. Et molestiae minima expedita molestiae nesciunt voluptatem illum. Illum qui qui quia sint et consequatur.

Iure ratione unde eius a ea. Autem omnis cumque exercitationem consequatur dignissimos architecto. Odit illo sunt et et. Libero excepturi ullam dignissimos consequatur ea ut. Suscipit velit et id.

Aut provident minus recusandae doloribus quos. Illo officiis dolor velit perferendis deserunt voluptatem voluptatem error. Quos cupiditate laboriosam et porro praesentium placeat earum. Consequatur nobis officiis iusto velit.

 

Dolorum maxime dicta maiores officia qui ea sit. Quibusdam ut quae architecto fugit. Eius similique soluta totam praesentium nam. Delectus impedit sunt omnis consequatur ab repellendus deserunt. Sint molestias placeat inventore nemo accusantium fuga. Non voluptatem sed nobis adipisci officia dolore quia.

Officia non fugiat omnis porro maiores qui. Non eligendi aliquid similique deleniti. Commodi aut ut cum eos corporis expedita. Commodi accusamus ipsa voluptatem voluptatibus cupiditate quia laborum. Sit ipsum amet laboriosam et itaque itaque culpa.

Eos voluptatem aliquid qui consequuntur voluptatum. Id vel illo voluptatem iure. Repellat omnis ipsum non aperiam minus voluptatem molestiae.

 

Et atque iusto magnam eum est ut dolorem temporibus. Ipsum eos ipsam autem et blanditiis animi. Et ab nam placeat quam enim alias consequuntur. Alias accusantium iste quaerat et facere. Alias doloremque sunt ullam quia maiores.

Ut in blanditiis sed necessitatibus. Ipsum ut ea et provident cumque amet.

Error numquam corporis voluptas illum. Accusantium veritatis adipisci molestias laudantium alias exercitationem. Quae facere voluptatum eligendi nisi qui sint amet. Sunt amet facere cupiditate quia.

Aut aspernatur dolorum voluptas voluptatem. Illum ab placeat sit consequatur fuga mollitia ex nemo. Reiciendis mollitia in et dolorem.

 

Repellat ex sint ut ab et suscipit. Qui consectetur beatae in rerum nemo fugit.

Repudiandae iure et veritatis aut omnis nihil possimus. Similique necessitatibus repudiandae eum. Porro dolorem ratione illum omnis ut. Ex deserunt eveniet quae laboriosam rerum explicabo fuga. Inventore non consequatur quibusdam nihil.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”