Credit Fund/Direct Lending Salaries 2019
I’m interested to hear what comp looks like for an analyst/associate/VP at a credit fund or direct lender. Please list the market. Thanks!
I’m interested to hear what comp looks like for an analyst/associate/VP at a credit fund or direct lender. Please list the market. Thanks!
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Bump. Any insight on this?
bruh just heard MDs at big players like GSO make 1-2 mill comp per year and get carry (slightly less than PE tho) can y’all back this up???
bump
Bumping.
Bump - interested as well
From friends in the industry: analyst salary is usually the same base as IB analysts ($85k) and bonus is slightly lower ($30k-$50k)
FYI last year was a great year so that bonus range. this year still good but not so great - my buddy told me he got ~20% of vase this year.
Depends on the shop. Some large funds pay very well ($100k and 60-80% bonus). Some smaller funds will be anywhere b/t $140k-170k.
If you’re going to a name brand shop, associatecomp will be between the $200k-250k range. These shops mostly recruit out of IB analyst programs (Ares, Golub, GSO, PennantPark, THL Credit, Maranon, HPS, Owl Rock, Bain Capital Credit, AEA Private Debt, etc)
200-250 is all in right? Any idea on the number of people that come from S&T (credit)?
Will Echo this as being true. Interviewed at a few of the shops listed.
On par with IB at the analyst level and lower than IB at the associate level. Bonus potentially more variable depending on how the fund performs.
Analyst: $80-95k + 10-45% bonus
Associate: $100-150k + 25-75% bonus
Sr. Associate/AVP: $150-200k + 50-100% bonus
VP: $175-235k + 80-130% bonus
Principal/SVP: $225-275k +100-150% bonus
MD/SMD: Who Knows
Wow that's pretty damn good all around.
can confirm this is 100% correct
Pretty wide band for the associate range, any chance you’d be able to narrow it down as to which types of firms are at both ends of the spectrum?
Bump. Helpful to know, are we talking about funds like Golub / Antares here?
Great question. Would like to know this as well
Today I learned I am woefully underpaid...
Sorry to hear that man. Would you mind sharing what size firm and what general location you work in?
This looks a bit low at the associate and VP level for some of the firms mentioned. I think Antares pays significant less than the MF credit arms.
Do you work at a MF? If so, could you shed some light on the pay?
Side note - my firm is notorious for paying under market and we pay slightly higher than those numbers on the AO / SAO side of things. Some comp is deferred but dropping as a data point.
What size AUM for this:
Can confirm base ranges, but bonus can get much higher at megafunds (Apollo credit, GSO, Ares, Golub). 2019 and 2020 my firm had associate bonuses 115%+ of base for top performers in direct lending. Then for MFs I would basically apply each of your bonus ranges to the position above (25-75% for analyst, 80-130% for Sr asso/AVP, 100-150% for VP, etc)
source: sr asso at a megafund
What are hours like at these firms? Particularly the name brand ones?
45-70 hrs. usually ~50-60
Why are hours so much better than PE, IBD? Don't you still need to do diligence into companies and everything that PE firms do?
PE shops will diligence an investment harder than the credit funds. I can take educated guesses on primary reasons:
Equity investments are, by definition, riskier and should require a more robust investment thesis.
The PE shop may take an active role in operating the company and directing its strategy, wheras the lender is a passive participant.
Credit funds often have longstanding relationships with sponsors, and to an extent they can rely on some of the diligence done by the sponsor rather than duplicating efforts.
And I could be very wrong on this last one, but I assume PE funds are taking fewer, more concentrated bets, while credit funds have greater portfolio diversification.
Agree with your last point and would even argue that if an investment goes badly they can always sell at 30c:$1, yes it’s a loss but better than lossing everything.
I would say it’s somewhat lighter, but mostly less variable since you have more processes at any one time. Fewer 100 hour weeks, but there’s always something going on. Distressed tends to be more volatile like PE.
Also depends on where you are in the debt cap structure.
My firm when we do a 1L at say c. 3.5x leverage on a well diversified business that trades at 10x + will do significantly less diligence than say doing an unsecured mezz piece at say 6.5x on a more concentrated business. Debt is all about principal protection rather than how fast we can grow the business.
Also doing business with repeat sponsors is good because you can generally figure out whether the sponsor is going to be a pain in the ass about putting in more money / taking aggressive moves if the business goes south.
Current banker in the credit space, most investors will do extensive diligence regardless of what we do but this varies by shop. You're correct in that PE funds mostly invest credit along companies that would typically fit their equity mandate, or they do combo debt/equity deals. While some credit funds are more diverse in what they invest in, there are also some that have very specific mandates as well and are much more concentrated.
What is the best experience to leverage into private credit? I have seen LevFin is most common, but is it possible to recruit from a more general IB analyst program?
While either LevFin or RX are great backgrounds for private credit; generalist M&A or analysts in coverage groups are still considered.
Does anyone know what comps should be for a second year analyst / associate at a venture debt fund?
Bump
Bumping
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