Hitting 7 figures at 28-29

Considering that most ibanking, hf or pe salaries for 28-29 year olds at bulge brackets range from 250-400k, is the only real way or may i say best way of hitting 7 figures at 28-29, is starting one's own hf or pe firm. Although the size of the firm is much smaller u obviously will get a much higher proportion of profits, making the risk worthwhile

 

See a lot of BS here about comp, here are the steps. 

1. Grind your ass off in highschool to get to a target, grind harder in college, get to a top BB/EB/MF PE group, grind even harder and get looks from top HFs. Zero sex life, work 18 hour days minimum, follow the markets for fun, but try to come off as a chill dude for recruiting/interview purposes

2. Become an analyst at a $7bn+ L/S  HF. You know the type, Tiger cubs + top notch non tiger cubs. Tiger Global, Lone Pine, D1, Whale Rock, Eminence, Darsana, Coatue, Viking, Altimeter type shops. This should put you at ~$300-500k base

3. Continue the grind and work the hardest here. If the fund has a monster year, you want to be a hard working analyst who put in the work and contributed to some of the monster year

4. IF you actually perform + fund has sick year + you have been there for 2+ years, you will make $2-3m. Confirmed from many sources, in some cases as high as $5 but that is by no means a proxy for how much you can make working as an analyst at one of these funds. $2-3+m in a really good fund with a phenomenal year is realistic 100%, and you could be 28-29 at this stage. NOW, notice how I said L/S. Credit/distressed guys are stingy as fuck - I know a distressed analyst who put on a trade that made ~200m for the fund (fund was like $7bn AUM), and he only got paid $900k. That's a lot, but it's fair to say he was underpaid and he left for a L/S fund. 

5. Stay at this L/S fund for > 5 years, maybe you're like 32-33 now, maybe you joined when you were 26. Keep pushing and contributing to fund outperformance, and as long as the boss is not racist or discriminatory in some way, you will make PM/Partner where you can reasonably expect to make low 7 figures in a year, and higher/8 figures in blockbuster year. Do this for a few years, maybe catch the next tech wave, put your earnings back in the fund, and you could probably be worth $20-30m by the time you're 37-40, if not higher. Then you go off an start your own fund. 

Now this is the story for maybe 1-3 people out of 100 in this business. Maybe. Incredibly difficult, requires the right fund at the right time + the right boss, self determination/drive, and you actually have to be good at what you do. It's the dream for many, but it's a lot easier said than done. Finito. 

 
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What you're describing is probably more like 1 in a 10,000. The people who achieve what you describe are probably HF managers themselves. That makes sense, since in the grand scheme of things, there aren't that many legit HF managers. 

To grind starting as early as high school is rare, unsustainable, and quite frankly depressing. Going down this path, you'll probably die of stress before getting to enjoy all that money. 

Lastly, there's easier ways to make tons of money. Go work for a tech start-up, break into sales (B2B and something high margin), or invest in risky stuff with high (HIGH) potential reward. I have a friend who bought Bitcoin back in 2013. He sold half of his holdings a few years ago to pay off medical school loans, but still owns about $759,000 worth. His original investment was only ~$2,000.

 

Yeah I completely agree, meant to say maybe 2-3 out of 100 will make it to the analyst seat at a top shop. For the highschool thing, there is a kid on this forum whose username is like shaq or something -- to me he sounds like a kid who is on the road to a top fund

 

Growth Equity or Fintech Sales.  Tech sales in general is beating out IB when it comes to entry level pay. Amazon SDRs are making 120-140k+ starting off, so just imagine their compensation 10 years later. Stop getting caught up in the prestige bs, there are lucrative careers out there. 

 

Agree w/ this. Maybe just me but there are some pretty smart people out there who see almost no correlation between how hard you work and how *consistently* successful you are at L/S investing. The vast majority of HFs simply do not deliver alpha over any meaningful period. And you could be there grinding away and - yup - making lots of money, but come to the realization that what you're really doing with your life is helping to part institutions from their money, and charging 2 and 20 for the same performance your clients would get with 5 Vanguard funds. (Not being cynical, or jealous - I've been there and quit for that very reason. Who wants to go through life as a destroyer of shareholder value...?) 

Also agree that enterprise sales at a startup is a great path. Cash comp is surprisingly good if you're even above average...plus those options. Sales is a grind, held in low regard by a lot of people, entails tons of rejection and customers treating you like dirt, so, being at the intersection of requiring above average IQ/EQ and not being appealing to most high IQ/EQ people, it pays well. 

 

Agree that big payouts are some combo of smarts + hard work + good seat + luck. But I take issue with some of the premises here and how "matter of fact" it's laid out, addressed below. Speaking as someone who hit the goal OP has laid out and knowing several people who've done the same. 

1) This is depressing, and I think there's a lot of struggle porn here. While top folks at each successive step are often at the top in preceding steps throughout their career, it doesn't have to come w/ the tradeoff of focusing all your time from the very early days on the singular obsession of making money. Being well rounded early on is more important imo, and honing in on what you're really good at is more of an important focus by the latter half of college (in terms of being in the right neighborhood of you want to do rather than all the specifics mapped out). 

2) Generally agree that well regarded funds w/ large AUM and lean investment teams increase probability of a big payout. But equally have to take into account how fungible they treat entry level employees and what the career arc looks like there. Some of the funds you reference are not like the others. Also, not sure if you're referring to $300-500k as a "base salary" or a "baseline all-in entry level expectation". It's definitely not the former, and the latter is pretty accurate, even at top funds. 

3) Hardest working =/= most valuable

4) Generally agree, though those comp ranges are very much on the high end for 2-3yrs in a HF seat, even in the funds you mention unless you had significant contributions 

5) Can definitely see that kind of earnings arc at the top. Though not necessarily with a PM / Partner title attached (will depend on the type of fund you joined). Rarely does it culminate in "going off and starting your own fund". 

 

No thanks. When will you live life? What's the point of grinding that hard and you can't even live life and enjoy it? Fuck that. Life is waaayyy to short. Even if I had the option of doing what you listed, I wouldn't. I would've quit after I made my first $5M 

 

Under any scenario the likelihood of getting to 7 figures before 30 yrs old is very low. That being said, entrepreneurship, PE and HF are your best bets. HF is possible, but again it isn’t very likely, you need to make it to a top fund, survive, and have a good year. You need to be the top of your field in a field that is already incredibly competitive. 
I don’t quite agree with the other post on the way to get there, but the overall gist that it is really hard is true. 

 

Well I think some parts were a bit extreme.

But it isn’t a bad description, I think the problem is really that these roles are pretty hard to come by and the people that get there rarely follow some path. Usually there is luck, there are sidetracks, etc. This may sound a bit arrogant, but the people who make this usually find a way regardless of the path they are on AND (a very big and) get lucky along the way.
The path you describe is definitely a path, but if you go find people who are at that level of income, such a tiny percentage will have followed this path (even those within the top HFs, although obviously more will have gone down that path). Of the people I know in that path one was in tech first, one went straight to buy side out of undergrad, one worked at a bank for 2 years then HF, another went consulting to HF, etc. 

 

you can do the math yourself. consider the following for a HF. harder to say in PE since your earnings are tied to illiquid carry as you progress

  • 22-24: IBD, $150-175k each year
  • 24-27: HF, $300-500k first 3 years
  • 27-29: HF, $500-700k depending on performance

figures are pretty standard, question is if you can last that long. assumes you're not at a $5B+ fund since comp is obviously higher there. solve for your own net worth estimates based on spending and investment returns on your savings. 7 figures is doable. still, never an easy or straightforward path.

now, let's end the ridiculous number of recent posts on net worth and comp. seems like most of these posters are not even in the industry.

 

misread post. targeting $1mm+ annual comp is a fool's errand. largely a function of being at a $5B fund with tenure >3 years, or your fund/sleeve puts up 30%+ if you're at a $1B+ fund. basically, you need a really good year. odds of finding a seat in either scenario is a long shot.

possible in PE if you're at a big fund, but again depends on how your carry monetizes 5-7 years down the line.

launching your own HF or PE fund at 28-29...jeez. you're highly unlikely to pull this off, much less generate $1mm in take-home...the operating expenses will bleed you dry since you'll be <$100M AUM. this will work out for 0.1% of anyone trying this at that age. just consider the base rate.

you sound like you're in HS. go enjoy life, date a bunch of people, find some hobbies, travel. you'll be in the grind soon enough.

 

What if u have a staff of 4- Including 3 top b school students and an ex portfolio manager at a top fund who's experienced at this to guide you through. Proof from your own trading accounts to back up your trading skills. Then do you think people will be willing to invest in my fund if i go ahead and decide to create one. Also after 3-4 years with almost all profits reinvested into the business do u see me getting returns of 1mm+ if i manage to keep the firm afloat and somewhat succesful

l

 

i suspect not given your evident lack of judgement

 

Let’s just make some estimates. For you to take 1mm, you probably need to generate at least 2mm. Gotta pay those business school folks right?

As a new fund, nobody is going to pay you 2/20. 1.5/15 more like if you’re lucky. So you gotta put up at least 13mm PnL to pay yourself and employees. If you’re sticking to a reasonable risk profile, you’re not gonna hit that without 100+mm under management. Maybe if you’re a beast you could do it with half, but you’re probably not.

Nobody in their right mind is giving 100mm to a bunch of top MBAs (they’re not special, thousands graduate every year) led by somebody with 5-6 years experience who thinks performance on their personal account means anything about performance with institutional capital.

Only way it happens is if you’re friends with a bunch of very rich people (9+ figure net worths each) who are willing to give you a chance lol.

 

Graduate student, hoping to join a fund when I’m done. I too had similar aspirations when younger, but a few conversations with people in the industry showed me that it’s not realistic at all to expect to be managing that much in one’s 20s.

 

dont forget those "very rich people" will likely have to be room temp IQ to put meaningful checks into this fund 

 

I went to college with a (now) product designer at Peloton who is worth around 1.5-2 mil because of stock options. He's 26.

FYI median salary of product designers hovers around 200k at big tech companies & hours are always lower than consulting, IB.

I promise you this person never had the mentality of becoming a multi-millionaire before 30. 

It's funny how life works 

 

Search around on reddit r/financialcareers, r/algotrading, r/quant etc about prop/quant trading, plenty of good posts.

Friends in the industry tell me a good trader with a few years exp can clear 7 figs, that seems to be corroborated with what others say online.

There aren’t really “exit opportunities” like in banking or consulting though. I believe a lot of people (who are good enough to survive) aim to kill it for a decade and save a few million by early 30s. Some might stay in the industry as partners in their current firm, some go and start their own shop. I think a bunch start businesses in other industries, or just retire. Trader burnout is apparently very much a real thing.

Edit: should probably mention trading at good places is insanely competitive, and they select for quantitative talent, mainly maths/cs/physics undergrads. If you’re in an ordinary high school (not hyper achieving with many Olympiad participants every year) and not comfortably one of the best maths people you know, it’s an uphill struggle.

 

I'm assuming you're talking about net worth rather than annual income. If not, ignore this comment.

Contrary to other comments here, hitting $1mm net worth by 29yo, while uncommon, isn't that rare and is very doable without starting your own anything. See the table below. It assumes NW starts at $0, no debt, $30k income step-up per year, $50k flat yearly expenses, and cash invested @ 6% annualized. I don't think any of those assumptions is unreasonable. You don't have to be a miser, an investing god, or making more than $400k per year.

 

It's not a joke. Pay $2500/mo in rent by splitting it with a roommate or SO. That's $30k/year, +$20k/year in other expenses gets you $50k/year. Not up to your standard? Fine, but it's not unreasonable. It's one path to get to $1mm, which is the OP's question. You can create your own expense ramp-up. The $50k is a simplifying/average assumption. 

 

So Arjun, let me get this straight. You're graduating college at 22, want to make $1M a year by 28-29, and you're planning on taking 2 years off for school. So you're asking how to make $1M a year with 4-5 years of experience?

 

I suppose some people I know might be wealthier than I imagine, but in terms of my personal circle of close friends, all the guys I know who are my age (early 30's) or younger and are definitely self-made multi-millionaires or deca-millionaires made most of their money from crypto. For context, we're not talking a big group, but a handful of guys I know. They had traditional finance jobs out of college and were putting money into crypto circa 2014-15, then they ultimately left their traditional jobs to pursue crypto-related projects full-time after making enough from crypto to be comfortable taking that leap.

And I think the main takeaway from the paragraph above is that to make millions or tens of millions by the time you're in your late 20's, there's usually at least some element of good fortune involved. That's not to diminish anything they did, but just to say that the further you get away from the median, the more unorthodox the stories tend to be. It's difficult to articulate any "guaranteed path" to graduate college at 21-22 and be worth eight figures by your late 20's.

In terms of minimizing lifestyle creep, I've seen people kill themselves buying expensive cars and staying in fancier apartments than they needed, but especially cars. Everyone has to decide what they value most, but I feel like a significant number people regret buying an expensive car six months after they buy it.

My recommendation, if you can store it relatively safely, consider getting a motorcycle. They're a huge bang-for-your-buck. I paid cash for my car; it's "nice" but old, I bought it at 10+ years old because I rarely need to drive it where I live. By comparison, I bought my Kawasaki Ninja brand new for a small fraction of what any "nice car" costs. It gets way better gas mileage and it will smoke any car under $75K from 0 to 60. And though I don't really care what women think about it, it gets more attention from them than any $50,000 "nice car" I've rented on vacation. They don't know (or care) what it costs, they just know it's cool. Finally, it's a wonderful escape for 20-30 minutes after work to tune out everything and ride, no distractions, no cell phone, nothing. I recommend it as a "toy" or indulgence that still has some practical uses and won't kill you financially the way a brand new sports car would.

"Now you's can't leave." -Sonny LoSpecchio
 

tractionattraction

I've seen plenty of traders at prop firms hit 1mm before 29. Rare but still doable at a bank trading desk.

+1. Great point, I completely forgot about the traders. Probably not the average outcome for the average trader, but I'm sure a lot of those guys become millionaires and multi-millionaires by their late 20's. One of my former roommates was an equity trader at a prop shop and I know there were some young guys there making ridiculous money. It's one of those fields with a flat hierarchy where someone who's talented enough can rise to the top very quickly.

Trading might be one of the most common/mainstream paths for young guys to make a truckload of money at a young age. But from my close friend I mentioned who does it successfully, he's basically told me that guys come out of the school and get into it, and within a couple years they either succeed and start making really good money (and in some instances, incredible money) or they wash out and have to go do something else, and the risk there is that "tried trading for a few years and it didn't work out" obviously isn't a skill set that carries over into many other roles. My buddy who succeeded at it certainly doesn't regret it, but I also think that he wouldn't have regretted it even if he had washed out, because it was something he was passionate about and he had decided to set aside a certain number of years while he was young to give it his best shot. Your early 20's are the time to do that.

"Now you's can't leave." -Sonny LoSpecchio
 

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