PE associate/VP net worth check
Third-year PE associate, net worth of $360k, age 27. Is this good? Bad? Where are y'all at? What are y'alls goals?
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26, just about to get my bonus for my first year, also about $360k
So what kind of business are you going to start to get to the tres comma club
Bro if he knew the answer he wouldnt be on WSO commenting about it lol
lmao read that in his voice
Love the ambition mate
2 years IB, 3 years PE. ~$650K including retirement accounts.
IMO you can't really create generational wealth in this industry unless you're incredibly lucky/join the right fund early on. Industry is rapidly maturing and returns have consistently come down. Like the user above, don't think PE will get me there.
25 - £200k
target £100m
think to get to that you really need to only spend your base and invest your full bonus
200k including or excluding pension?
excluding.
24, 1st year PE associate, net worth of ~$260k. Definitely feel like my net worth is below average when compared to my fellow PE peers of similar age. Gonna be tough to get to $1mm by 30, especially if I get an MBA lol.
The MBA will be a set back to your NW, but otherwise you can absolutely get to $1mm by 30. Your current NW should 1.5x in the market over 6 years, if you save [$75k +/- annually] with that amount also growing in the market that will get you there.
Man you guys are making me feel broke as hell
Same, are people avoiding taxes or something?
Meeeeee tooo. I'm still stuck in IB
35, 4 years in IB, 5 years in PE. $1.5M, beneficiary of some great carry exits and opportunistic side investments in real estate.
I want to add some more color for some questions that have popped up and others that I know will.
First, I screwed around for a few years before I got my act together and am probably 2-3 years behind where I would be had I done everything right as soon as possible. I also don't have kids or a family to support.
Second, everyone can act like they are fine living like they have a 711 cashiers budget, but that's miserable. You think you want to continue living like a pauper while slaving away 24x7 and making good money? You may think that but you are dead wrong. Could I have lived a more modest life? Sure, but what the hell is the fun in that.
Third, you will find that if you are successful at this game there are certain things that become expected of you. Donations for charity, picking up drinks for friends, etc. etc. I think @APAE touched on this once. If you have a well-balanced life you will have friends from all walks and social sets. Are you going to suggest going to Chili's because your elementary school teacher friend needs the 2 for $20? No you won't. Are you going to expect them to pay for a restaurant that most "normal people" can only afford to go to once a year or so? No you won't. Heck, due to COVID I picked up several friends rent tabs to keep them from being evicted. (Not saying you should live like MC Hammer, but you definitely can't take it with you when you die) So while it's nice to project next level frugality, and for some they may make it a reality, but it will be detrimental to your quality of life. I can assure you of that. Nobody likes a cheapskate.
are you post MBA?
I went A2A in banking and was promoted to VP at my current shop 2 years ago. Honestly an MBA would be an enormous waste of money for me to come out and have practically the same exact job.
I think this says enough. 10 years into a huge bull run and 'great carry exits' plus lucrative RE and not even miles above where most think they can get to without carry and 5 years early. Lots of overoptimists here it seems
SB'd for the last paragraph. Generosity/decency can be rare to find in this industry at times. Good for you.
Great post, and reminds me of this classic from Dingdong08 (where is that guy these days?). For the uninitiated:
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/life-in-general-will-cost-more-than-you-think
Ah it was DingDong08 post I was thinking about not APAE. I doubt they would disagree either. While this industry is rife with self-serving narcissistic pieces of shit, there are still good human beings here and I think most of the US population forgets that.
You are most definitely a good egg!
3rd year associate. Bonus will put me across the $500k mark. 3 years from now will be either ~$1M or ~$500K. Deciding on bschool or not is brutal.
What are the options if you decide against it?
Similar position - also curious about how you think about bschool vs. lateral vs. staying at your shop (if that's an option, which it isn't for me).
I love the net worth forecasting. Bull market forever baby
27, ~$500k. Hoping for $1m by 30/31
$275k just wrapped up second year, 26 YO.
Expect to add $100k-$120k of net inflows this year, hoping with the market I hit $400k after this next bonus. Have lived decently frugally but also invested conservatively, with hindsight kinda wishing I’d done the opposite lol but c’est la cie
Don’t know that I’ll hit $1M before 30 but my math suggests it’s doable by 31 without any crazy assumptions (assigning no value to carry, which would change the dynamic dramatically)
FU. I hope AOC takes over Wall ST.
AOC? She’s making $174k a year. She’s not taking over anywhere anytime soon. She’s just where she wants to be: little work, high pay.
Like honestly, 99% of people in this website would kill to have her job. <40 hr weeks where “work” is literally saying what comes to mind -even if its false- and pretending she cares about social issues. If she was held to 1% of the standards the gov & SEC impose on bankers she would need to twitch full time to pay off the fines.
Analyst 1 in AM - Equities is stupid AF, but saying AOC does "little work" is stupid AF as well
Look, I'm a liberal and support AOC, but it's pretty obvious her economics background is very theoretical and limited, I would generally not want her in any significant position of leadership in the Democratic Party
It’s “theoretical” in the sense that Harry Potter is — completely made up and ungrounded in any semblance of reality, other than a few names and locations.
Are these numbers including or excluding pension?
20% co-invest, 70% VTSAX, 10% interesting individual equities. If I had more time I’d allocate some to multifamily properties, but the last thing I need when I’m working on a deal at midnight is to hear about a how a tenant’s pipe burst and cost me another $5k
27, 3 years IB + 2.5 years PE - $450k incl. retirement accts but excluding home equity.
What city?
Bay Area
Just started in PE a week ago, but 31, 6.5 years in banking, $900K incl. retirement accounts / $575K excl. retirement accounts. Did JD/MBA right after college so joined banking as an associate and then had a lot of loans to pay off.
do u have grey hair now?
Sheesh. JD and then banking? Your crotch must be snow white at this point. Do you regret doing your MBA right after college and "wasting" a tool for a career pivot?
Ha, I actually liked the JD - the classes were pretty interesting and even though you grind a bit during 1L, it's really just sitting in a room with your friends and studying so there's plenty of socialization. Honestly, I imagine it's not that different than being an analyst (pre-COVID), albeit with way, way better hours (but you're paying for the privilege).
I don't regret my path. If I did have a regret, it would probably have been nice to figure out that I wanted to do banking / PE in college and gone into an analyst program, since that would have made the subsequent move into PE easier. But it all worked out since I ended up in PE regardless, and some of my best friends are from grad school, so I really can't complain. At this point, any career pivot that I would want to make probably wouldn't include taking two years to get an MBA, and I'm fairly confident that I'm in PE for the long haul (assuming I'm actually good enough to advance up the chain).
-500k just blew it all and borrowed more for hookers and Coke
Wow crazy numbers and ambitions there! Guess I am just unlucky not to be born in the US :D
No wonder most Indians want to be there lol.
27 with three years in MBB and 1.5 years at MF outside US. NW incl. pension of $375k
Have lived life well in that period with lots of money spent on travelling and supporting family in need but no flashy watches or other nonsense for myself.
$500k at 27. 2 years IB + 3 years MMPE. Making the switch over to corporate side in the past year may take foot off the gas pedal a bit, but hopefully my capital compounds nicely and I'll continue to save well.
31, ~$1.5mm
28 at $1.2mm. 2yrs of banking and 4.75yrs at a MF (no realized carry yet). Invested 70-80% in the market under a value strategy, so I missed most of the tech boom
(FYI, obviously I'm not a 2nd yr associate)
Including hypothetical carry?
Does not include hypothetical carry or unvested stock, just liquid assets.
So it sounds like you didn’t co-invest in your fund for large majority — little curious as to why not? Can’t you often get like 20-30% long-term annual returns by just throwing most of your money into your fund? Maybe I’m missing something here
My total co-invest at cost is less than $100k. I did not co-invest much because (i) Associate co-invest amounts are capped (lots of firms don’t even allow it to begin with), (ii) I valued having liquidity in case I wanted to go to bschool, (iii) PE returns aren’t materially better than levered S&P returns and certainly are not in the 20-30% range as you mentioned.
Not in PE or even IB, but in corporate strategy in Financial Services. Started at $100k all in and hit $140k last year.
Currently at $250k at 24, started from $0 right after undergrad and aggressively saved while living in LCOL cities. A large bull market certainly helped but it really came down to prudent saving without skimping on the fun stuff (i.e. still did two big international trips, lots of long weekends, sporting events, etc.).
Heading to b-school this fall and goal is $1mm by 33, $3mm by 40 and $10mm by 55.
What’s your plan after bschool?
Probably a 70% chance I go into banking, 30% chance for consulting. I'm trying to eventually get to a more growing sector (tech, services, etc.) but want to get a few years under my belt and aggressively pay down loans incurred through b-school.
I like those targets
$540k today including home equity.
With analyst 2 bonus, A2A sign on bonus and interim cash flow, should hit $700k this summer.
Goal is $1.0mm by 28, and $2.0mm by 30.
Edit: current age is 27.
You are 27 years old and have been working at the bank for 8 years, which means you started full time at ~19?
Yes, worked full time through college in a back office role. Went to school at night.
26 with 1.5 years in banking and 3 in LMM PE (currently in fourth year). Net worth ~$600K of which ~$125K is in retirement accounts and $475K is liquid. Also now have some carry dollars at work and some co-invest (with leverage) but I don’t include those in my net worth at the moment.
Live in a moderately HCOL city and thinking of pulling a fair bit out to buy a condo / house. Housing market is crazy these days though so who knows...
what's comp and hours like at your LMM? what's latest fund size? 500-1bn range?
Can someone elaborate a little on how you got to these numbers (e.g. income, percent saved, return on investments, etc.)? Just confused because I’m a first year BB analyst with a net worth of $0, living off base and banking bonus. Once that first bonus hits, after tax I’m expecting, what like $40k? Not sure how much it will go up next year. Then say I leave for PE, live off base and bank 100% of bonus still... how are you guys managing to hit these net worth numbers? Are your investments just performing well or am I underestimating PE pay?
Assume you leave banking with ~80k like you suggested, and bank your bonus for 4 years as a PE associate. That would put you at ~500-800 by 28. Then take into account capital gains. That should put you in the ballpark of posters above
As I posted above, $250k NW at 24 (started working a month before my 21st) so 4 years experience. Each year I saved approximately $40k, so $160k over 4 years, but then you have to factor in the incredible market we've had and that gets you to $250k. If you can max out 401k and IRA on base, and then bank 90% of your bonus, you should be in a great place after a few years.
are all of you guys single and not married? just wanted to take a sense check for some of these numbers that are getting posted. i still have to do my math but hard to separate out the expenses for the wife and kids. once expenses for wife and kids expenses (mostly education) are taken into account, savings go down dramatically due to those spending so curious to see what marital status people have for those numbers
I would imagine the vast majority of people responding from the IB >> PE track are single, not a lot of time for a relationship let alone kids at the junior levels
Most gotta be single...I’ve had a fam on 1 income w/ a few kids now after a handful of years in finance and man it’s expensive!! Def not comparing with the other posts here.
But I’ve earned a lot more in love and will have kids to take care of me when I’m old (and am aging fast in this industry)!
Single and probably not in the cards to settle down and get married. Had a few good runs, but none worked out for various reasons. Disposable 20 something fuck buddies aren't bad though.
Seems like late 20s and $400-$600k is the average here. Generally pretty difficult to build significant net worth in the first 10 years in my opinion.
And that's OK.
Get yourself in a position by your late 30s / early 40s to start piling it on - that's what matters.
Negative $40k and 25 (student loans). I am a degenerate spender and 'trader'. Last month my net worth was up a few hundred thousand but I blew up my portfolio with weeklies. Will need to take a new approach to wealth creation this year (and subsequent years)
jesus christ dude what did you do to risk that much? short the vix?
I held OTM weekly calls overnight and the next day was the biggest crash the stock I was invested in experienced in the last ten years. Of course it has since rebounded, but my position was wiped out. All because the ticker made it onto the front-page of /r/WSB. Such is life.
Been a lurker for a long time and felt like I needed to chime in. I’m at roughly $5mm at 31, consisting of liquid investments and mark-to-market value of vested carry only. Pretty clear path to $10mm after-tax by 35 with vesting and expected portfolio value growth. Never invested in Bitcoin or GME or TSLA, just boring index funds. Got here by joining the right fund at the right time (tech-focused over past 10 years) with some incredible realizations in recent years. There are a lot of people like me out there in PE and VC, so don’t be too discouraged by the current environment. There is plenty more money to be made. Am I in the top quartile in terms of luck? Probably. But 25% ain’t terrible odds.
Are you at a Vista/Thoma Bravo-type firm? That number is pretty incredible man
Nope, tier below. Those guys are doing even better.
Are you at a MF/UMM? What kind of fund do you advise current banking analysts to target? Were you responsible for any of the investments at your fund, or were you quarterbacking the deals that the IM decided on? If so, how do you go about finding and evaluating companies to invest in in a manner that differentiates you from your competitors.
What does this look like excl. vested carry? Just curious how much of your NW ends up getting tied into carry as you become more senior in PE
About $3.5mm, exits have been really strong in recent years.
How much would you say a principal at a MF like APO or BX is worth? Supposedly that have carry in the low 8 figures, but it's just crazy to think that a 31 year old at Apollo can have a $15mm+ net worth (most of that is illiquid but still, it's a nice number to look @ in a spreadsheet)
$15mm at work across a couple of funds is about right. That’s roughly what I have. But it’s a very theoretical number. You need to invest the capital, then earn into it by actually generating portfolio company value creation, plus it’s subject to vesting over 5-10 years. So you might see some liquidity if you can stay in the industry and make partner, which is no small feat. That’s why I focus on vested carry based on mark-to-market portfolio value today. A $10mm allocation in a brand new fund that is unvested is worth zero under that approach.
34, married and a couple kids. Couple years consulting, ~7 years PE in LMM (VP/Principal level). Roughly $900K liquid net worth (cash, taxable investments, retirement accts), ~$100K home equity. Also includes having paid off combined $300k college/grad school loans for me and my wife. <$100K investments in current fund (not in numbers above), no carry payouts yet, still deploying.
I know this thread was not asking for life advice, but given my somewhat advanced age [for this forum], I feel compelled to share the perspective that the luster of rapid wealth accumulation wears off if you don't like what you do or you'd rather shift your lifestyle towards more family/friends/hobbies. I very much enjoy what I do and am certain that I have a greater net worth than basically all of my friends (I'm the only one that works in finance), but I frankly find myself being jealous when I see them on their 2nd vacation of the year with their family. Balance is hard in this line of work - money is good but just one part of it. Anyways, just a thought.
29, ~$1.2mm, no student loans and didn't get an MBA. Average VP comp and average performer at MM firm. Carry has not vested yet. My regret is holding too much cash and missing out on stock market gains. Hope is to make real $ from carry/equity in my 30s.
Does that NW include carry?
Nope
30 and ~$1.2MM. 2 years IB + 7 years in Private Credit. Includes co-investments at cost (which is conservative given historical fund performance), and does not include carry. Married, but wife is just finishing up residency / fellowship so has a limited contribution to the overall number.
Do you enjoy private credit / what excited you about going down that route? Congrats on the savings by the way, that's awesome.
I need to start saving more aggressively after looking at these numbers. Admittedly I don't invest so looks like that's really been hurting me.
26 - 3 years IBD and 1 year in MF Credit -> 120k saved up including retirement accounts - excluding unvested carry/equity
If there is 1 thing I learned from this year it's to be fully invested (excl. emergency fund), in S&P 500 your net worth should double every decade, plus if you feel reasonable in your investing capabilities you can certainly stock pick high quality companies for long term growth.
Except for the lost decade (2000-2010) where the s&p was flat
Just so you know most people I know are in the same boat as you. I would have to assume most of these numbers are flat out lies from the juniors publishing or they are quoting pre tax net worth…
27, $1.1M. 3rd year PE associate. 2 years IB, 3 years UMM PE. Married with no kids. Wife started at MBB and now works at a start-up. We both started with started with $0 after college. DINKS FTW.
Does $1.1mm include wife's net worth too or did you invest aggressively in the market? Not sure how else you could have saved that much if you're still in your 3rd year in PE.
Yes, that figure includes my wife's net worth too. We've had combined finances since we got married so it's nearly impossible to disaggregate that. My guess is that I'd be somewhere in the $600K range if I was still single. Lived in a very LCOL city for banking and have lived pretty frugally in a HCOL city for PE. Also invested very aggressively during the COVID dip last February and March, which has added something like $150-200K. Without that, I'd be squarely in the middle of where other 3rd year PE associates seem to be, which is in the $350-500K range.
Kind of a weird move to compare a combined net worth to the net worths of individuals. Especially when the plus 1 is not in PE as the prompt asks. Anyway if we are doing this. 27 y/o with 2.5 years in PE. My plus one and I have a combined net worth of $164bn. He builds electric cars and rockets. We both started with $0 savings after college.
Why are you so mad? Nowhere did the OP say "single PE associate / VP net worth check" and plenty of married people above have posted as well. If anything, I figured it would be interesting / helpful for single people to see how much marriage does or doesn't add to the total. But sorry if I triggered you...
Principals at Apollo are like 29-33 years old. How much do you think these guys are worth, when you consider cash comp/liquid stuff over the years + carry? That PE compensation report says that the average MF Principal has like $12-15mm in carry or something absurd like that...
90% of it is probably illiquid but who cares. That's gotta be some serious spreadsheet porn
Please don't turn this thread into another circle jerk about how much Apollo pays. There are like 4 other threads from the past week with this exact info if you're looking to be bukkake'd
LOL
$15m if you include my various long term NFT investments (heavily weighted), one of which includes a one of a kind Beeple
Second year in business school, net worth of ~300k, age 28. IM starts lower before scaling up and business school is expensive.
300k after paying for b school/loans? That’s very impressive congrats
Age 26 -> 1st Year PE Associate -> net worth of about 150k
25, 1st Year PE Associate, net worth ~$1.5mm
Previous job let me have a PA, threw my tiny bonus and some savings into SPY puts during the early 2020 crash, rode some blue chip tech back up when money printer started working, then got on to GME in fall and have been on it 100% since. Thinking this squeeze might get me past $3mm. Lucky ape.
BUMP - who else is sitting pretty from all of these market gains?
32 yo - $3M portfolio, $200K cash, $200K home equity
You in IB or Pe? That’s impressive.
PE but now consulting ... dual income household who subscribe to the FatFIRE lifestyle
31 - $2.6mm net (~$1mm public equity, ~800-850k RE equity, ~600k 401k+RSUs, ~100k LP investments, balance in cash/savings)
Key drivers: public investing, real estate investments (self-funded from IB comp / no family money); no MBA and modest spending/lifestyle over the years (in spite of inevitable lifestyle inflation)
Other tidbits/themes: Hit 1mm mark at 29yo; comp expansion, concentrated public investing (and strong mkt performance) accelerated growth in past few years.
-Betting big on the best ideas and being disciplined with cutting losers or mediocre ideas -- top 2-5 high-conviction, high quality (growth-oriented, category/industry leader, even if at premium valuation v. peers) investments should be ~50% or more of total invest.
-Aggressive, but manageable, fixed/stable rate leverage is key for private/structured investments (co-investments, RE, and other CF-oriented plays)
Not investment advice, just comments informed by personal experience
Very nice. So you invested in single-name public equities while in IB rather than ETFs/Indexes am I reading that correctly? Guessing you also grinded it out from Analyst out of UG to VP with no gaps?
Yes on career progression; on trading, compliance strictness varies by bank, though Boutique/independents are generally more relaxed v. BBs from past experience.
I still have sector etfs / market index but they make up low teen% of total.
Are you heavy in tech or diversified across sectors?
Specific pockets within tech, HC, and industrials (A&D) where I understood value proposition and competitive moats -- sounds theoretical but generally invest in things I have clear understanding of 1 how business makes money, 2 how it protects and grows position and mkt share, and 3 management skill/economic interest.
On 3, its harder to quantify at first but overtime, either through contacts/network and work in these areas (reading comp disclosures in proxy), you can figure out whether mgmt team is high-performing and how closely-aligned their upside/interests are with shareholders.
$500k NW at 28. Not including any carry or co-invest $ which I've now invested into and will likely be a source of $250k-$600k in earnings over next 5 years.
Hoping to cross $800k at 30 and then $1.5M+ at 33 as carry hits.
Why the hell would you minimise living expenses and invest 100% of your bonus ? Do you guys not like nights out and vacations in Mexico ?
Not sure I understand the point of slaving away if you’re not having extras. I find it almost ridiculous people suggesting listening to investment poadcasts while working 80- 90h weeks on finance. 10 years of my life are not worth the extra million.
Personally, it’s easy to do. Imo once you get to a $150k salary, you can lead a nice lifestyle and still save/ invest almost all your bonus. I spend where My interests are (cycling, fitness) but otherwise just don’t feel the need for a $10k watch or $80k car.
1st year VP in direct lending. 31. Net worth of $1.1M. Got in a fund early and got a few hundred bps of carry. I’ve also had some nice appreciation in the equity on my house.
30, €125k - 1st year VP. Continental Europe is a ballache to earn real money outside of Swiss/London.
Feel behind the curve but when comparing doesn't seem considerably behind (apart when vs. BB/Large cap/MF)
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