What is Canada comp like?

Hey everyone I just have a quick question about PE in Canada.

What are the comps like at the big Canadian PE shops (Onex, Birch Hill, etc)? What are the comps like working at a PE arm of a pension fund?

Is IBD or PE generally better in terms of long-term careers in Canada?

Thanks

 

Compensation in PE arms of pension funds is, from what i've seen, quite high in Canada compared to in the US. I have read many articles about pension fund managers in Canada (i.e., Caisse de dépôt et de placement in Quebec) being paid very high salaries compared to their US peers.

In terms of IBD and PE, it depends on your city. I know that analyst starting salaries in smaller cities like Montreal is around 90k base (CAD) + 30-40k bonus. Might be higher in Toronto and larger cities.

Cant speak for long-term prospects, as I am starting out my career myself.

 

Interned at two Canadian pension funds in/with the private equity deal teams.

If you start as an associate, you are making 90-110k+ salary and bonuses range from 30-50%. Canadian pension funds are the most respected in the world, and have great culture and work-life balance - definitely a plus.

Most of everybody that I know that pursues IBD seeks to exit to PE later a few years later in life - generally due to the upgrades in work-life balance, culture, and exposure to new types of stimulating work.

 

From what I know, CPPIB and OTPP do not hire straight out of undergrad for any of their PE teams (there may be rare cases for exceptional interns). If you were to land a first year analyst role in PE without any banking experience, I imagine you would be paid around the same or a little bit less than a first year IB analyst at a BB. First year IB at a BB make 110-140K all in. :)

 

Think 65k is a little low for a PE gig at a major pension. Was thinking base would be closer to 75k-80k to align with with banking pay and bonus in the range of 30-40k for an all in of ~115-120k. You have to remember that the interns at these places are about the same quality as the ones at the Ibanks.

 
Best Response

Comment above is correct, analyst comp for a PE pension fund gig in Toronto is ~C$120K all-in for a first year and increases moderately each year. The discrepancy between IBD and PE comp becomes more noticeable at the associate level. In banking there is a big gap between all-in for a 3rd year analyst and a 1st year associate (won't see this big of a gap at the pension funds).

Above comments on Montreal are correct as well, but salaries all together in Quebec tend to be lower in general. Not a finance thing.

Comp at MM funds are comparable to that of pension funds. You'll be taking a pay cut going to the buy-side in Canada; opportunity cost for a better lifestyle. Onex is another beast.. I've commented on a few other posts touching on them.

While there are more 'career bankers' in Canada, I would argue that PE is a better long-term career path in general just by virtue of the industry.

 

Would you know the expected comp of VPs, Principals and MDs? Is it better than Corp Dev or AM jobs?

Also when you say 120k for first years, do you mean straight out of undergrad as an analyst or as an associate from an IB?

MM PE fund First-Year Associates usually make 220k+ in the States (USD) so if they're making 140K CAD in Canada, that'd be terrible.

 

I’m not really proximate enough to comment on what comp is at those levels, but you can probably easily google/glassdoor it. The dynamics of the PE industry at the pension funds (and in Canada generally speaking) is a lot different. This is a whole other discussion, but yes, you will get paid significantly less in Canada.

Also, I’ve seen a few posts where people continually ask for comp at senior levels. What’s the deal here? You haven’t started working yet; let’s worry about locking up an offer before thinking about your salary in 10 years...

 

Another annoying thing about all these questions about for senior level comp is that pension funds actually release all the comp info for their senior people so it's pretty easily accessible....

Also, PSP use the same salary grid as CPP (for positions in Canada). While pension funds aren't known to pay well, CDPQ is definitely under market. BCIMC and AIMCO also pay below average.

 

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