2016 United States Private Equity Compensation Study

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Compensation Study
This study is intended to provide members of our community with private equity compensation information. Please note
that differences in fund structures (management fees, size of team, use of carry compensation or phantom equity, etc.)
make candidate’s annual cash compensation particularly volatile at certain fund sizes. Members of our community are
always able to search the thousands of compensation reviews on our platform to access information on specific private
equity firms. The most accurate and efficient way to benchmark your compensation would still be to connect with a
member of our team. We speak with thousands of professionals every year, and leveraging our data and insight, we
regularly provide these professionals with accurate information regarding the compensation ranges of funds that are
similar in size, investment strategy and location to their own.

Our compensation survey was completed by 965 private equity professionals. Below is a breakdown of
private equity survey respondents by the latest fund size raised by their private equity firm.

Greater than $8 Billion $0 to $250 Million

12% 12%

$5 Billion to $8 Billion
5%

$250 to $500 Million

$3 Billion to $5 Billion 16%
10%

$2 Billion to $3 Billion
7%
$500 to $750 Million
10%

$1.5 Billion to $2 Billion

7%

$750 Million to $1 Billion

9%
$1 Billion to $1.5 Billion
12%
Pre-MBA Associate Compensation By Fund Size And Years Of Experience
This study surveyed private equity associate compensation and solicited breakdown information by:

 Years of Experience – The number of years of investing experience the Associate professional had completed.
 Location – The work city of the professional.
 Investment Strategy – The investment strategy (buyout, growth, special situations, etc.) of the professional’s fund.
 Education Level – Whether the professional received an MBA or advanced degree.
 Fund Size – The latest fund size raised by the professional’s private equity firm.

There is too much data to succinctly show every iteration in this report so we encourage you to reach out to us to have a
more detailed compensation discussion pertaining to your particular situation (fund size, location, strategy, etc.). We
regularly provide this advisory support to clients and professionals confidentially.

The below tables provide private equity associate compensation by Fund Size and Years of Experience.
These associate professionals have most commonly completed one to three years of investment banking or consulting
prior to joining a private equity firm.

Location Adjustment
Professionals outside major cities report lower compensation which reduces the overall median. Reach out to our team to
discuss the appropriate location adjustments based upon your fund size and work city.

First Year Private Equity Associate (Medians Across All Geographies)

Fund Size1 All-In (USD)2 Base Salary2 Cash Bonus2 Carry Amount Received Carry3
$0M - $250M $150,000 $85,000 $65,000 10 bps 22%
$250M - $500M $165,000 $95,000 $70,000 10 bps 15%
$500M - $750M $175,000 $100,000 $75,000 10 bps 15%
$750M - $1B $190,000 $100,000 $90,000 10 bps 15%
$1B - $1.5B $200,000 $100,000 $100,000 - -
$1.5B - $2B $210,000 $100,000 $110,000 - -
$2B - $3B $222,500 $110,000 $112,500 - -
$3B - $5B $270,000 $125,000 $145,000 - -
$5B - $8B $300,000 $125,000 $175,000 - -
> than $8B $340,000 $125,000 $215,000 - -

Second Year Private Equity Associate (Medians Across All Geographies)

Fund Size1 All-In (USD)2 Base Salary2 Cash Bonus2 Carry Amount Received Carry3
$0M - $250M $155,000 $85,000 $70,000 15 bps 25%
$250M - $500M $172,500 $100,000 $72,500 10 bps 15%
$500M - $750M $200,000 $100,000 $100,000 10 bps 15%
$750M - $1B $210,000 $100,000 $110,000 10 bps 18%
$1B - $1.5B $215,000 $100,000 $115,000 - -
$1.5B - $2B $222,500 $110,000 $112,500 - -
$2B - $3B $240,000 $110,000 $130,000 - -
$3B - $5B $285,000 $125,000 $160,000 - -
$5B - $8B $310,000 $125,000 $185,000 - -
> than $8B $350,000 $125,000 $225,000 - -

1 M denotes million and B denotes billion.

2 Median reported compensation.
3 The percent of the respondents in a given fund size bracket who reported receiving carry as a part of their compensation. Not shown if less than 10%.
Senior Associate & Vice-President Compensation
There were a few key takeaways on Senior Associate and Vice President Year 1 Compensation:

 Senior Associates with MBAs received greater compensation and were also much more likely to receive carry.
 VP1s were more likely to receive carry than Senior Associates with MBAs but received similar cash compensation.

Location Adjustment
Reach out to our team to discuss the appropriate location adjustments based upon your fund size and work city.

Private Equity Senior Associate without MBA (Medians Across All Geographies)
Fund Size1 All-In (USD)2 Base Salary2 Cash Bonus2 Carry Amount Received Carry3
$0M - $250M $200,000 $100,000 $100,000 75 bps 56%
$250M - $500M $215,000 $115,000 $100,000 75 bps 45%
$500M - $750M $235,000 $125,000 $110,000 50 bps 25%
$750M - $1B $245,000 $125,000 $120,000 50 bps 22%
$1B - $1.5B $256,500 $125,000 $131,500 25 bps 21%
$1.5B - $2B $300,000 $135,000 $165,000 10 bps 8%
$2B - $3B $310,000 $140,000 $170,000 10 bps 6%
$3B - $5B $320,000 $140,000 $180,000 - -
$5B - $8B Less Than 20 Data Points
> than $8B Less Than 20 Data Points

Private Equity Senior Associate with MBA (Medians Across All Geographies)
Fund Size1 All-In (USD)2 Base Salary2 Cash Bonus2 Carry Amount Received Carry3
$0M - $250M $250,000 $125,000 $125,000 75 bps 67%
$250M - $500M $265,000 $135,000 $130,000 75 bps 81%
$500M - $750M $285,000 $150,000 $135,000 75 bps 75%
$750M - $1B $300,000 $150,000 $150,000 75 bps 83%
$1B - $1.5B $350,000 $150,000 $200,000 75 bps 90%
$1.5B - $2B $390,000 $150,000 $240,000 50 bps 92%
$2B - $3B $415,000 $200,000 $215,000 50 bps 100%
$3B - $5B $425,000 $200,000 $225,000 45 bps 100%
$5B - $8B $475,000 $200,000 $275,000 35 bps 100%
> than $8B Less Than 20 Data Points

Private Equity First Year Vice-President

Fund Size1 All-In (USD)2 Base Salary2 Cash Bonus2 Carry Amount Received Carry3
$0M - $250M $255,000 $150,000 $105,000 200 bps 85%
$250M - $500M $277,500 $150,000 $127,500 200 bps 83%
$500M - $750M $310,000 $150,000 $160,000 100 bps 92%
$750M - $1B $325,000 $150,000 $175,000 75 bps 95%
$1B - $1.5B $350,000 $150,000 $200,000 75 bps 95%
$1.5B - $2B $390,000 $175,000 $215,000 75 bps 100%
$2B - $3B $440,000 $200,000 $240,000 75 bps 100%
$3B - $5B $455,000 $200,000 $255,000 50 bps 100%
$5B - $8B $485,000 $200,000 $285,000 50 bps 100%
> than $8B $500,000 $250,000 $250,000 25 bps 100%

1 M denotes million and B denotes billion.

2 Median reported compensation.
3 The percent of the respondents in a given fund size bracket who reported receiving carry as a part of their compensation. Not shown if less than 5%.
List of Firms Included In Study
Our compensation survey solicited data from over 965 private equity professionals and below is a sample of the private
equity firms included in the study. Note that the below sample is not representative of the entire data set as over
350 private equity firms were included in the study.

Advent International Crestview Partners Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Rhône Group

ABRY Partners
AEA Investors
American Capital
American Securities
Angelo, Gordon & Co.
Apax Partners
Apollo Global Management
Ares Management
Arlington Capital Partners
Audax Group
Avista Capital Partners
Bain Capital
BDT Capital
Berkshire Partners
Blackstone Private Equity
Carlyle Group
Catterton Partners
Centerbridge Partners
Cerberus Capital Mgmt.
Charlesbank
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Comvest Partners
Corsair Capital
Court Square
CVC Capital Partners
FFL Partners
First Reserve
Fortress Investment Group
Francisco Partners
Freeman Spogli & Co.
General Atlantic
Genstar Capital
GI Partners
Golden Gate Capital
Gores Group
GTCR
H.I.G. Capital
Harvest Partners
Hellman & Friedman
HGGC
Irving Place Capital
J.H. Whitney & Company
JC Flowers
JLL Partners
JMI Equity
Jordan Company
Kelso & Company
Kohlberg & Company
KRG Capital
Lee Equity Partners
Leonard Green & Partners
Lightyear Capital
Lindsay Goldberg
Littlejohn & Co.
LLR Partners
Lone Star Funds
Madison Dearborn Partners
Metalmark Capital
MidOcean Partners
Morgan Stanley PE
New Mountain Capital
Oak Hill Capital Partners
Oaktree Capital Mgmt
Odyssey Partners
Olympus Partners
Onex Corporation
Paine & Partners
Pegasus Capital Advisors
Permira
Pinebridge Investments
Platinum Equity
Providence Equity Partners
Riverside Company
Riverside Partners
Riverstone Holdings
Sageview Capital
Sentinel Capital Partners
Silver Lake Partners
Stone Point Capital
Summit Partners
Sun Capital Partners
TA Associates
THL Partners
Thoma Bravo
Tinicum Capital
Towerbrook Capital
TPG Capital
Trilantic Capital Partners
TSG Consumer Partners
Vector Capital
Veritas Capital Mgmt
Vestar Capital Partners
Vista Equity Partners
Warburg Pincus
Welsh Carson
WL Ross & Co.

Contact our team at firms@gobuyside.com to learn more about our solutions