What is the average income for private equity?
Private equity is a very lucrative career. As an asset class, private equity has enjoyed tremendous success over the past decade. Investors around the globe continue to pile their money into private equity firms.
Position Title | Typical Age Range | Base Salary + Bonus (USD) |
---|---|---|
Associate | 24-28 | $150-$300K |
Senior Associate | 26-32 | $250-$400K |
Vice President (VP) | 30-35 | $350-$500K |
Director or Principal | 33-39 | $500-$800K |
Private equity is a very lucrative career. As an asset class, private equity has enjoyed tremendous success over the past decade. Investors around the globe continue to pile their money into private equity firms.
Position Title | Typical Age Range | Base Salary + Bonus (USD) |
---|---|---|
Analyst | 22-25 | $100-$150K |
Associate | 24-28 | $150-$300K |
Senior Associate | 26-32 | $250-$400K |
Vice President (VP) | 30-35 | $350-$500K |
According toCambridge Associates' U.S. Private Equity Index, PE had an average annual return of 14.65% in the 20 years ended December 31,2021. In comparison, theCambridge Associates U.S. Venture Capital Index found that VC returns averaged 11.53% in the same 20-year period.
Private equity professionals work long hours and are highly competitive and must think critically, and have a passion for financial investing deals, not just following the markets. Other requirements to start a career in private equity are: Excellent grades and a notable transcript in school.
Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | |
---|---|---|
Top Earners | $244,500 | $20,375 |
75th Percentile | $190,000 | $15,833 |
Average | $157,532 | $13,127 |
25th Percentile | $115,000 | $9,583 |
Private equity owners make money by buying companies they think have value and can be improved. They improve the company or break it up and sell its parts, which can generate even more profits.
but nowhere near as much as in management consulting. While the travel will be less, the work in private equity is very stressful and demanding, so the hours you actually spend working may be more stressful or mentally demanding.
By contrast, private equity firms make money by exiting their investments. They try to sell the companies at a much higher price than what they paid for them. The profits are then divided up based on a distribution waterfall.
How many hours a week is private equity?
Private Equity Associate Lifestyle and Hours
At many smaller funds and middle-market funds, you can expect to work 60-70 hours per week, mostly on weekdays, with occasional weekend work when deals heat up.
Candidates should have an bachelor's degree in an analytical major like finance, accounting, statistics, mathematics, or economics.
These roles are also responsible for setting the overall investment strategy within a firm, which is a key undertaking. A managing director (MD) is the most senior position at a private equity firm.
80% of your returns will usually come from 20% of your investments. 20% of your investors will usually represent 80% of the capital. For portfolio companies. 20% of your customers will usually represent 80% of your profits.
"Two" means 2% of assets under management (AUM), and refers to the annual management fee charged by the hedge fund for managing assets. "Twenty" refers to the standard performance or incentive fee of 20% of profits made by the fund above a certain predefined benchmark.
The Rule of 72 is a convenient method to estimate the approximate time for invested capital to double in value. By merely taking the number 72 and dividing it by the rate of return (or interest rate) expected to be earned, the output is the approximate number of years for an investment to double.
Private Equity Analyst Hours
To be conservative, I'll say the average range is 60 – 80 hours per week, with numbers at the top end of that range (or even above it) when a deal is in its final stages. Weekend work tends to be minimal, but it does come up when deals are in their final stages.
Private Equity Career Training
PE firms are small, tight-knit, and full of extremely smart and highly motivated people.
In my opinion, the techniques used to model PE transactions have a lot in common with those that are applied to Listed Equity. It has some maths in it, but nothing out of the world! 1) Not much in my experience in PE or IB.
Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | |
---|---|---|
Top Earners | $257,500 | $21,458 |
75th Percentile | $182,500 | $15,208 |
Average | $151,302 | $12,608 |
25th Percentile | $101,500 | $8,458 |
How hard is it to get into BlackRock?
Is it hard to get hired at BlackRock? Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at BlackRock as 61.2% positive with a difficulty rating score of 2.97 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty).
And if you don't stay to see the long-term results of your deals over many years, you won't receive the benefits of carry. The bottom line is that yes, the pay ceiling is higher in private equity, and there are MDs and Partners who earn many times – sometimes hundreds of times – what MDs in banking earn.
The 22 members on the latest Forbes 400 list who made their fortunes in private equity are now worth a combined $153.7 billion. Leading the list this year is Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of Blackstone Group, with a net worth of $37.4 billion.
However, you also have a greater chance of losing your money, given that private equity often invests in startups. Private equity funds also tend to have high fees, which can cut into returns. Additionally, private equity funds are highly illiquid.
It's no secret that private equity firms have a bad reputation. They're often seen as ruthless vultures that swoop in to buy up struggling companies, slash costs, and then sell them off for a profit.