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Infographic | Beyond Data

Pay trends in Private Equity

June 8, 2023

Explore what our Private Equity surveys tell us about the current compensation landscape in the sector
Compensation Strategy & Design
Beyond Data
Infographic of pay trends in Private Equity
New hires in Private Equity: By the numbers

11% of incumbents in our 2022 database are new hires
22% of new hires were:

  • Investment Analyst
  • Junior Investment Manager
New hire compensation in the Private Equity:

In the UK, Investment Analysts can attract higher salaries due to the competitive talent market

In Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), new Investment Analyst and Junior Investment Manager hires can be paid 10% more than existing incumbents

Year-on-year salary increases
Location Investment Analyst Junior Investment Manager
UK 10% 8%
Benelux 9% 3%
North America 5% 6%
France 5% 5%
Germany 2% 3%

Job functions with the highest base salary increases
Benelux
  • Deal Origination
  • Fund Accounting
France
  • Human Resources
United Kingdom
  • Deal Origination
  • Legal
  • Financial Accounting
US
  • Risk Management
Roles most likely to be included in carried interest plans
Senior Management Investment Team Deal Origination
(Chief Executive Officer / Managing Partner, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer) (Senior Director/Partner, Director/Partner, Senior Investment Manager) (Director/Partner)

Pay elements for investment teams

United Kingdom:

Role in investment team Base Salary Bonus Carried interest (illustrative)
Analyst 76% 24% 0%
Junior Investment Manager 58% 34% 7%
Investment Manager 54% 35% 11%
Senior Investment Manager 42% 36% 22%
Director/Partner 37% 37% 26%
Senior Director/Partner 32% 30% 38%

Benelux:

Role in investment team Base Salary Bonus Carried interest (illustrative)
Analyst 85% 15% 0%
Junior Investment Manager 73% 13% 14%
Investment Manager 65% 14% 21%
Senior Investment Manager 49% 9% 42%
Director/Partner 39% 14% 47%
Senior Director/Partner 34% 16% 50%

North America:

Role in investment team Base Salary Bonus Carried interest (illustrative)
Analyst 76% 24% 0%
Junior Investment Manager 59% 33% 8%
Investment Manager 50% 40% 11%
Senior Investment Manager 42% 39% 20%
Director/Partner 28% 52% 20%
Senior Director/Partner 35% 35% 30%

The role of annual bonuses

In the UK and North America, bonuses are a significant component of the overall pay package, while bonus levels in Benelux, France and Germany are a smaller proportion of the overall pay mix.

Annual bonus as a percentage of base salary for Investment Analyst:

Year Benelux France Germany North America United Kingdom
2021 5% 20% 5% 30% 39%
2022 17% 21% 14% 32% 31%

Annual bonus as a percentage of base salary for Junior Investment Manager:

Year Benelux France Germany North America United Kingdom
2021 13% 21% 12% 47% 64%
2022 17% 31% 15% 51% 55%

Annual bonus movement across all roles Increased No change Decreased
Benelux All roles
France Most roles Director/Partner
Germany Most roles Investment Manager
North America Junior and Mid-level Investment roles Director/Partner and Senior Director/Partner
United Kingdom Senior Director/Partner Up to Director/Partner

Trends that will drive rewards decisions
  1. Economic volatility and uncertainty may force organizations to review their workforces and be more cautious about increasing fixed elements of compensation, like base salaries.
  2. Organizations will look beyond pay and take a holistic view of total rewards to create employee experiences that attract and retain the talent needed to drive business objectives.
  3. To effectively compete against industry peers, compensation and HR professionals will seek a more sophisticated understanding and application of data in their strategic total rewards practices and policies.

Source: 2022 WTW Private Equity Compensation Surveys

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