Private equity salary, by level
A first-year private equity associate in London earns a base salary of £90k to £110k plus a cash bonus, so about £180k in cash. At the top of the ladder cash sits near £925k. Carried interest is not in any of these figures and is the reason people take the job.
These bands describe mid-market and upper-mid-market funds. Megafunds pay above them at every level, and the gap widens as you go up.
Every level
Mid-market and upper-mid-market funds in London. Megafunds pay above these bands at every level.
| Level | Base | Bonus | Total (mid) | Reached at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst | £60k to £75k | 40% to 70% | £105k | On joining |
| Associate 1 | £90k to £110k | 60% to 100% | £180k | 2y |
| Associate 2 | £105k to £130k | 70% to 110% | £225k | 3y |
| Senior Associate | £125k to £150k | 80% to 120% | £275k | 4y |
| VP | £150k to £185k | 90% to 140% | £360k | 5y 6m |
| Principal | £180k to £230k | 100% to 160% | £470k | 8y |
| Partner | £250k to £400k | 120% to 250% | £925k | 11y |
Figures describe 2021. Bonus as a multiple of base, rounded to five percentage points.
What the cash figures leave out
Carried interest is not in these numbers and is the reason people take the job. It typically starts around VP, vests over several years, and pays only when a fund returns capital, so a principal at a fund that underperforms can earn less over a decade than the bands suggest.
North America, across fund sizes. The source states plainly that European pay is lower, sometimes considerably, which is what the London table beside this one shows.
| Level | Base | Bonus | Total (mid) | Reached at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst | Not published | Not published | $100k to $150k | On joining |
| Associate | $120k to $150k | 25% to 100% | $220k | 2y 6m |
| Senior associate | Not published | Not published | $250k to $400k | 5y |
| Vice president | Not published | Not published | $350k to $500k | 7y 6m |
| Principal | Not published | Not published | $500k to $800k | 11y |
| Partner / MD | Not published | Not published | $700k to $2m | 14y 6m |
Figures describe 2025. These guides publish total cash by level and do not split it, so most rungs here show the total and leave base blank rather than invent a split. The associate rung is the exception: its base is measured from visa disclosure filings, which lets the bonus be derived.
What the cash figures leave out
Carry is absent from every figure here and is the whole point of the job. Heidrick’s 2025 survey of 656 North American investment professionals found three-quarters of bonuses still discretionary rather than formulaic, and top-quartile cash scaling with fund size, so the fund you join moves these numbers more than the year you join does.
Where these numbers come from
Published buy-side career-path guides, aggregatedRead September 2026; most carry no revision date
North American total compensation by level in private equity, hedge funds and venture capital, and time spent at each level. Rounded across guides rather than reproduced from any single one.
US Department of Labor, H-1B Labor Condition Application disclosure data2025 filings
Offered annual base wage by employer, job title and worksite. Percentiles below are computed from those rows, not taken from anyone else’s summary.
Licence: US public domain
Heidrick & Struggles, 2025 North America Private Equity Investment Professional Compensation Survey2025, 656 respondents
How private equity pay is structured rather than its level: that three-quarters of bonuses remain discretionary, and that top-quartile cash scales with fund size.
Ranges, not offers. Compare every track.
Weighing it against something else
Other tracks
For what these jobs involve day to day and how people get into them, see the career path map. For open roles and deadlines, the opportunity tracker.
Getting to the next rung
Analyst to associate
Most people arrive here from a banking analyst job. This is that decision, including when to stay and when to move across.
Buyside Recruitment Bootcamp
The headhunter playbook, the modelling test and the case, for anyone crossing into private equity, hedge funds or asset management.