2022 Private Equity Compensation Report Shows Continued Upward Trends in Compensation

Private Equity Compensation Report

ANN ARBOR, MI – The 2022 Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report shows that private equity and venture capital compensation is up again this year, marking the eighth straight year of compensation gains.

The percentage of respondents earning $150,000 and below has continued to decline and those earning from $151,000 to $1 million increased to 80 percent of respondents. This is the highest percentage of private equity and venture capital professionals reporting earnings more than $150,000 in annual compensation in the history of this report.

“Overall, compensation is up, yet 57 percent of those surveyed are dissatisfied with their pay,” said David Kochanek, Publisher of PrivateEquityCompensation.com. “We’ve seen this before. When the market is strong, pay satisfaction is weak. This is because investment professionals are not currently concerned about losing their job and they are reading about the top performers and huge pay packages.” Market conditions and employee expectations are the reasons cited by 62 percent of those dissatisfied.

Estimated fund performance in 2021 was up compared to 2020, and funds up 10 to 24 percent over last year represented the majority at 45 percent.
The research shows that bonus pay is typically calculated based on firm performance, fund performance, individual performance and a combination of factors. The largest bonus payouts are achieved in the largest firms based on individual performance. In fact, employees at the largest firms can expect to earn more than triple the bonus pay of those at smaller firms.

In addition to compensation data, the 2022 Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report provides additional insights such as positions in demand, percentage of firms hiring, where firms are cutting back and where career opportunities are increasing.

About The Report

The 2022 Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report is based on data collected directly from hundreds of private equity and venture capital partners, principals and employees.

The report, in its fifteenth year of publication, is widely regarded to be among the most comprehensive benchmarks for private equity and venture capital compensation. It provides independent and impartial data covering a broad range of salary, bonus, carried interest and other compensation-related information, sourced directly from professionals working within the industry.