Thelander IF Digest: December 2024

Diving into Salary Increases at Investment Firms 

Welcome back to the December edition of the Thelander Digest. This month, we delve into exclusive analysis from the recently published Thelander-PitchBook Investment Firm Salary Increase & Bonus Report. If you haven’t participated yet, you can still input your data here to secure your free participant report. In the meantime, we’ll explore which roles received the highest salary increases, how AUM influenced the actual percentage and the driving factors behind them.

Chart 1 looks at the year-over-year percent of investment professional positions that received a salary increase. We see the following:

A closer look at Investment Professionals 1 through 6—from Managing General Partner to Associate—reveals that professionals ranked 3 to 6 (Director/Principal, Senior Associate, and Associate) were more likely to receive a salary increase for 2025 compared to the previous year.

Chart 2 analyzes salary increases by total AUM. We see the following:

The Managing Director/Partner role saw the highest salary increase percentages, with the median reaching 10.2% and the 75th percentile peaking at 12.5%.

In contrast, the previous year’s top increases were observed at the Director/Principal level, with a median of 7.5% and a 75th percentile of 10.0% (which stayed consistent YoY). 

Chart 3 looks at the factors influencing salary increases. We see the following:

The primary factors influencing salary increases across all investment professional titles included cost of living or annual salary adjustments, closely followed by merit or performance-based increases.

Notably, the third most significant factor shifted this year; promotions to positions of higher value or skill have now replaced the previous trend of participating in firm-wide salary increases.

Compensation is more than just salary increases—it also includes bonuses, carried interest, vesting times and more. As compensation trends evolve, ensuring your team’s pay reflects market standards is crucial for attracting and retaining talent. We provide you with real-time, reliable market data so you can make informed decisions that keep your team motivated and your firm competitive.

Participate in the Thelander-PitchBook Investment Firm Compensation Survey