Thelander IF Digest: March 2025
How Does Firm Size Impact Team Structure and Compensation?
This month’s Digest is all about Firm Structure & Compensation. We’re digging into how many people are in each part of your organization, how that changes based on total AUM, and what the compensation looks like across those roles. As AUM grows, so does team complexity – more partners, more junior partners, and expanded investment and back-office roles.
Why does this matter? It’s key to understanding how firms scale their teams as they grow. Let’s dive into the data.
Chart 1, 2, & 3 look at the structure of organizations based on how many people are in each area grouped by size of AUM. We see the following:
Firms with less than $500M AUM: 96% have 1–5 partners, with over half having just 1 or 2.
Firms with $500M–$999M AUM: 87% have 1–5 partners, with the majority having 3–5.
Firms with $1 billion or more in AUM: 21% have 1–2 partners, 42% have 3–5, and 23% have 5–10
Chart 4 looks at the structure of organizations based on how many people are in each area grouped by number of junior partners. We see the following:
Junior Partners:
The percentage of firms with no junior partners decreases as AUM increases.
At $1 billion+, more than 50% of firms have junior partners.
The number of firms with 3–5 or 6–10 junior partners increases consistently with AUM.
Other Investment Professionals (e.g. Senior Associates and Associates):
Firms with 1–2 investment professionals drop from 35% (under $500M AUM) to 4% (over $1B AUM).
At $500–999M, almost half of firms have 3–5 investment professionals.
At $1B+, the distribution spreads more evenly across 3–5, 6–10, and 10+ investment professionals.
Chart 5 looks at the structure of organizations based on how many people are in each area grouped by operation staff. We see the following:
The percentage of firms with operations staff consistently increases with AUM, along with the number of operations team members per firm.
Chart 6 looks at the structure of organizations based on how many people are in each area grouped by finance staff. We see the following:
The percentage of firms with finance staff rises sharply at the $500–999 million AUM range. While most still have 1–2 finance team members, firms with $1B+ AUM are more likely to have 3–5 or more.
What’s the bottom line?
Understanding how your firm’s structure compares to peers at similar AUM levels is essential for strategic planning and competitive compensation. To explore our platform and access a subset of compensation data for free, participate in the Thelander-PitchBook Investment Firm Compensation Survey. This will grant you 12 months of complimentary platform access. Plus, by participating, you’ll secure discounted pricing for full access. If you’re considering subscribing and wish to learn more, we invite you to schedule a call or demo with us.
Tags: Investment Firm, Newsletter