Thelander IF Digest: January 2026

Committing Capital For Your Carry

Committing capital for your carried interest is one of the most important – and often least talked about – parts of a carry package.

When investment professionals write a personal check into the fund, they are putting skin in the game. That capital committed is tied directly to the amount of carried interest they receive, which is the upside when (and if) things go well. It ties the general partners (GPs) to the performance of the fund. Committing capital also aligns the interest of the GPs with the LPs, ensuring LPs that fund managers take on some of the risk involved in their investment in order to receive their percentage of the returns.

Using data from the Thelander Carried Interest & Management Fees Report, we looked at how the overall percentage of committed capital GPs contribute has changed YoY at venture capital firms as well as changes in the distribution of that commitment among different levels of partner.

Since 2023, VC firms have been increasing how much capital GPs are expected to commit. Fewer funds now sit in the 0-1% category, falling from 34.6% in 2023 to 32.00% in 2024 and down to 25.9% in 2025.

Meanwhile, the 1.1 – 3% category has been growing the most – steadily from 48.6% to 50.2% to 54.6% YoY. This indicates that LPs are increasingly asking fund managers to put up a higher stake in their funds overall. 

When looking at the median percent of the overall commitment that partners contribute to the most recent fund for their carry by job title, we see a trend: as total commitments have grown, a larger portion of that responsibility has shifted toward higher-level partners. In particular, Senior Managing Directors / Senior Partners have shown the most consistent YoY increase in their share of the commitment. 

Key takeaways: 

Managing General Partner commitments have grown modestly since 2023, increasing by 1% 

Senior Managing Director / Senior Partners have seen a 10% increase in the median percent of capital committed for their carry since 2023 – going from 12.5% to 22.0%.

Managing Directors / Partners have seen a slight, ~1%, decline YoY 

At the 75th percentile, the same patterns generally hold true – with Senior Managing Director / Senior Partners dipping in 2024 at 22.00% before jumping to 33% in 2025. 

What’s The Bottom Line? 

Access to this kind of data and analysis is critical because it gives a concrete, market-driven picture of what kind of financial commitments investment professionals can expect in connection to what is often the most lucrative piece of their compensation package. A higher required commitment can be a meaningful check – especially in earlier career stages – but it also translates into participation in the upside if the fund performs, or even receiving a greater share of that upside in cases where increasing commitment is matched by an increased share of the overall carry pool. Understanding where your firm sits on this spectrum, how expectations differ by level, and how your commitment interacts with your carry is critical for long term success.

You can find out how your current compensation compares to market by participating in the no-cost Thelander-PitchBook Investment Firm Compensation Survey today. Unlock real-time data for every job title you complete. The more you give, the more you get! Plus, all data is published in aggregate with no individual names or firm names reported, so your data will remain confidential. 

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