According to PrivateEquityCompensation.com, roughly half of all funds have the standard 20% level of carry. Figure 2 below shows carry across PE funds. About a third have carry that was less than 20 percent, and 11 percent of the funds have carry that is 25 percent or more.

Figure 2: Size of the Carry Pool

Unlike the hedge fund industry where only 30 percent of firm members receive upside, over half of private equity professionals report receiving some level of carry.

Figure 3 below shows distribution of carry within funds that received it – over 40 percent of private equity fund employees reported receiving no share at all of their fund’s carry and 40 percent receive less than 10 percent of the carry pie.

Figure 3: Carry Disbursement within the Firm

Despite great variation in responsibilities between firms, usually the higher an individual’s title and responsibility, the higher is his carry. Junior level employees (Associate, Vice President) aren’t in much of a bargaining position on carry but senior level employees (due mostly to level of industry experience) can negotiate a higher carry component. Figure 4 below shows the likelihood of receiving carry compensation based on titles within the firm.

Figure 4: Percentage of Each Title with Carry