The 2025 HOLT-MM&K North American PE and VC Compensation Report – now published and available for purchase

We are pleased to announce the release of The 2025 HOLT-MM&K North American Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report. This annual benchmark continues to offer one of the most authoritative views of compensation trends and practices across the PE and VC fund-management ecosystem in North America. (See the official 2025 report page for more details.)

Participation & Scope

• This year’s survey is based on data contributed by 64 participating firms, reflecting continued strong engagement from industry players.
• The data set covers compensation practices and outcomes across a broad spectrum: from investment roles (Analyst through Managing General Partner) to administrative, finance, operations, and support-function roles.
• The report structure mirrors prior editions: Part One takes a deep dive into firm-level compensation practices (fee models, payroll burden, bonus structures, carried interest, GP commitment, benefits, etc.), while Part Two offers granular, job-by-job compensation benchmarks across dozens of roles.

Key Findings & Trends

Payroll Costs & Revenue Ratios

One notable metric is the share of payroll expenses relative to gross performance fees or revenues.

In 2025 across participating firms, the median payroll cost as a percentage of GP fees / revenue stands at 56%.

This ratio underscores the significant human-capital burden borne by PE/VC firms, and the balancing act involved in linking compensation to fee-generating capacity.

Compensation Changes

On the investment side, firms continue to lean into merit and market pressure:

• The median salary increase across all investment managers in 2025 is 9%.
• The broader pattern of base-salary increases varies by seniority and firm type. Junior investment roles are seeing stronger upward pressure, consistent with tight competition for talent, while senior-level changes are more moderate.

 Compensation by Role

While detailed figures by job title are reserved for the full report, a few directional observations can be drawn (in line with past patterns):

• Junior and mid-level roles tend to see more aggressive base-salary escalations, reflecting benchmarking pressure and “keep-up” competition in smaller firms or growth funds.
• At the senior partner / GP level, base-salary growth is more restrained, with compensation more heavily influenced by bonus and carried interest allocations.
• The mix of cash compensation (salary + bonus) versus long-term incentives (carry, co-investment) continues to evolve, with many firms carefully calibrating trade-offs between fixed cost and variable upside.

Market Structure & Behaviour

• The report categorises participants into firm types (e.g. LBO / Growth / VC / Hybrid) and by size tiers (large vs. small / mid). This segmentation allows for more tailored benchmarking.
• On the behavioural front, firms remain cautious around headcount growth: many are monitoring market signals before expanding investment and support staff.

Commentary & Outlook

Despite lingering macroeconomic uncertainty and capital-market flux, compensation in the PE/VC domain remains resilient in 2025. The 9% median base increase among investment managers suggests firms are still willing to invest in talent retention and differentiation, particularly in a tight labour market.

However, the high payroll-to-fee burden (56 %) raises important questions about cost discipline and scalability. Firms will need to continue refining incentive alignment: ensuring that bonus, carry, and co-investment plans sufficiently reward performance without overleveraging fixed-cost structures.

Looking ahead, we expect several themes to merit close attention:

1. Carry crystallisation timing and payout structuring, especially in illiquid or late-cycle environments.
2. Co-investment and GP commitment practices — how these evolve as firms compete for talent and capital.
3. Firm differentiation — how small / mid-size firms calibrate against large-platform peers in pay practices.
4. Non-investment roles — operations, ESG, data, legal, and compliance remain essential and are increasingly under pressure for competitive compensation.

For those who rely on rigorous, up-to-date benchmarks to design or adjust compensation packages, the full 2025 North American PE & VC Compensation Report offers deep insight and actionable data.

Download a preview of the North American report here

To obtain your copy of the North American Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report, please contact the MM&K team at Surveys@mm-k.com.

For those of you more interested in the European picture, we have now published the 2025 MM&K-Holt Private Equity and Venture Capital Compensation Report for UK and Europe.

Download a preview of the European report here

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