2025 PE Executive Equity Report

Data from more than 1,500 corporations and 500 LLCs that are backed by private equity firms sheds new light on how equity compensation works within the multitrillion-dollar industry.

Highlights

• Monthly vesting is more common at corporations than LLCs: About 63% of initial equity grants issued to executives at PE-backed corporations were on monthly vesting schedules, while 15% were annual. That stands in stark contrast to PE-backed LLCs, where 72% of initial executive grants vest annually and less than 10% vest monthly.
• Most performance conditions are linked to financial returns: When equity grants issued to management teams at PE-backed LLCs come with performance conditions, the majority of those conditions—about 52%—are linked to MOIC, IRR, or some other metric that measures the financial return generated for the PE owner. A smaller segment of performance conditions are linked to achieving an exit.
• Median grants to CEOs top 2% of equity: At PE-backed corporations, the median initial equity grant issued to a new CEO comprises about 2.6% of the company’s fully diluted equity. At PE-backed LLCs, the median initial grant issued to new CEO hires in 2024 was about 2.2% of company ownership.

Full report available: Start reading now for free.