Buyout Funds Seek ‘Super Carry’ as 20% Performance Fee Falls Short

This is a structural shift in how private-market managers are paid, not just a fee headline. Super carry pushes compensation toward hurdle-based outcomes, meaning managers only capture the upside if return or capital-efficiency targets are actually met — which aligns GP incentives with LPs on paper, but also signals that managers expect the standard 20% fee to underprice their perceived value in a tougher fundraising market. The open question is whether LPs accept this as a concession to access capacity-constrained managers, or resist and push capital toward firms sticking with conventional terms.