Incentive and retention frameworks quietly shaping stability

Incentive and retention frameworks play a decisive role in shaping decision making, risk appetite and cultural alignment. When structured and executed effectively, they support long term value creation by aligning individual outcomes with organizational objectives. When they are poorly governed or constrained by administrative limitations, they can encourage short-term thinking and elevate operational risk.

History offers repeated reminders of how closely compensation structures are linked to institutional resilience. Rewards have evolved in response to market instability in the form of deferral plans introduced after the financial crisis to the growing use of mandatory and voluntary deferred compensation plans. Understanding how incentive and retention frameworks shape outcomes over time remains fundamental to any discussion of financial stability and responsible growth.

A Milestone Moment for EWM Global: The Inaugural Private Markets Incentives Summit

EWM Global, together with our colleagues at TMF Group, marked a milestone moment on November 6th 2025 as we hosted the inaugural Private Markets Incentives Summit in New York. The event brought together an exceptional group of CFOs, COOs, and senior HR and Reward leaders from across the private markets industry.

The morning centered on sharing insights and open discussion, featuring interactive panels with live polling and Q&A on the latest trends in carried interest and incentive structures, followed by an engaging interview and round tables focused on incentivizing leadership.

“It was remarkable to see so many clients and peers come together for a focused discussion on incentives. The depth of experience in the room, representing around USD 30 trillion in AuM, made for a unique exchange of insights and experiences. We are already looking forward to building on this momentum next year.” – Wolfgang Schroter, CEO, EWM Global

A big thank you to all who joined us and helped make this such a valuable and engaging session.

Stay tuned for our 2026 event line-up, including the first European edition of the EWM Global Private Markets Incentive Summit, a second New York City edition, and a series of focused round tables and networking events.

EWM Global is proud to announce its sponsorship of the Soft Skills Club (SSC) at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), a student-led initiative dedicated to helping students develop the interpersonal and leadership skills that complement their academic and professional pursuits.

The Soft Skills Club provides students with a platform for personal growth through hands-on workshops, speaker events, and mentoring opportunities. By connecting students with experienced professionals, the SSC empowers the next generation of leaders to combine competence with human values, shaping both their careers and their character.

At EWM Global, we understand how critical these skills are to success in today’s evolving business landscape. Through this partnership, we look forward to working with the club to help students strengthen their communication, collaboration, and leadership abilities, the very skills that will enable them to thrive in their future careers.

We look forward to following the club’s continued success and development throughout the year.

Stay connected with the Soft Skills Club on LinkedIn, Instagram, and their website, to see their latest events and initiatives in action.

When a private equity firm establishes a continuation fund, the spotlight often lands on pricing, process, and investor dynamics. But lurking in the background is a technical – and often more contentious – issue on how to handle sponsor economics, particularly carried interest and employee co-investment.

These incentive mechanisms, essential to alignment in the legacy fund, don’t disappear when assets are rolled into a new vehicle. In fact, their complexity typically increases. How they are addressed can materially impact not just fairness and optics, but actual team motivation and retention. 

Maintaining Alignment

The core principle is simple: alignment between sponsors and LPs must be preserved. But applying that principle isn’t always straightforward. In some cases, maintaining alignment may mean diverging from how things were done in the legacy fund.

Carried Interest: Fairness, Timing, & Risk

But under a European waterfall, carry is locked until the entire fund meets its hurdle. That creates friction. If an asset is sold into the continuation vehicle before that hurdle is met, no carry is paid, raising questions about fairness to the deal team.

Clawback is another key concern. In cases where interim carry is distributed before final outcomes are known, clawback risk emerges – and must be carefully modeled, negotiated, and managed. 

Then there’s the issue of vesting in the new vehicle. Carry earned in the continuation fund generally merits a fresh vesting schedule, reflecting its own horizon. However, legacy fund vesting status shouldn’t be ignored.

Employee Co-Investments: Balancing Buy-In with Burden

We are thrilled to continue our annual sponsorship of the Private Funds CFO New York Forum on February 4th-5th, 2025 in New York.

The Forum brings together the most influential finance and operations decision-makers in private markets.

Our Chief Advisory Services Officer, Dominic Elias, will be moderating a Peer-to-Peer Carried Interest Workshop on Creating Credible and Creative Carried Interest Programs. The workshop will include discussion on:

• Finding the right vesting structure and allocation methods for your firm
• When is it the best time to make changes to an existing carry program?
• What is the younger generation expecting from carry?

We look forward to seeing you at the conference and to an engaging, insightful session!

Click here to register for this event.

EWM Discount Code: CFONY25_EWM

For more information, please contact james.bradnam@ewmglobal.com