HPS Investment Partners Interview Process: Rounds, Timeline & Compensation
Michael King, PE Investment Manager ·
HPS Investment Partners runs london hiring runs a four-round process reported on Wall Street Oasis: two separate 45-minute one-on-ones with an Executive Director and HR, a 1-1.5 hour technical round with a VP that includes an on-the-spot paper LBO, further 30-45 minute meetings with MDs and the team head, and a final four-hour case study - three hours building an investment case plus a one-hour presentation and Q&A. HPS hires smaller, experienced-leaning classes off-cycle rather than running a large structured undergraduate programme, consistent with dedicated private credit running a less compressed calendar than buyout PE's sophomore-fall on-cycle sprint (credit arms of the mega-funds tend to track closer to the IB timeline; standalone credit specialists like HPS more flexibly). London and European hiring follows the same off-cycle, as-needed pattern as the rest of the market covered on this site, with candidates reporting the full interview process running around three weeks from first contact to offer. HPS doesn't publish pay, but Glassdoor's thin UK/US-mixed sample puts analyst total comp in the $110k-$172k range, with an independent investment/credit-analyst estimate around $100k-$137k; New York associate total pay is reported at $179k-$257k (base around $166k plus average $47k bonus). Applying the roughly 20-30% London discount used across this site's bank and PE rows puts a London analyst estimate at roughly £80k-£120k, rising to about £130k-£185k at associate level. As at credit-focused peers such as Oaktree and Ares, meaningful carry or co-invest economics are not standard until well above associate level.
Interview rounds
London hiring runs a four-round process reported on Wall Street Oasis: two separate 45-minute one-on-ones with an Executive Director and HR, a 1-1.5 hour technical round with a VP that includes an on-the-spot paper LBO, further 30-45 minute meetings with MDs and the team head, and a final four-hour case study - three hours building an investment case plus a one-hour presentation and Q&A
Typical timeline
HPS hires smaller, experienced-leaning classes off-cycle rather than running a large structured undergraduate programme, consistent with dedicated private credit running a less compressed calendar than buyout PE's sophomore-fall on-cycle sprint (credit arms of the mega-funds tend to track closer to the IB timeline; standalone credit specialists like HPS more flexibly). London and European hiring follows the same off-cycle, as-needed pattern as the rest of the market covered on this site, with candidates reporting the full interview process running around three weeks from first contact to offer
Compensation range
HPS doesn't publish pay, but Glassdoor's thin UK/US-mixed sample puts analyst total comp in the $110k-$172k range, with an independent investment/credit-analyst estimate around $100k-$137k; New York associate total pay is reported at $179k-$257k (base around $166k plus average $47k bonus). Applying the roughly 20-30% London discount used across this site's bank and PE rows puts a London analyst estimate at roughly £80k-£120k, rising to about £130k-£185k at associate level. As at credit-focused peers such as Oaktree and Ares, meaningful carry or co-invest economics are not standard until well above associate level
Notes
HPS was founded in 2007 as Highbridge Principal Strategies, the private equity and credit arm of Highbridge Capital Management within J.P. Morgan Asset Management; a management buyout announced in 2015 and completed in March 2016 spun it out as the independent HPS Investment Partners, with JPMorgan retaining a minority stake. The firm grew into one of the largest dedicated private credit managers, reporting roughly $157bn in assets by early 2025. BlackRock completed its $12bn acquisition of HPS in July 2025, folding it into a combined private credit platform reporting about $220bn in client assets - recent enough that candidates should expect questions on what the tie-up means for HPS's day-to-day independence and strategy. Interviews lean harder on credit judgment and downside/recovery analysis than a typical equity-only buyout process, consistent with the firm's credit-first roots
Frequently asked questions
How many interview rounds does HPS Investment Partners run?
London hiring runs a four-round process reported on Wall Street Oasis: two separate 45-minute one-on-ones with an Executive Director and HR, a 1-1.5 hour technical round with a VP that includes an on-the-spot paper LBO, further 30-45 minute meetings with MDs and the team head, and a final four-hour case study - three hours building an investment case plus a one-hour presentation and Q&A
How long does the HPS Investment Partners interview process take?
HPS hires smaller, experienced-leaning classes off-cycle rather than running a large structured undergraduate programme, consistent with dedicated private credit running a less compressed calendar than buyout PE's sophomore-fall on-cycle sprint (credit arms of the mega-funds tend to track closer to the IB timeline; standalone credit specialists like HPS more flexibly). London and European hiring follows the same off-cycle, as-needed pattern as the rest of the market covered on this site, with candidates reporting the full interview process running around three weeks from first contact to offer
What does HPS Investment Partners pay first-year hires?
HPS doesn't publish pay, but Glassdoor's thin UK/US-mixed sample puts analyst total comp in the $110k-$172k range, with an independent investment/credit-analyst estimate around $100k-$137k; New York associate total pay is reported at $179k-$257k (base around $166k plus average $47k bonus). Applying the roughly 20-30% London discount used across this site's bank and PE rows puts a London analyst estimate at roughly £80k-£120k, rising to about £130k-£185k at associate level. As at credit-focused peers such as Oaktree and Ares, meaningful carry or co-invest economics are not standard until well above associate level