carried interest

American  

[kar-eed in-ter-ist, in-trist] / ˈkær id ˈɪn tər ɪst, ˈɪn trɪst /

noun

Finance.

1. a share of profits received by managers of private investment funds, as private equity and hedge funds, unrelated to initial money the managers may or may not have contributed.

   His piles of accumulated carried interest have fallen neatly into a tax-free loophole.

---

Etymology

Origin of carried interest

First recorded in 1750–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carried interest

Two proxy-advisory firms recommended a vote against the pay packages, citing transparency concerns and the complex carried interest program.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

Some platforms that target retail investors offer SPVs with management fees or upfront commissions of 10% or more, plus 2% annual fees and 20% carried interest on any gains, according to Nasdaq Private Market.

From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026

But the Joint Committee previously estimated that taxing carried interest as income would raise $63.1 billion over a decade, and that cracking down on derivative contracts could raise $16.5 billion in that time frame.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

Generally, they carry expensive fees, including 10% or more upfront management fees and 20% carried interest on any gains, according to Nasdaq Private Markets.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026

The aggregate obligations bearing interest in coin had risen to $2,107,938,000; while the three per cent certificates and the Navy pension-fund, which alone carried interest in currency, amounted to $61,195,000.

From Twenty Years of Congress, Volume 2 From Lincoln to Garfield, with a Review of the Events Which Led to the Political Revolution of 1860 by Blaine, James Gillespie