Posts by doubleup
3rd Quarter 2020
Compensation Trends and Projections November 2020 After the third quarter, Johnson Associates projects year-end decreases in incentive compensation across financial services. Major investment & commercial banks had strong investment banking performance but weak results in commercial and retail banking. Despite dramatic market recovery, asset management, hedge funds, and private equity incentives decline moderately.
Read MoreHartford to Offer Buyouts, Cut Hundreds of Staffers
Hartford anticipated about $70 million in severance costs in the third quarter, according to its second-quarter results. “They’re probably looking at getting whole head count down 10% or 12%” through both buyouts and layoffs, says Alan Johnson, president of compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates… The fact that the pandemic now appears likely to stretch well…
Read MoreWells Fargo Targeting Up to 25% of Workforce in Mass Layoffs
Alan Johnson, managing director of New York-based compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc., said that Wells Fargo’s announced cost-cutting plan will hurt the firm from a recruitment perspective, including in asset management. “It’s not just the cost cutting, but years of instability at the bank,” since the 2016 sales scandal surfaced, he said. “It’s just one…
Read MoreEven Wall Street’s Biggest Bonuses Will Disappoint This Year
Equities traders at major U.S. banks largely succeeded in navigating the most tumultuous markets in a generation as the pandemic triggered lockdowns in March and sent stocks swooning, only to later rebound. But that performance was soon overshadowed by fixed-income trading. Federal Reserve intervention in credit markets helped banks arrange a slew of fundraisings for…
Read More2nd Quarter 2020
Compensation Trends and Projections August 2020 Johnson Associates projections after Q2 2020 indicate broad decreases in financial services. Dramatic market recovery has alleviated fears of catastrophic year for financial services pay. However, shift to lower fee products, debt defaults, bankruptcies, and curbed consumer/business activity explain disconnect between stock performance and current corporate earnings.
Read MoreWall Street Bonus Forecast Not as Dire as in May
The latest survey by compensation consultant Johnson Associates predicts that financial services pay will be slashed by 15 percent to 20 percent in 2020 — a vast improvement from the 30 percent cuts the same survey predicted in mid-May. “We’ve dug halfway out of the hole,” the report’s author, Alan Johnson, told The Post. “But…
Read MoreWall Street Likely to Cut Bonuses 15-20%, Make Significant Layoffs -Report
Incentive compensation will be under strict scrutiny this year and will take into account companies’ performance during the coronavirus crisis and the Black Lives Matter movement. This scrutiny will extend to chief executives’ compensation at public companies, Johnson wrote. “With the impact of COVID-19 and recent focus on justice and equality, it will require a…
Read MoreCEO Pay Hikes Not Likely to Hold Up in 2020
Alan Johnson, managing director of New York-based compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc., said increased CEO pay [for 2019] was “pretty rational” given the performance of firms last year. Year-end pay for 2020, however, is “likely to be down significantly,” with senior executives apt to see pay decreases “at least as bad as everybody else,” Mr.…
Read More1st Quarter 2020
Compensation Trends and Projections May 2020 Preliminary projections for 2020 indicate likely a year of wide variations in incentive outcomes between stronger and weaker competitors. Number of compensation scenarios that could ultimately occur depending on virus recovery timetable, but the overall incentive trend is down based on data as of Q1 2020. Major investment &…
Read MoreMoney Managers Attempt to Calm Layoff Fears Amid Downturn
But layoffs, “from moderate to severe,” will eventually occur at money management firms as a result of the market downturn and the “severe recession” that is expected to follow the pandemic, said Alan Johnson, managing director of New York-based compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc. Despite this, he has advised money management clients to not panic…
Read More