Posts by Prasuna Tanchuk
COVID-driven Divide Emerges on Wall Street as Bonus Season Looms
“The majority of professionals at traditional and alternative asset firms as well as retail and commercial bankers will see smaller bonuses,” said the firm’s managing director, Alan Johnson. “Conversely, fixed income pros will be rewarded handsomely as uncertainty and high volatility contributed to record trading.” Hedge funders will have a check about 5 percent to…
Read MoreThe Giant Schism in Asset Management Paychecks
Experts see a small pay cut coming for executives at traditional asset managers, hedge funds, and private equity shops, particularly at smaller firms, given disruption in the underlying economy because of the coronavirus. The predicted five-to-10 percent compensation drop would make for two down years in a row, according to Johnson Associates’ third-quarter report on…
Read MoreFired Bankers’ Job Prospects Fade With Firms Under Pressure to Cut Costs
“Financial services and banking has too many people,” said Alan Johnson, the head of compensation-consulting firm Johnson Associates Inc., who predicts the industry’s headcount will shrink 10% by mid-2021 from its level as the pandemic began. “Next year is going to be very low hiring. There’ll be some layoffs.” One silver lining for job hunters…
Read MoreBanks Warn Bonuses Will Not Keep Pace with Profits
“This is the first time since the financial crisis that we’ve had such a dramatic difference between parts of the big banks,” said Alan Johnson, founder of New York-based pay consultancy Johnson & Associates, referring to the gulf in the performance of the banks’ retail business and their advisory and trading divisions… Johnson said issues…
Read MoreMost Wall Street Bonuses Appear Set to Decline, Except for Sales and Trading Jobs, New Report Says
CNBC Squawkbox / August 10, 2020 CNBC Squawkbox covered Johnson Associates’ Compensation Estimates in their morning reporting. Most financial services incentives projected to decline, with sales and trading jobs the one bright spot.
Read MoreBond Trading Seen as Bonus Bright Spot While Others Disappoint
“You’ll hear about some multimillion-dollar trader that got some multimillion-dollar increase in pay while you got less pay,” Alan Johnson, president and founder of Johnson Associates, said in an interview. “You’re not going to be able to make everybody happy and, unfortunately, this year you’re going to make many people unhappy. There are limited funds…
Read MoreLayoffs, Shrunken Bonuses Coming in Asset Management
The largest private equity funds have enormous amounts of cash to invest, but face portfolio company defaults. Alan Johnson, head of the compensation and consulting firm, said PE outfits benefit from leverage when markets are up. “Now they’re on the other side of leverage and it hurts,” Johnson told Institutional Investor. “I won’t have a…
Read MoreAsset Managers to Shrink Bonuses, Slash Jobs Despite Market Recovery: Report
“It is going to be a disappointing year,” says Alan Johnson, managing principal at compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates. And lower comp isn’t the concern for industry workers. “Headcount is going to be a big issue in the industry,” Johnson adds. Effective remote work not only came as a surprise to asset manager business leaders,…
Read MoreAsset Managers Are Prepping Layoffs and Slashed Bonuses as the Pandemic Pressures the Already-squeezed Industry. Here Are the Jobs Most at Risk
Managing director Alan Johnson said employees on the support and operations side of the business, like those involved in processing and lower-level technology functions, will likely be most vulnerable. The dim projections underscore how asset managers are under pressure as they navigate falling fees for products and thinning profit margins in a highly uncertain economic…
Read MoreAnother Down Year Seen for Manager Bonuses
“It’s not just where the markets are, it’s the fees you collect,” said Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, in a phone interview. “We have these systemic changes within the market. We’ve moved from active to passive; we’ve moved to ETFs.” Mr. Johnson added that the decline is only “moderately worse” than estimates made…
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