Press

“All signs are pointing to an overall disappointing and lackluster year on Wall Street,” said Alan Johnson, managing director of the firm that did the report… Payments are pressured by a number of factors, including increased competition among investment banks, declines in equity trading and underwriting activity this year, and overall higher expenses, in part…

It used to be a straight shot from what the markets did to Wall Street and asset management paychecks. This is the first year those two have diverged significantly, according to Johnson Associates’ yearly analysis of incentive compensation… “If you look from January 1st, the markets look terrific,” said Alan Johnson, the founder and managing…

Alan Johnson, managing director of New York-based Johnson Associates, said pursuing clawbacks—which he dubbed the “nuclear weapon” of pay disputes—requires careful consideration. “If you get into these personal, behavioral issues it just gets really tricky,” Johnson said. While embarrassing episodes such as an extramarital affair, DUI, or personal bankruptcy might raise red flags, Johnson said…

But Alan Johnson, managing director at Johnson Associates, a New York-based compensation-consulting firm, says he’s “leery” of including a salary range in job postings. He’s more open to the idea of companies publishing a data point—like a minimum salary—instead of a range because it’s all about managing expectations. “If you hire someone but their salary…

Alan Johnson, CEO at compensation consultancy Johnson Associates, believes it’s clear that Argo’s corporate governance changes are the direct result of a proxy contest led by Voce Capital… Shareholders’ concerns over Argo’s pay design were likely due to the fact that its LTIP plan was an outlier. Indeed, Johnson is surprised that Argo didn’t already…

For institutional investors and consultants assessing the health of money managers, there isn’t necessarily a direct relationship between desired headcount levels and AUM at firms, “especially in today’s market where revenue plays a larger role given the wide range of fee structures for different products,” Francine McKenzie, managing director at compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc.,…

…there is a peculiar dynamic, where pay can fall even when the economy is strong, said Alan Johnson… “This is some kind of an inflection point,” he said. “It used to be, ‘As long as AUM is up and as long as the market is up, you’ll be fine.’ But that’s no longer true.” Although…

Compensation for many employees of big banks and asset managers is expected to stay flat or drop this year… Equities trading and underwriting will probably be hardest hit, according to a new report by the compensation consultancy Johnson Associates. Their annual pay packages could fall by as much as 15 percent from last year. The…

Traders and investment bankers “haven’t had the revenues that I think they were expecting,” Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, said in an interview. “Clients haven’t come back, the volumes haven’t come back.” “The economy is clearly slowing, so how fast is that going to happen I think is the big variable,” Johnson said.…

Asset gains will not push incentive compensation up due to the shift in assets to lower-fee products and the rebalance out of equities into fixed income strategies, the compensation consulting firm states in its second-quarter trends and year-end projections report released today. Revenues have replaced market gains and assets under management as predictors of incentive…