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[Alan] Johnson says companies get into problems when their culture is based on letting different kinds of infractions like cheating, misreporting, and harassment slide “as long as the money is coming in.” Another way to curb misreporting is to make sure early on that people have the right skills and the capacity to succeed in…

When last proposed in 2016, the rules would have required the biggest financial firms to defer payment of at least half of executives’ bonuses for four years, a year longer than common industry practice. It also would have established a seven-year clawback period, in which executives would be required to return their bonuses if their…

Wall Street is likely to see moderately lower compensation in 2019 as fee levels and volatile markets weigh on bankers’ bonuses, pay consultant Johnson Associates Inc. said… Banks also face “continued angst about competition for high-end technology talent,” the firm said, warning that the companies are looking to downsize as some workers are replaced by…

With volatility hurting returns, some traditional firms acting to address concerns over spending. Most traditional managers saw their assets under management decline during the fourth quarter, a Pensions & Investments analysis of 24 publicly held money managers found… Asset managers want to be “leaner and have faster decision-making, which means you can’t have too many…

US investment banks have been eating away at European businesses’ market share on their home turf since the financial crisis. In a bumper year for mergers and acquisitions fees in Europe, US investment banks had a 54.2% slice of the pie in 2018, according to data provider Dealogic, with European banks taking 41.4%. This is…

“For the last 20 years, it’s been a great business — probably too great,” said Alan Johnson, managing director, compensation consultant at Johnson Associates Inc., New York. “The shifts to lower fees mean asset managers have had to find other ways to maintain margin. … Earnings are likely to be down, with layoffs in the…

Compensation will be strongest at firms that have the scale to maintain strong profits or the technology platforms to keep costs low, including managers that focus on passive products and exchange-traded funds. Despite industry pressures, overall headcount increased in 2018 for both public and private managers, specifically in technology, product development and international markets. But…

New York City has seen an exodus of banks’ back-office workers this year — and can expect to see even more shedding in 2019 — as weaker regulatory oversight has encouraged big deals and boosted profits to all-time highs. Wall Street, which made a record $62 billion in profit last quarter, is hiring less-experienced compliance…

What changed in 2018 is that markets became more volatile and investors turned increasingly cautious, slowing the flood of new money into cheaper index funds. A decline in assets—and revenue—is no longer a dormant threat for managers. And many are warning it’s going to get worse. “2019 will be the start of much tougher years…

“The major investment and commercial banking firms continued their strong performance, especially in equities trading and underwriting,” said Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates and one of the nation’s foremost authorities on Wall Street compensation. “Private-equity firms also turned in a second straight year of healthy financial results and strong fundraising.” Johnson said 2019…