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Bonuses for equities traders could surge by as much as 30% this year after volatile markets caused by US trade policies led to a big revenue boost. Equities traders are predicted to see the biggest uptick in bonuses for 2025, but expectations for pay this year have increased across the board after improved performance by…

The equity market rebound and moderately positive fixed income performance in the first half of the year means that bonuses will likely be up, Connors said. Bonuses may also be positively affected by the headcount reductions many firms made this year, including hiring slowdowns related to artificial intelligence adoption, according to the report. However, Connors…

“The year will end up broadly positive, which is a big change from what we were thinking three or four months ago,” said Alan Johnson, who runs Johnson Associates. “Financial services have fared pretty well, and benefited in some cases from the volatility, and the up markets.” The positive outlook comes after Johnson Associates predicted…

In contrast to a “pretty gloomy” first quarter that included the chance of a recession, the latest report reflects that “markets are up, the S&P is up 7%, and fixed income is up,” Chris Connors, a principal at Johnson Associates, told Barron’s. “The stock market has been incredibly resilient, and the upswings from April lows…

Asset managers pushing into private markets have turned to pay specialists for advice on how to overhaul their compensation structures to compete with some of the world’s biggest alternative firms. Traditional asset managers typically lag private equity firms on compensation so are considering shaking up the way they pay top executives. Possible changes include using…

Cutting named executive officers into the profits generated by private-markets investments likely will spread to more bank leaders, according to compensation consulting company Johnson Associates and corporate pay analysts at proxy advisory firms. Banks and other financial institutions are expected to start paying top executives partly with carry, as the portion of profits from fund…

It makes sense for Goldman Sachs and BlackRock to be first movers, said Bryan Liou, a managing director at compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates… Most importantly, Liou said, both companies have signaled to shareholders and competitors alike that they are very serious about their positioning in private markets. “Any firm that is taking alternatives seriously…

“Many financial services firms see alternatives as a key area of growth for the future,” said Bryan Liou, managing director at Johnson Associates. “They want to emphasize it, they want to signal to the market that they’re serious about it.” “I think this is the beginning of a longer-term trend,” said Liou. “This is the…

The average pay for chief executives in boutique investment banks jumped to $14.2m in 2024, according to analysis of banks’ proxy statements by Wall Street compensation consultants Johnson Associates. This was an increase of 40% on the prior year, which was far higher than the average rise at major banks. CEOs of big lenders received…

Asset management firms witnessed some huge deals in 2024, but macroeconomic uncertainties such as tariffs, government policy and high valuations may cool M&A activity in 2025. At the same time, more strategic deals and partnerships between traditional asset managers and alternative firms are also in the works. Christopher Connors, principal at Johnson Associates, a financial…