Bonuses Seen Soaring for Bond Desks, Traders in Early Prediction

Bankers who underwrite debts may see payouts swell as much as 25% as deals pick up this year, according to a report Tuesday from compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc. For bond traders and equity underwriters, incentives may rise 20%. “In general, employees in financial services should be pretty pleased: The amount of money they earn…

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Wall Street Bonuses to Rise This Year as Deals Return, Says Report

Bonuses are poised to recover on Wall Street this year, fueled by strong equity market gains and recovery in investment banking, according to financial services compensation firm Johnson Associates. Investment bankers helping companies issue debt are expected to have the highest raises in bonuses this year, from 15% to 25%, as companies sell record volumes…

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FTC’s Non-Compete Ban Could Lead to ‘Draconian’ NDAs, Non-Solicit Agreements

Asset managers typically use non-competes when hiring certain C-suite executives, portfolio managers and other “high-end” roles, especially in technology and alternatives, said Alan Johnson, a managing partner at compensation consultancy Johnson Associates. It is also fairly common for top distribution, sales or product development leaders to have non-compete agreements, as reported. The ban may also…

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Banker Bonuses Take a Hit

Bonuses dropped by as much as 25% for the year, according to compensation consultancy Johnson Associates. “After a terrible ‘22, people were hoping that things would be a lot better — but they weren’t,” Alan Johnson, CEO of Johnson Associates, tells The Finance Files. “Most people were pretty disappointed.” Johnson says that, for many bankers…

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Financial Sector Pay Wavers Amid Broad Uncertainty

According to Alan Johnson, managing director at executive pay consulting firm Johnson Associates, boards in the financial services sector are struggling with how to set performance goals for certain equity compensation plans because the sector is heavily impacted by short-term turbulence. Additionally, it has become increasingly difficult to forecast how the market will behave over…

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Dealmakers Bemoan Brutal Wall Street Bonus Season: ‘People Were Shocked’

“As you look at the firm-by-firm data, each bank is starting from a different place,” said Chris Connors of Wall Street compensation consultant Johnson Associates… “With bonus pools generally down, the strongest performers take a relatively outsized portion,” said Connors. “As the banks await an M&A rebound, they want to retain their best performers. On…

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Banker Bonuses Are Down Again — but It Stings This Time

This bonus season is shaping up to be another underwhelming one for bankers on Wall Street as lackluster deal activity pushes down the closely watched annual payouts. The bonuses that some bankers are getting are flat or down from what they received a year earlier, bank employees and recruiters said. Investment-banking bonuses have fallen as…

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Bank Bonuses are Starting to Drop. Here’s When JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Others Tell Employees How Much They Made.

The year 2023 was marked by industry-wide layoffs, bank failings, and slow but unsure disinflation that left Wall Street wary. So this year, many bank and hedge fund professionals can expect lackluster bonus checks for a second year in a row, according to Wall Street compensation expert Alan Johnson, with most remaining flat or slumping even further…

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