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Wall Street is heading toward another record-breaking bonus season as profits surge and dealmaking returns after a long slowdown. Rising compensation costs suggest that bonus checks could swell once again. Spending on pay jumped almost 10% in the first half of the year compared with 2024, following last year’s unprecedented average bonus of $244,700. Earlier…

In August, leading compensation consultant Johnson Associates predicted an uptick in bonus payouts, too. Johnson Associate said Wall Streeters working on fixed-income trading desks could see their bonuses grow 10% to 20%, while equities traders may get increases of up to 30%. The improved outlook follows a weak start to the year, when banks and financial…

If there was one buzzword to capture banking chiefs’ mood during third-quarter earnings week, it was “pipeline.” In Wall Street parlance, that refers to the backlog of deals investment banks are readying to bring to market — and from mega-merger powerhouses like Goldman Sachs to equity underwriting giants like Morgan Stanley, everyone was eager to emphasize that their pipelines…

The rise of retail access to private markets has led some shops to adjust how they compensate their wholesalers and product specialists, according to asset management executives. At present, fund shops tend to assign wholesalers the responsibility of building rapport with potential clients through the greater part of the sales process until the product specialist…

Wall Street’s M&A rebound got a boost on Monday with the biggest take-private buyout in years, but experts are warning that the hiring landscape isn’t showing the same signs of revival. Video game producer Electronic Arts on Monday said it would be sold for $55 billion in a transaction hammered out by bankers at Goldman…

Dealmaking is picking up, and big firms are hunting for more bankers, even as hiring slows in many industries. Big banks had been adding staff over the past year in strategic expansions, but now sudden jumps in activity have them seeking to hire even more and slowing layoffs they might have otherwise executed. “The arrow…

A new compensation report from Johnson Associates shows traders riding a wave of volatility to bigger year-end bonuses while many private equity professionals and M&A bankers brace for another year of stagnant or shrinking pay. “It was dead in Q1” for mergers and acquisitions, said Chris Connors, a principal at Johnson Associates, adding, “but there…

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…