Clawbacks Are Hard, So Companies Try Postponing Pay Instead

Critics warn that deferring more pay, with risk of forfeiture, could discourage executives from reporting misconduct and make it too easy for companies to rescind pay. “If we make these penalties even more severe, are more people going to come forward or fewer?” said Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, a financial-services industry pay-consulting…

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Employees Watching Exec Pay, Consultants Say

“This is not a year for a lot of gobbledygook and lawyer-talk,” says Alan Johnson, managing partner at Johnson Associates, a compensation consulting firm that mainly works with financial services companies. “This would be a year for straightforwardness. They may disagree [about compensation decisions], but they won’t think you were hiding something or weren’t straightforward…

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Junior Bankers Feel Left Behind in COVID-era Banking Boom

“The fear that clients have is that they may be more susceptible to leaving now simply because they don’t have the cultural norms, they don’t have the personal loyalty or allegiances to people,” said Alan Johnson, head of compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates Inc. Wall Street banks were already struggling to attract and retain young…

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For Bankers, 2020 Was a Bad Year to Have a Good Year

Wall Street banks have had a decent crisis so far. That is unlikely to translate to bumper bonus payments for bankers and traders, as chief executives and boards grapple with the optics of big payouts amid economic hardship on Main Street… According to New York-based compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates, banking industry bonuses are likely…

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COVID-driven Divide Emerges on Wall Street as Bonus Season Looms

“The majority of professionals at traditional and alternative asset firms as well as retail and commercial bankers will see smaller bonuses,” said the firm’s managing director, Alan Johnson. “Conversely, fixed income pros will be rewarded handsomely as uncertainty and high volatility contributed to record trading.” Hedge funders will have a check about 5 percent to…

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The Giant Schism in Asset Management Paychecks

Experts see a small pay cut coming for executives at traditional asset managers, hedge funds, and private equity shops, particularly at smaller firms, given disruption in the underlying economy because of the coronavirus. The predicted five-to-10 percent compensation drop would make for two down years in a row, according to Johnson Associates’ third-quarter report on…

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Fired Bankers’ Job Prospects Fade With Firms Under Pressure to Cut Costs

“Financial services and banking has too many people,” said Alan Johnson, the head of compensation-consulting firm Johnson Associates Inc., who predicts the industry’s headcount will shrink 10% by mid-2021 from its level as the pandemic began. “Next year is going to be very low hiring. There’ll be some layoffs.” One silver lining for job hunters…

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Banks Warn Bonuses Will Not Keep Pace with Profits

“This is the first time since the financial crisis that we’ve had such a dramatic difference between parts of the big banks,” said Alan Johnson, founder of New York-based pay consultancy Johnson & Associates, referring to the gulf in the performance of the banks’ retail business and their advisory and trading divisions… Johnson said issues…

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Hartford to Offer Buyouts, Cut Hundreds of Staffers

Hartford anticipated about $70 million in severance costs in the third quarter, according to its second-quarter results. “They’re probably looking at getting whole head count down 10% or 12%” through both buyouts and layoffs, says Alan Johnson, president of compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates… The fact that the pandemic now appears likely to stretch well…

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