Posts by Bryan Liou
2025 Public Financial Services Compensation Highlights
Johnson Associates’ annual financial services proxy review points to several market trends across the last three years. 2024 was the first year named executive officers at non-alternatives firms received carried interest awards. The firms that granted carry to NEOs in 2024 continued to do so in 2025. No new companies have initiated awards, though we…
Read MoreMove Over, Private Equity. It’s Great to Be a Banker Again
It is a golden moment for banks. Trading profits are at record highs, and so are employee bonuses. Mergers, acquisitions and other deals are piling up at the second-fastest pace in at least a decade, producing billions of dollars in fees. The good times for banks represent a flip of fortunes. Since the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street’s biggest paydays…
Read MoreReplacing vs. Buying Out Carried Interest
Clients have increasingly asked how carry buyouts should work as employees change firms. We expect this trend to grow as exits slow and carry payouts become less certain. This short one-pager shows how a carry-for-carry trade compares to a cash buyout. The illustrative example walks through the trade-offs across timing, payout variability, vesting, and the…
Read MoreAsset Manager Team Compensation Set to Increase Despite Market Volatility, Uncertainty
Wall Street year-end incentives are expected to be flat to slightly positive across all sectors for 2026, despite geopolitical turmoil and stress in the credit markets, according to a report from Johnson Associates, a financial services compensation consultant. “I think certainly some of the gloss is off of private equity,” says Alan Johnson, founder of…
Read MoreWall Street Bankers on Pace for Big Pay Bumps in 2026 Amid AI Gold Rush
As the AI boom spurs activity across almost every corner of Wall Street, bankers are coming out on top in compensation hikes. “The big banks had a very good 2025. They’re doing at least as well, if not better, this year, and pay will be up significantly,” Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, said in an interview. “They’re going to…
Read MoreDealmakers Tipped for 20% Higher Bonuses After Bumper First Quarter
Investment bankers working on big M&A and equity capital markets deals could be in line for 20% higher bonuses this year after a surge in first quarter revenue. “We do expect bigger bonuses this cycle, and they will be heavily skewed toward top-tier dealmakers,” said Chris Connors, a managing director at Johnson Associates. “There is real competition…
Read MoreWall Street Bonuses to Rise, With M&A Bankers Set for 20% Boost or More
Wall Street bonuses are projected to jump for the third year in a row as market volatility fuels trading demand and dealmaking makes its long-awaited comeback. For investment bankers who advise corporate clients on deals, incentive pay is poised to be up 10% to 20% or more from a year earlier, according to Johnson Associates Inc. “It’s…
Read MoreMillennium and Point72 Consider New Tweaks to Some Portfolio Managers’ Pay
Amid a price war for trading talent, Steve Cohen and Izzy Englander are each considering new twists to the way they compensate select portfolio managers. Englander’s Millennium Management may provide another avenue for “certain” executives and portfolio managers to invest the deferred portion of their annual bonuses. Instead of putting the deferred pay into a…
Read More1st Quarter 2026
Johnson Associates projects year-end incentives to be flat to slightly positive across sectors. Overarching Caveats: Year-end projections fragile given macro factors. Geopolitical turmoil and credit stress key downside risks thatcould slow economy and hamper results. Q1 results strong and sentiment remains high despite these uncertainties.
Read MorePrivate Credit Compensation Implications
Following years of rapid expansion, the recent challenges in Private Credit are creating ripple effects across financial services, including compensation pressures and retention concerns. Johnson Associates explores offers practical, creative solutions to strengthen compensation programs and sustain incentive value.
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