Posts by Bryan Liou

As private market professionals eagerly await year-end bonuses, a top Wall Street compensation consultant warns against chasing the biggest annual payout.  For the second consecutive year, secondaries fund managers will receive bonuses that are 10% or higher than last year, while private equity and venture capital bonuses will be mostly flat, according to new data…

Wall Streeters’ bonuses are set to grow for the second straight year, fueled by a rebound in trading and advisory revenues, rising stock markets and a strong finish to 2025, according to a new report from compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates.  Despite this year’s optimism, Johnson warned that firms are entering 2026 with “measured caution”…

Investment banks are braced for an exodus of senior dealmakers next year, even though a rebound in M&A this year is likely to see bonuses rise by 15%.  A second-half bounce for M&A work has seen bonus expectations reverse from a negative outlook to potential rises of 10-15%, according to new analysis by Wall Street…

Wall Street bonuses are projected to jump for the second year in a row as market volatility fuels trading demand and dealmaking makes its long-awaited comeback.  Investment bankers, traders and wealth-management professionals are all poised to see increases in their year-end incentive pay, according to a report Wednesday from compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc. Equity…

The Wall Street bonus pool is expected to break records this year if current trends continue, as big banks reap profits from soaring stocks and a return to more dealmaking after a long drought. Wall Street trading desks seized on both tariff-fueled market volatility this year and a stock rally boosted by technology stocks tied…

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…