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A senior trader has filed a $92 million lawsuit against a Canadian investment bank alleging he was forced out because the board and senior management resented his large salary and status as one of the bank's highest paid employees. David Berry, the former head of preferred trading for Scotia Capital, the investment banking arm of Scotiabank, alleges he was wrongfully dismissed in June last year and is seeking lost wages and... Read more

Amid the spate of predictions of solid bonus increases, Armstrong International's survey of expectations in London is like a splash of cold water. While it predicts the total bonus pool will rise between 10 and 30 percent this year, the firm says plenty of people will be surprised to discover they're being paid the same money as last year - or less. With no one knowing where markets will go next,... Read more

On first blush, a new study confirms what many on Wall Street have long thought: Goldman Sachs pays a lot more than other investment banks. But once you get into the numbers, you find that may only happen at the top. Earlier this week, Bloomberg suggested the average employee at Goldman will receive a bonus of $397,707 this year, $187,000 more than their counterparts at Lehman Brothers and more than twice... Read more

Wall Street's bonuses will be up between 10 to 20 percent this year, with investment bankers and equities specialists among the most highly rewarded, say forecasts released this week. "This will be another banner year for Wall Street professionals," says Alan Johnson, managing director of the compensation consultant Johnson Associates, which estimates incentive payouts will average 10 to 15 percent higher than last year's. "Solid earnings performances by the major brokerage... Read more

Profits among investment banks bode well for bonuses, and all signs indicate Wall Street's professionals are feeling optimistic. A number of banks recently posted stronger-than-expected earnings, and businesses that cater to New York's financial crowd are reporting spending on fine wines, private jets and top-of-the-line cars is getting back to late-1990s levels, according to the New York Daily News. "If bonuses go up 25 percent, the average American person may say, 'I'm... Read more

Senior U.S. hedge fund managers' average wages topped $1.5 million this year as demand for staff to manage the industry's growing assets outstripped supply. A survey published by headhunter Glocap Search, publisher Institutional Investor News and data provider Lipper HedgeWorld showed average wages for investment staff with more than 10 years' experience topped $1.5 million a year, for the first time, in 2005. This is just base salary and bonus -... Read more

Goldman Sachs has named 115 new partners and seems set to make a killing in the final quarter. But only a select few are likely to see the strong results feed into their bonuses. Goldman is expected to book a profit of around $1 billionn on its investment in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which is set to float on the Hong Kong stock exchange tomorrow. It’s also likely... Read more

One person’s pain is another’s gain. So it should come as no surprise that commodities traders can thank Amaranth Advisors in the coming bonus round. “A couple of institutions have been on the favorable end off the Amaranth affair,” says Jakob Bloch, managing director of search firm Commodity Appointments. “The good thing that Amaranth brought to the table was a lot of price movement, and that was beneficial to the whole... Read more

Risk professionals in software and technology earned a 7 percent average increase in total compensation in 2005 as an 11 percent rise in bonuses bulked up a 3 percent bump in salaries. Those with 7 to 15 years of experience saw their bonuses grow the most dramatically - by 17 percent - while professionals in their first six years earned bonuses 10 percent higher than in 2004. Risk professionals with more... Read more

Wall Street's payroll hit $49 billion in 2005, with bonuses reaching record levels and the average salary increasing 28 percent from 2003, to a record of nearly $290,000. Some see more records for 2006. The figures were reported by New York's Office of the State Comptroller. Despite some hiccups in the overall economy, observers expect 2006 to be a banner year as well. Alan Roost, vice president at the compensation consulting... Read more

Hedge funds are increasing the rewards for junior staffers, boosting pay by over 10 percent in the past year as they hurry to catch up with the pace set by investment banks. Claude Schwab, chief executive at the hedge fund search firm Schwab Enterprise, notes that top juniors at banks are now earning six figures annually. “Funny how banker analysts used to look with envy at hedge fund analyst pay," he... Read more

Morgan Stanley's new incentive plan is meant to attract new talent and discourage the firm's bankers and traders from jumping to rivals. It's the latest move by Chief Executive John Mack to counter the sense the bank's compensation lags its competitors. According to media reports, the new plan allows staff who earn at least $500,000 to invest part of their annual bonus in Morgan Stanley funds of hedge funds and private... Read more

Risk professionals in the energy sector received modest compensation increases during 2005, but should benefit if investment banks and hedge funds increase their activity in the area and the markets' instability continues. Compensation for risk professionals in energy businesses grew 5 percent in 2005. Cash bonuses made up between 33 and 35 percent of senior executives' total packages, and comprised 13 to 17 percent of compensation for associates, managers and directors.... Read more

Data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association suggests credit derivatives volumes doubled in the first half of this year. Does this imply bonuses will double too? Unfortunately not. For one thing, says Alex Tracey, managing director of the search firm Clifden Partners, "given the margin compression within the product, it will have been a lot more difficult to make money on those increased trades.” Tracy doesn't believe it's possible to... Read more

Private equity professionals are having a good year: According to the latest Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst-Holt Compensation Study, the average P.E. professional made $816,000 in total compensation, a 45 percent increase from the figures reported in 2005. Average base pay grew 13 percent, to $305,000. Bonuses added another $200,000, and shares in profit from deals did the rest. "In terms of compensation, it is a great time to be a private... Read more

Investment consultancy Hewitt has reversed its controversial plan to pay staff bonuses based on company-wide performance rather than on individual units after several high-profile departures. The plan, introduced last year, led to cuts of up to three quarters of bonus pay for consultants because they were no longer rewarded through their individual units’ performance. Scores of staff left the U.S., UK and European consulting practices. Yvan Legris, head of UK consulting,... Read more

Strong trading volumes will likely offset lower fees that U.S. broker-dealers charge their customers and result in a record year in terms of commissions, according to the Securities Industry Association’s latest survey. Although the SIA expects a “significantly weaker” performance related to the U.S. economic slowdown in the second half, the torrid pace of trading in the first half “virtually assured that results for this year as a whole would easily... Read more

Despite a promising outlook for high-yield debt sales, underwriting fees are slumping in the face of stiff competition among investment banks. "We've gone to market four times in the past six years and each time we've paid less,'' Scott Morrison, treasurer of beverage-can maker Ball Corp., told Bloomberg. "The banks are ultra-competitive against each other.'' Currently, companies are paying underwriting fees of about 1.5 percent, down from roughly 1.8 percent in... Read more

Western investment banks in Moscow are losing top talent to Russian competitors, who promise bigger bonuses and perks such as paid apartments and school fees. Recruiters say stunted bonus structures could be to blame. The Times of London quotes one Moscow banker as saying Russian firms are offering “crazy packages.” Others say guaranteed bonuses of $6 million a year are being seen, and that even relatively junior bankers can hope for... Read more

A new study projects 2006 bonuses will be up by an average of 15 percent across all business areas in the financial markets. The study, by pay consultant Johnson Associates, points to the investment banking incentive pool rising 25 percent on average over 2005. Johnson also flags bigger bonuses in equities and prop trading (20-25 percent), prime brokerage (15 percent), and alternative investments (15 percent). No sector shows bonuses in flat... Read more