It’s hard out there for a pimp – Wall Street Bonus Season |

It’s that time of year again on Wall Street … bonus season!

Even though it was a good year for the stock market, it’s not all champagne wishes and caviar dreams. Last year the average bonus in the industry fell by 9 percent to $146,200 according to the New York State Comptroller’s Office and, after speaking with heads of trading desks, managing directors, hedge-fund-partners and others, it looks like bonuses could be down about 10 percent this year.

There are several reasons cited for this year’s lower expectations, including uncertainty in the stock market and less trading activity by clients (i.e., lower fees and commissions). And, while 2015 was a record year for merger and acquisition deals — 2016 was the year for billion-dollar broken deals like Allergan and Pfizer, United Technologies and Honeywell, Canadian Pacific and Norfolk Southern, and Halliburton and Baker Hughes.

All of that means less money in … and less money in the bonus pool.

One word you hear thrown around a lot on trading floors is “stick.” In Street speak, that means a million dollars.

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