The Stock Doc: The Bonus Blame Game

As the government looks at ways of clamping down on bonus payouts and compensation packages paid to employees at banks bailed out by the public's tax dollars, the run-up to bonus time on Wall Street is only likely to fuel the already heated debate among the public, investors, the media and those in the financial industry over what is and is not a fair deal for all.

As the politicians and regulators to and fro over how stringent the regulations should be and as long as there are no clear-cut, uniform guidelines for financial compensation and bonuses, public outcry at what is perceived as Wall Street's greed and lack of accountability is likely to be pitched all the more starkly against the helplessness of those losing their jobs, their homes and their pensions - even more so when the paying public realizes that bonuses are on track to equal or exceed last year's payout.

Investors, who have endured significant losses because of the financial crisis and have seen their tax dollars diverted to bailing out opaque financial institutions, want mass change and intense regulation to ensure the safety of what's left of their money and the financial system as a whole. These investors have little pity for those facing reduced banking payouts.

On the flip side, bankers, already worried about their livelihoods, find themselves the focus of the vitriol of strangers, as they watch colleagues made unemployed by the financial crisis lose their homes and struggle to find work, and their bosses search for further cost savings (read job cuts) to appease angry shareholders. Their worries are compounded by fear that government regulation could stifle risk taking across the banking system, quelling innovation and growth, plunging the economy back into recession and costing even more of them their jobs.

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At the time of publication, Alden Cass held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Dr. Alden Cass, author of Bullish Thinking: The Advisor?s Guide to Surviving and Thriving on Wall Street and The Bullish Thinking Guide for Managers, specializes in conducting therapy, performance coaching and phone coaching with senior executives, including high-profile CEOs, traders, financial advisors, doctors, lawyers, athletes, musicians and bankers, helping them to achieve their career and personal goals. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and an expert in helping individuals to actualize their fullest potential within high-pressure and high-stress environments.

He conducted a groundbreaking behavioral healthcare study on retail stockbrokers, which indicated that 23% of the group measured met criteria for major depression. He writes a column for Registered Rep magazine, in which he shares skills to improve financial advisors' performance edge throughout volatile markets. He has created the Bullish Thinking Workshop, Subtle Sales Workshop and The Psychology of the White Collar Criminal Workshop for use in the financial, compliance, healthcare and legal realms.

His company works directly with brokerage houses and hedge funds to assess and improve employee productivity. His keynote lectures and workshops also focus on team building and team effectiveness. His research has been presented at both national and international conferences (A.P.A., ICPP). Cass has also conducted workshops with the Security Industry Association, The Silver and Zinc Institutes, the Money Management Institute (MMI), Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) and the London Bullion Market Association.

He has appeared in the following media: The Today Show, Fox News Live, New York Magazine, Business Week, CNN, CNBC, The Financial Times, The Big Idea with Donnie Deutsch, The New York Post, The Daily News, London Financial Weekly, The Washington Post, NY Newsday, On Wall Street Magazine, BBC Radio, Reuter's Business Newswire, The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

You can learn more about Dr. Cass at his websites www.competitive-streak.com and www.innervisionspsychological.com.

You can email questions to Dr. Cass at [e-mail] and he will endeavor to answer them in future columns.