Options Group Co-Founder Michael Karp appears on Strategy Session on CNBC

Oct. 10 (CNBC) – Memo to Wall Street: When it comes to bonuses, flat is the new up. At least that’s according to the Options Group, a New York search and consulting firm that polled about 1,500 workers at banks, boutiques, hedge funds, and buyout shops as part of its annual compensation survey. Options Group estimates that this year’s cash bonuses will be on par with 2006 levels, depressed by higher base salaries, lower market volumes, and increased stock-award programs. Muted pay will be the theme not only in troubled areas, like structured credit and proprietary trading at banks, but also in some of this year’s most active areas, including junk bonds, currencies, and emerging markets.