Janus Capital Group's chief executive officer, Gary Black, chopped 10% off his 2005 bonus and gave it to loyal employees, the company has said.

A definitive proxy statement lodged with the SEC Wednesday listed Black's 2005 bonus as $3.6 million, down $400,000 from his 2004 bonus. The difference was given to employees who helped Janus recover in the aftermath of a trading scandal, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Black shouldn't miss that gift too much, however. The statement also detailed the compensation committee's decision to increase his 2006 base salary by $300,000, from half a million dollars to $800,000. With the January 1, 2006 transition that saw Black become CEO, and former CEO Steve Scheid become chairman of the board, the committee "undertook an extensive review of both Mr. Scheid's compensation for 2005 and the structure and target amounts for Mr. Black's compensation package for 2006," said the statement.

Based on performance and goals for 2006, the committee approved a long-term compensation target of $2.7 million for Black, up from $2 million in 2005. Scheid, meanwhile, took home a base salary of $800,000 and a $2.4 million in 2005. These figures marked a 94% and a 216% increase, respectively, over his pay the previous year.

"The Committee believes Mr. Scheid's strong leadership to the Company in 2005 was instrumental in the material improvements to the Company's financial performance, its reputation in the market, its adaptation to new corporate strategies and employee morale," said the statement.

The statement also explained the committee's belief that it is in shareholders' interests not to restrict the company's right to award executive bonuses as it sees fit, even if such bonuses sometimes exceed tax deductible limits as specified by Section 162(m).  

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