Yearly bonuses can carry a large amount of risk for the time and work invested, especially if you've traded base salary for it (which could go into investments)

Yearly bonuses can carry a large amount of risk for the time and work invested, especially if you've traded base salary for it (which could go into investments). And the bonuses are not as transparent or regulated as even risky investments. The real problem with them is the year long bet. Do it quarterly or monthly, and I'm all for it. There are situations where it definitely makes sense, like if you're pretty secure without the bonus, you're friendly with the people deciding the bonuses, the base salary is high enough, there is some guaranteed minimum bonus, and you don't burn out trying to attain/maximize it. Ultimately, you can't get away from the fact that some financial health is at the whim of persons within the company and frankly they just aren't going to care as much about it as you do. It's very much a gamble instead of a solid investment.