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Michael Lewis On Cursing, And Wall Street's Partner Culture
The Liar's Poker author shares some insights on Wall Street life, its shift from private partnerships to public corporations, the treatment of risk, sexism, and cussin'. Always insightful.
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Fuckin eh right.
Michael Lewis again captures the truth about Wall Street culture.
Before we bless the old partnerships as better than the corporations, we need to actually look at what went down in those partnerships and compare it to corporations.
I understand the premise of this video, that becoming a public company/corporation changed in fundamental ways the sense of responsibility for one's actions. There are many books written that properly vilify the rise and deification of corporations to the determent of nearly everyone below the grade of upper management.
But those old partnerships were simply limited in their capacity to rape, rob and plunder by their access to capital, their political and social connections and their imaginations. While we all have a tendency to look back at the good old days with misty eyes, it's simply a matter of degree of thievery we are talking about here.
Just because I couldn't or didn't do something doesn't mean I had no desire to. We are all basically dishonest. It's the locked door that keeps us on the door step and outside the house, not the fact that we are pure and good.
A.) It doesn't matter if the desire is there. As long as they, can't or won't for whatever reason, what their black little hearts desire is not important.
B.) Your premise is that everyone on Wall Street is a black hearted thief. Way to rock the scapegoat. You have obviously either never worked on Wall Street or fell in with the wrong crowd.
A.) It doesn't matter if the desire is there. As long as they, can't or won't for whatever reason, what their black little hearts desire is not important.
Anyone who thinks the thieving only started recently is lying to themselves. Regulators have been there for decades to keep the small fry from messing up the thieving of the big boys. I get an annual SEC anal exam of a full day and yet the SEC never looked at Madoff's trades? Please. The SEC isn't (and has never been) trying to stop the big boys, they are trying to keep the little boys out of the way.
B.) Your premise is that everyone on Wall Street is a black hearted thief. Way to rock the scapegoat. You have obviously either never worked on Wall Street or fell in with the wrong crowd.
Been in the business over 20 years, on wall street and as far away as I could get. I've always been amazed how many people convinced themselves they are honest as they sell a high commission product to a client simply because it is a high commission product. Just because it was "legal" and fully justified doesn't make them honest or the sale correct.
Yes, there are honest people in the business. But this business is so full of conflicts that to be honest means you aren't making a whole lot of money. Just my opinion.
Dear Mr. or Ms. Dissonance,
You are 100% wrong. We are NOT all basically dishonest. Many people choose to do the right thing every day. Sounds like you need a tune-up. Get off the ZH Doom Train. In the words of Frank Zappa..."It's F*ing great to be alive...And anyone who doesn't believe that should leave. " Wake up .
What did you lie about today, yesteday, and last week?
It is estimated that everyone but you, apparently, lies about 50 times a day to themselves and everyone else.
Cogs I love your last paragraph - i carry a gun, really, legally. Pure good etal was not the restrain on the partnership wall street, it was common sense and legitimate leveraging limits, we just wanted to make a buck not all the bucks
x2
When I started on Wall Street about 30 years ago, even the largest investment banks had balance sheets that could be liquidated in about two weeks - all they owned were government bonds and the occasional stray equity block overnight. Funding these assets with overnight money was a perfectly acceptable (and matched) practice. The big advantage of the partnership and having retired partners that were forced to maintain their interest for a considerable period of time is 1) the former partners obviously watched their wealth - and therefore current management quite carefully, 2) the esoteric activities were carried out with partner funds or outside funds, for which the firm got a carried interest for managing said activities - such as arb funds, lbo's, etc.
While not true of every firm, this is the way most were run. Talk about style drift!
When I started on Wall Street about 30 years ago, even the largest investment banks had balance sheets that could be liquidated in about two weeks - all they owned were government bonds and the occasional stray equity block overnight. Funding these assets with overnight money was a perfectly acceptable (and matched) practice. The big advantage of the partnership and having retired partners that were forced to maintain their interest for a considerable period of time is 1) the former partners obviously watched their wealth - and therefore current management quite carefully, 2) the esoteric activities were carried out with partner funds or outside funds, for which the firm got a carried interest for managing said activities - such as arb funds, lbo's, etc.
While not true of every firm, this is the way most were run. Talk about style drift!
I got there in '67. we had minor continuing positions, and worked to broker all the trades we could - both sides, work for a fraction. Finished up with Solly in late 70's/early 80's - it was privately financed hedge fund - but low leverage and solid - and then the modern Lehman, publically owned, 32 to 1 leverage and big on public relations - give us a break let them all fry, BoA, C,WFC and GS - scourage back in 70's and unchanged but emensely more powerfull today. Wipe em out!!
I know many people who work on the street and many who work in midtown for the big banks. Most are very nice, decent sorts, but, they're "Institutionalized," much like the old timer in "Shawshank Redemption."
The banking and finance biz has made a very nice life for these people, and, without it, they'd be phucked. So, why should they bite the hand that feeds them?
As a Mainer I like Shawshank, but who is the old timer (the old guy in the library - he is just a standby for responsibilty)? All these sympathetic figures you know knocking off mega bucks for sitting inside, in the industry can all go fuck off, we don't need skillions of "bankers" to accomplish the financing of mines, forests, farms and factories. If they are silk worms spinning webs let them go, sorry they knew they didn't have a productive job to begin with, they will do fine.
Each of you know that no productive asset came outof all the machinations of the banking industry with their CDO etc. nonesense; and each of you who applied for a job to do this nonesense knows you were either lazy or ignorant - these weren't and aren't necessary activities to banking or finance.
M Lewis is a great writer.he also wrote a book recently about baseball. He exposed baseball for all the free taxpayor money it receives via billions for taxpayor funded stadiums. In a way he says that baseball was really the first bailout and only later came wall street bank bailouts.
He knows what he is talking about. It is an interesting perspective.
time123
P.S. I get my timing signals at http://invetrics.com
I was told to read Liar's Poker by a prof of mine just a month or two before I graduated and immediately started working at a "closely held" brokerage like Mr. Lewis speaks about. The parallels were unbelievable. Obviously not to the same extent as in his book but shocking and eerie nonetheless.
When my buddies would ask me to describe what it was like working there I would be at a loss for words as I was afraid that if I told them they wouldn't believe or just assume I was just playing into the stereotype of Bay St. - I've since decided to just tell them to read the book.
I should also mention that many times to my close friends I would break out the line "I wish a bank would just buy the fucking firm out and can all the assholes at the top."
Bay St, good man! Was at the RBC plaza myself last summer. Good times.
Could not agree more. The Dutch Corporation was the start of global money markets, and will be seen after all the dust settles as the key trigger that ran the global markets off a cliff.