how to kick ass on wall street - kessler, andy

How to
Kick Ass
On
Wall Street

Andy Kessler
Author of Wall Street Meat, Running Money and Eat People

Copyright © 2012 by Andy Kessler



All rights reserved,
including the right of reproduction in whole
or in part in any form.



Escape Velocity Press



www.andykessler.com

Introduction

Allright!YougotajobonWallStreet.Waytogo.Welcomeaboard. Ifhistory
is any guide, you’re wicked smart, a great athleteand know somebody.Or any
combo oftheabove.Don’tmatter.Yougotthejob. Feels good,right?Whenyou
gottheoffer,youwereprobablyaspumpedasWillFerrellinSemi-Pro,“Yes!Give

metenNorton!Everyonecaneatshit!Abigbagofshit!Hahaha!I'mthegreatest
manintheworld!Whoo!”
OK.Notsofast.Allyougotwasatickettothedance.Now what?You’reset
for life, right?Uh, well…not really. Actually, f ar from it. Since its near-death
experience in 2008, Wall Street has been mutating into something far different
thanitsfabledlandofgoldendreams.
Butsowhat?Yougotthejob.Andyou’regoingtobeoverpaid.Andmaking
morethanalmostevery singleoneof your friends with real jobs. Butdon’t get
smug,notyetanyway.ThetrickisnotlandingonWallStreet,it’sstayingonWall
StreetandexcellingonWallStreetandstayingoverpaidforalong,longtime.
This is not your father’s Wall Street where any bumbling idiot could(and
did)answerphonesalldayandpullinsixigures.Iusedtoworkwiththem.Now,
it’snastyoutthere.Harderthanit’severbeen.It’llchewyouupandspityouout
likenothingyou’veeverexperienced.That’sOK.Iassumeyourtoughenough.Just
bereadyforit.
Soyoushouldjusthunkerdownanddoasyou’retold,right?WRONG.Ifyou
sitonyourassanddoallthethingsyourhemorrhoid-annoyedbosstellsyouto
do, you’llend up a doormat and stepped on and replaced when the newer,
prettierversioncomesalong.You’vegottomakeanameforyourself.Standout.
Becomeindispensible.
Who am I to tell you all this? Well, I spent 20+ years on Wall Street and
thoughIcan’tprofesstoknoweverything,I’veseenalot.AndI’vebeeninvolved
in a lotofcrazy things - I was a research analyst, a not very good investment
banker,aventurecapitalistandrana$1billionhedgefund.AndjustwhenIthink
I’veseenitall,somethingevenmorebizarrehits.It’shardtokeepalevelhead.
But astronggut and steady resolveis the trick tomaking a name and creating
longevitythroughboomtimesandthroughthedisasters.
Thehighsarehighsandthelowsarefacedowninthegutter.WallStreetis
not a charity and you’re going to prove yourself again and again and again as
worthy. When you start, you’ll meet a lot of different folks. Most will be the

smartest mofos you’veevermet. Scarysmart. Others will havea last name like
Rockefeller or Throckmorton and can’t even tie their shoes. Others may look
disheveled and be a secret genius (includinga few Rocks and Throcks.) Others
willjustconfuseyouasinhow-the-hell-did-they-get-ajob-here,Ithoughtthere
were standards (usually a nephew or son-in-law of a client or long retired
muckity muck.) It doesn’t matter. You’re there. You got the job (“Give me ten
Norton,”etc.)Nowyou’vegottoexecute.Nottoday,nottomorrow,butoverthe
nextnumberofyears.
OK,herearethebigthingsyoureallyneedtounderstandanddotokickass
onWallStreet.Todowell,you’vegottodomostofthefollowing:

1. FigureOutTheMeritocracy
2. MakeAGoodFirstImpression
3. UnderstandTheBigPicture
4. FindtheRightRole
5. GetAMentor
6. LockDownClients
7. BeAHero
8. GuardYourReputation
9. GetPaid
10. Read,Read,Read

I’llgetintoallofthem.
But before getting into all that,irst let me throw youa little armchair
philosophy. Working on Wall Street is a privilege. You’ve been chosen. Even
beforeyoustartworking,youwillbelabeledasnobbyrichbastardandalesh-
eating soullessbabysealcubbeater.And worse. Inotherword,others wantto
tearyoudown.
Lots of unemployed and unemployable protesterslived in smelly parks in
tents toOccupy Wall Street. Andfor all I know, theyprobably still do. You,

becauseofyourjob,arepartofthe1%,evenifyouhaven’tmadeapennyyet.The
implicationofthe1%labelisthatyouexploittheother99%.Nothingfurtheris
fromthetruth.
Someofitisenvy,someofitisrationalizationfortheOccupiers’ownfailures,
and some of it is because groups just need something to protest and what the
heck,rippingonabunchofrich(predominately)whitedudesdoesn’tviolateany
oftheunwrittenpoliticalcorrectnessstandardsandrules.
I’mnothere to rationalizewhy youchoseajobonWallStreetvs. building
hutsinCostaRica.That’syou’redoing.I’veputthistogethertoexplainhowWall
StreetworksandwhatIthinkyouneedtodotosucceed.
IlookatWallStreetasthelubricantthatgreasesthegearsoftheeconomy.
WithoutcapitalandinancesraisedbyWallStreet,thosegearswouldfreezeup.
We’restillgoingthroughthehangoverfromtheinancialcrisiswhenthegrease
did disappear for months on end. Wall Street sneezed and the World caught
pneumonia.
WallStreetisnotabunchofgreedybastardsshakingdownMainStreetfor
everylast dime –although thereareplentyofthosetypesof asswipesthat do
workonWallStreet.WallStreetprovidesaneededfunctionintheeconomy.I tis
real.Itprovidesreal economicvalue.Youwillgeneratewealth,foryourselfAND
for society. Really. But believe me,it’shard, ifnotoutright impossible, for most
otherstoseethisvalue.
Movies like Wall Street don’t help. Nor does Bernie Madoff or any of the
othervillains.Andwhattheheck,GoldmanSachsLloydBlankfeinandJPMorgan’s
JamieDimondon’thelpthecausewiththeirmassivecompensation.Ithinkthey
deservetheirdue,buttheyshouldtakeitallinstockandsellitwhentheyretire.
I’m proud of my 20+ years working on Wall Street. Maybe I’m just
rationalizing its economic purpose to make myself feel good and so I have
somethingtotalkaboutatcocktailparties.ButIdon’tthinkso.
You’llfigurethisoutforyourself.
But in the mean time, just understand thatno matter how you got there,

your job and your payday and your social position are not a gift. You have to
deserveit.
Andwhenyoudowell,youwill.

FigureOutTheMeritocracy

OK,irst things irst. There are a few things you should know about Wall
Street.
Part of the charm of Wall Street, and what scares most reasonable people
away, is that it is as close to a meritocracy as exists on this earth.That’s good
newsandbad.
It’sDogEatDog.AndthedogsareangryRottweilers.It’ssinkorswim.Vanity
FairmagazineranapiecerecentlyonthesuccessionplansatGoldmanSachswith
this memorable line in it: “Goldman is a league of gladiators,”according to a
formerpartner.Thatsaysitall!
Youdoatradeanditmakesmoney,thenyou’rea star(forthatmoment)and
deserveabonus.Youbringinadeal,yougetpaidbigtime.Youlassomoreclients’
assets under your irm’s roof,andyou’re ahitter. I oncediscoveredsomegood
newsonthestocksIfollowedbeforetherestoftheStreet,andmentionedittothe
sales force at a morning meeting. It moved markets in New York, Tokyo and
London.The next day, I was quoted in the Wall Street Journal and the Nikkei
Shinbunashavingcausedthemarketmove(itwasthenews,notme,butpretty
cool anyway.) That morning on my way to my ofice,I had the head of global
equitiespatmyheadontheelevatorrideupthenextmorning.Patmyhead!Iwas
toldheneverdoesthat.
The lip side, of course, is what makes Wall Street so dangerous. You lose
moneyfortheirmandyou’reaheel.Doitagainandyoudon’tgetpaidthatyear.
Doitathirdtimeandyou’reoutofajob.Justlikethat.Gone.I’veseenithappen
tofriendsandacquaintancesatjustabouteveryirmupanddownWallStreet.
ThereisnotenureonWallStreet,nojobsecurity,nolongtermguarantees. None.

Tenandtwentyyearcareersendinalash.Happensallthetime,andeverybody
whoworksinthebusinessknowsthis.
Youmaynoticethatyouhavetwobossesoryourbosshastwobosses:co-
headofdomesticderivatives,co-presidentofeastcoasttechnologybanking,co-
headofjanitorialservices.WallStreetdoesthisforareason.It’snotthattheco-
headsarebestfriendsandlovetoworktogether.It’stocreatecompetition.Oneof
themwill end up out or demoted or shipped totheTokyo ofice. It’s how Wall
Streetimplementsthatgladiatorthing.
That’s onereason whyyouarepaidsowell.Thinkofitascombatpay.But
theotherreasoncompensationismany,many multiples oftheaveragewagein
this country is that trading stocks, doing IPOs, merging companies, managing
moneyisaverylucrativebusiness.Noteveryonecandoit.Itlookseasy,football
field-sizedtradingroomsjammedwithadrenalinrushmaniacslikeyousittingin
frontofhugestacksofLCDscreens.ItmightaswellbeacallcenterinMumbai.
Butit’shard.Reallynastyhard.WallStreethiresinthattoponepercentilezone–
asinintelligence.
Andthentheymakeyourlifemiserablehopingyou’llquitbeforetheybreak
you. Or hoping they break you before you lose money for the irm. It’s not
WalMartorGeneralMotorsorevenPizerorIntel.It’smanagementbyire.Iyou
haven’t been dressed down, yelled at or threatened with extinction, you’re
probablynotpushinghardenough.
Youwouldthinkthatwouldmaketheentireworkforceafraidtodoanything
forfearofbeingtossedoutontheircan,backintothecruel,cruelaveragely-paid
world. But a meritocracy works in the opposite way.Instead it’swicked smart
peoplelikeyoutryingtoprovetoeachotherthattheyaresmarterthaneveryone
elseoutthere.Unlikeacing aChemistryFinal or evennailingyourACTtests or
scoringthewinninggoal,herethescoreiskeptwithrealmoney-howmuchyour
tradingdeskmakesfortheirm,howbigachunkofthebonuspoolyoucommand
foryourdoor-dieheroicsdayinanddayout.
Andhereisanothernot-so-secretrevealed justfor you- itain’tfun, that’s

whatHarryofHanoversorBenBenson’sareforafter4p.m.Pourastiffoneand
recallstickingtheguyattheFirstBankofNeenahforacoupleofbasispointsor
baggingtheTwitterIPOorwhateverthenextdealis.
Somedaysitoutrightsucks.Yougetyelledat.Yougetputinyourplaceby
someoneyouthoughtyouknewwellatyourirm.Yourclientstellyouyou’rea
bagofshit.Itain’tfun.Justknowthatgoingin.Otherdaysarepeachesandcream.
Thismeritocracyplaysoutonalargescaleaswell.LehmanBrothers,before
headingofftothegreattradingroominthesky,wasaclassicWallStreetsuccess
story.Insideandoutside,itwasameritocracy.TheywantedtooneupGoldman
Sachs-everyonehasGoldmanenvy.Lehmanneededtogenerateasgoodareturn
onequityandearningsgrowthsotheycouldwinthemeritocracygameandget
paid in spades. How daretheBearStearnsCEOmakemorethanours, let alone
Goldman’s!Let’sleverthissuckerupwithmortgagebackedsandcreateatrillion
dollarbalancesheet.Ifnotus,who?Andbytheway,veryfewpeopleatLehman
really understood how upper management was playing this meritocracy game
withtherestofWallStreetwiththerankandiles’careers.Lookcloseenoughat
yourfirmandyou’llseesignsofthisallovertheplace.
Unfortunately for Lehmanandthe rest ofus, when that tradewent south,
and their creditors pulled their short term inancing, (OK, Jamie Dimon at JP
Morgan was particularly egregious pulling a $5 billion plug,) the ugly side of
meritocracy reared its head. You lose money, you’re out. Goodbye. It was nice
knowing you. Every single person working at Lehman knew this personally, or
should have known. That’s the giant sword hanging over everyone’s head, the
stench of fear that keeps the game going and going.You’ve got to usetop 1%
percentilesmartsandwin.Ifyoudon’t,you’retoast,soyou’llworkharder,think
harder, and of course play harder with your winnings that everyone else. The
outsidemeritocracydownsidebecametheinsidemeritocracyhomicide.
It’llhappenagain.Hopefullynotatyourfirm.
LehmanandBearStearnsandanindependentMerrillLyncharegone,sure,
butWallStreetandthemeritocracyliveson.

Useittoyouradvantage.

***

Oneofthebiggestconcernsyou’llhavewhenyoustartonWallStreetishow
to deal with the people you work with. Are they looking out for your best
interest?Aretheyfriends?Oraretheytryingtoscrewyouateveryturn,taking
credit for what you do and stabbing you in the back like in the real world of
corporatepoliticsandpettiness.Yesandyesandyes.
You have to watch out for yourself, of course, but the nice thing about a
meritocracyisthatyou’llberewarded,onewayoranother.
If you have the smarts, you are going to kick ass. At irst, others will, er,
appropriateyourworkastheirown.Don’tletitgettoyou.Putyourheaddown
andkeepcranking.Whensomeonestealsyourworkoryourideas–ithappened
tomeallthetime–eventuallywillbeinasituationwheretheywillhavetocome
upwithsomethingontheirown–andtheywillbarf,screwitup,digahugehole
forthemselves.
It’s the ongoing process of making money that has value, not the one off.
LaterI’lltalkaboutbeingahero,butevenbeingaheromeansconstantlybeinga
hero,notjustonedayandthengoaway.
Trust me on this one – if you do something well, the folks above you will
igureoutitisyouandrewardyouhandsomely(moreaboutthatonthesection
ongettingpaid.)
Atirst,someonewillmakemoremoneyoffyourworkthanyoudo.That’s
capitalism, by the way. But over time, you will have to be recognized for your
work,berewardedinthemeritocracy,elseyourfirmriskslosingyou.
I had a guy that would constantly take my ideas and package them as his
own.Inconversations,inwriting,allovertheplace.Itinfuriatedmebuthehad
been there 20 years and I was there just one or two. I inally couldn’t stand it
anymoreandcomplainedtosomeone.Theyjustlaughed.“Don’tworryaboutit,”I

was told, “he’s your best marketing guy at the irm. Everytime he opens his
mouth,everyoneknowsit’syourideas.Helookslikeanidiotandyoulooklikea
hero. Just put your head down.” I see him on CNBC every once in a while. His
ideasaren’tasgoodastheyusedtobe!
WhatI’mtellingyouistoigureoutthemeritocracy,howitworksandthen
bepatient. Not decadepatient, but a few months or even years patient. Things
happen fast on Wall Street. When you igure out how to make money for your
irm, the path above you will clear out rapidly for your ascent. Ah, but we’re
gettingaheadofourselves.

MakeaGoodFirstImpression

OK,ifthatdoesn’tscareyouoff,you’rereadyforthenextstep.Gogetsome
clothes.Women,Ican’thelpyou.Men,indthemostmiddleoftheroadsuitsyou
canind.Don’tshowupinaCanaliorArmanisuit.Badimpression.Butalsodon’t
showupinaJFerrarsuityoujustpickedupatJCPenney.HickeyFreemanissafe.
You won’t embarrass yourself with Calvin Klein, Joseph Abboud, Perry Ellis,
KennethCole.NavyBlue.CharcoalGray.Notaupe,please.
Getsomewhiteshirtsandlightblueshirts.Acoupleofredties.Blackshoes.
Done. You can play dress up after you’ve been there a few years.Eventually
wangleatriptoHongKongandthengetittedforasuitmadefromBritishwool.
It’lllastforever.
Like allnewjobs,you’reshoeswill beslipperyon theplushcarpets ofthe
receptionarea.Noteit.Moveon.
It may takehoursto get through human resources. They’ll take your
ingerprintsandsentthemtotheFBI.Youcan’tworkonWallStreetifyou’veever
been arrested for forgery. Makes sense, kinda, from the days of handling stock
andbondcertiicates.Sotheystilldoit.Bereadytoexplainanyoldembarrassing
arrest records (I had to!). You may also have to take a drug test. Stick with
SouthernComfortforthemonthbeforeyoustart.

Then you’ll get a pep talk in a crowded conference room with some big
honcho,beforebeingplacedatatradingdeskortableorcubicle.Nomatterwhat,
tellthemyouneedadualscreensetup.Maybeevenfour.Don’texplainwhy,it
willgiveyoualittlemystique.
You’llimmediatelynoticethattheirstwordsthateveryonesaysthatstops
bytosayhelloorthatyougetintroducedtois:“WelcomeAboard.”Hasanicering
toit.Feelslikeacluborfamily.Don’tbemisled.It’sawayofsomeonereminding
youthattheyhavebeenworkingtherelongbeforeyouarrived.Onyoursecond
day,everyonethatlooksnewyoushouldgreetwithahearty“WelcomeAboard.”
Itwillputthemintheirplace.
Inevitably,you’llbeinvitedtolunchbysomeone.Makesureontheirstday
that it’s your boss. It’s another good tradition so the boss can impart their
expectationsandatleastpretendtheyareincontrolofyourfuture.Nodalot.Ask
somegoodquestions.Andthenplothowyouaregoingtobethatperson’sboss
someday.
You’ll most likely get invited to happy hour. Deinitely go. Even if it’s on a
Monday. Let others buy you drinks. It will make them feel important. Don’t
overdueit. We’ll get to keeping your reputationlater. There’s plenty of time to
showoffyourbeerpongchuggingskills.Justnotweekone.
Myfavoritetraditionistheirstbigdinner.Fancyrestaurant. Ben Bensons
orSmith&Wollensky’sorPalmToo.20ormoreco-workersatabigtable.Several
waiters fawning over the group. Lots of bottles of expensive wine. Really
expensive wine. Everyone is happy and telling you what a great place you’re
workingatandthey’llwatchoveryouandwearegoingtokicksomeassselling
double secret derivatives of some sort.It should be pretty laid back. You may
think all the old-timers are sizing you up, but you already have the job. Relax.
Takethetimetosizethemup.Whoyoumightwanttoworkwith?Whoyoumight
trust?
Mostimportantly,enjoyyourself–becauseyou’repaying.Thisisnotsome
metaphor. You are actually paying. All the new folks get stuck splitting the bill.

Betterhopethereareafewotherslikeyouatthedinner.Yourcut willbeinthe
thousands.Thenextdayyouwilldiscreetlyaskaroundhowtowrite-offthebill.
Thereisnogoodanswer.Yourbossisnotgoingtoaccepta$3000expensereceipt
for an unoficial company dinner, even or especially if your boss was at the
dinner.Ittookmeatleastsixmonthsoffaketaxiridesandclientlunchestohack
downmybillfortheBigDinner.
And forgoodness sake, no matter what you do–happy hour,bigdinners,
stripclubs–actlikeyou’vebeentherebefore.
Notcooltobarfatyourirstcompanyevent.Ordolamingshotsandhave
yourpantscatchonire.OrhitonthewaitressatLeBernadin.Aratherfamous
WallStreeteconomistgotlostatRick’sCabaretinHoustonandcalledasalesman
at4a.m.to pickhimup andbring himbacktothehotelbecause hewasoutof
moneyspentontoomanylapdances.
Yourreputationisallyouhave.I’llgetintomoreaboutthatinabit.Butat
leastfortheirsttimeyoumeetyournewco-workers,havethemcomeawaywith
asensethatyouaresmartandresponsibleandgoodtobearound.Funcancome
later.

UnderstandtheBigPicture

SowhatthehellisWallStreetanyway.
ThanksCNBCandCNN,mostpeoplethinkofWallStreetasbaldinggreedy
men in ugly solid-colored suits yelling at each other and throwing litter on the
looroftheNewYorkStockExchange.Ofcourse,that’snotevenclose.Theymight
as well be holograms from Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, just a hangover of
years gone by. Or maybe the better view is that Wall Street is a bunch of
stockbrokers, calling you at dinnertime, trying to put you into a few shares of
somehotIPO.Orsomesleekbanker,(mostly)guysinthegrayArmanisuits,blue
shirtswithwhitecollarsandHermesties,payingthemselvesjillionsofdollarsand
thenjettingofftoLondontoclosesomeimportantdealtoleverupaportfolioof

mortgage backed derivatives that end up almost blowing up the world. Closer,
butnotquite.
Sowhatisit?Iliketousethisline:
From40,000feet,WallStreetisaboutprovidingaccesstocapital(foramodest
fee.)
WhenIgetablankstareback,Itrythisone:
MoneysloshesaroundtheglobeseekingitshighestreturnandWallStreet’sjob
istohelpallocatethatcapitaltowhereitwilldothegreatestgood(foramodest
fee.)
Repeat that often enough and except for the fee part, it almost sounds
magical.Likesomealtruisticutopiandream.
Hardly.Moneysloshingaroundusedtomeangoldonsteamships,butnowit
surfs around in nanoseconds along lightwaves. Using fast computers and fast
communications, the stock and bond markets trade every weekday and,
sometimesviolently,pickstheeconomy’swinnersandlosers.Actually,it’snotthe
market,it’syouandme,ourmutualfundsandpensionplans,thecollective‘we’,
thatdothepickingviaourbuyingandselling.It’snicetobeneeded.Youmaynot
evenrealizeit,but,yes,magically,thevalueofcompanieswithgreatprospectsgo
up,meaningtheycanraisecapitalmuchmorecheaplytohiresmartprogrammers
orbuildanothersolarpanelfactory.Thelipsideisthatthepriceofcompaniesin
doing all the wrong things, think General Motors and now Kodak, go down,
starvingthemofcapital,apunishmentforscrewingupuntiltheydisappearordo
something to turn themselves around. By inding the right price and heaping
capitaltothoseitthinksdeserveitandstarvingthosethatitthinkssuckwind,the
stockmarketdoesthedirty workofforcingthehiring andiring managers and
green-lightingorkillingprojects.Prettycool.
Onthestreetlevel,ofcourse,WallStreetisalotnastier. WhenIthinkofWall
Street, I think of alpha dogs generating revenue at all cost, getting deals done,
ighting formarketshareagainst alltheother irms,and thenattheendof the
year, the political knives come out trying to carve up the ever growing bonus

pool,thoughofteneachother.

***

Solet’sgoback.
It’sbeensaidthatastockexchangecanonlybeaslargeasavoicecancarry.
On May 17, 1792 after years of shouting out on the street, a group of 24
prominentbrokersmetunderaButtonwoodtreeatwhatisnow68WallStreet,
anddecidedtomoveindoors,sotospeak.TheycreatedtheNewYorkStockand
Exchange Board, copying European exchanges and“pledge ourselves to each
otherthatwewillnotbuyorsellfromthisdayforanypersonwhatsoever,any
kindofPublicStock,atleastthanonequarterofonepercentCommissiononthe
SpecievalueandthatwewillgivepreferencetoeachotherinourNegotiations.”
Thisisclassiccollusionthat,wrappedandhiddeninregulatorylanguage,pretty
muchexiststothisday.
Corporationsusedtoonlybeabletoborrowmoneyfrombanks.Butsmart
bankerssoonrealizedthatahighstockpricemeantthatcompaniescouldsellto
thehungrypublicsomemoresharestoraisemoneyforexpansion.Thehigherthe
stock price, the less shares that needed to be sold and the cheaper the cost of
capital.Thisishowthatcapitalallocationgameworked.Unlikeabank,youdidn’t
havetopaythemoneyback.Youjusttradedapieceofpaper(astockcertiicate)
inexchangeforcashyoucouldspend.Butthosenewownersgotacommensurate
shareofyourprofits.Hencethetradingofshares.
Allgood.
Investment banking became a very lucrative business. Outside of phones,
somecomputersandprintinganIPOprospectusortwo,allofWallStreet’scosts
are people. It’s a knowledge business. They’re not buying steel like General
MotorsordrillingforoillikeExxon.Instead,itwasalwaysherdsofsmartpeople
like you inding new ways for corporate America to access markets for growth
capital.

When Kraft wanted a new Velveeta factory, they don’t have the time or
expertise to round up the money from pension funds or individuals, let alone
tradetheirshares,sotheypayafewpercentagepointstoWallStreettodoitfor
them.Moresoforthenextsolarcellcompanies,WallStreethasalwayslenttheir
reputation to get complex deals done,again,for amodestfee. It almost seems
quaint.
Commissions on tradingshares used tobe ixed. At 75 cents a share. Wall
Streetirmsmadeafortune,eventhoughtheNewYorkStockExchangewasstilla
people intensive exchange.In the days of ixed commissions, almost everyone
whoworkedonWallStreet(andthereweren’tthatmany)rodearoundinlimos.
Really.
In 1971, Arthur Levitt, who much later became chairman of the SEC, was
NewYorkstatecontrollerandtrusteeofthestate'sCommonRetirementFund.
Tiredofpayinghugecommissionstomoveinandoutofstocks,Levittdemanded
membership in the NYSE so he could, in effect, get a rebate on their onerous
commission rates.  The NYSE barred the doors.  So he took his problems to
Washington.Reformwasintheirairafterthenastybearmarketof1974.The
SecurityExchangeActof1975didawaywithixedcommissionsontrading,the
so-called “Big Bang,” but also mandated an electronic National Market System
linkinglistedandoverthecountermarkets.NASDAQhadbeentradingoverthe
counterstocksinalimitedway,since1971.ButtheNYSEstillheldamonopoly
onlistedshares.
Bythe1980’s,commissionswereprobably6centsashare.Todaytheyare
oftententhsorhundredthsofacent.BigBangindeed.Itchangedeverything.But
italsodemocratizedthestockmarketandWallStreet.Everyonecouldbepartof
thefun.
Fromthat 1792ButtonwoodAgreementonWallStreetuntilabitafterthe
BigBang,irmsretainedproitstobuilduptheircapital.Partnerswereoftencash
poorbutpaperwealthywithhugesumsbuiltupinirmspaidoutatretirement.
Corporate clients were almost exclusively Fortune 500 and investors were big

banks.Notmuchriskthere.Backinthedaysofprivatepartnerships,WhiteWeld
orBrownBrothersorevenMorganStanley,thatwasine.Theytradedstocksand
madegoodmoney.TheyofferedM&Aadviceandgotpaidhandsomely.
Duringthedeadyearsofthemidtolate1970’s,asthenascentmutualfund
industry took market share from sclerotic bank trust departments, Wall Street
neededmorecapitaltotakepositionstofacilitatebigblocktrades.ButinAugust
of1983,thestockmarketandtheU.S.economytookoff.Sodidmutualfunds.And
Silicon Valley. And biotech. And a massive service economy. More capital was
needed to fund the growth of great companies Think of all the technology
companies that didn’t even exist in 1980. Funky companies like Intel and
Microsoft and Compaq weregoing public, requiring roadshows toexplain what
theydo.Biggerdealunderwritingsmeantbiggerproits,butrequiredhugepiles
ofdough.
Wall Street partners had to pay for memberships in Greenwich country
clubs,sopartnerships couldn’t retainasmuchearningsas theyneeded,sothey
begantotapthosesamepublicmarkets,andwentpublictoraisehugebucketsof
capitaltohelptheirclients.
The last holdout inally gave inwith the Goldman Sachs IPO in1999. This
wastheendoftheeraofprivateWallStreetpartnerships.Whatagreat25year
run!
OK,that’stheniceview.Hereisthecynicalview.AtWallandBroad,upand
downSixthAvenueoranywhere,WallStreetisreallyjustandhasalwaysbeena
compensation scheme.Firms generatesales, and employeesgethalf themoney.
Yes,half.Therest,afterexpensesgotoshareholders.Sweetdeal.
Howdidtheypullthatoff?Aftergoingpublictoraisehugeamountofcapital
to run their investment banks, partners became managing directors (public
companiesdon’thavepartners.)Butahugequestionloomedoverthistransition:
How to get paid? On the assumption that irms could make 20% operating
earningsandsimilarreturnonequity,theywouldsetaside50%ofrevenuesfor
compensation–itis now thenorm. Inotherwords,thebusinessof Wall Street

earns70%oneverydollarofsales.BetterthanMicrosoftorGoogle.Eveninan
awful 2008, over $100 billion in bonuses was been set aside to be paid in
December.Hencethepopulistrage.
Shareholders bought into this compromise and did well as stocks of Wall
Streetirmsboomed.Ofcourse,theguysatthetopofWallStreetdidevenbetter,
grabbingadisproportionatechunkofthe50%compensationpool,buteverybody
didwellupanddownWallStreet.Remindsmeoftheoldstorythatwhenasked
why he makes more than President Hoover, Babe Ruth famously spoke for all
WallStreettitans,“WhatthehellhasHoovergottodo withit?Besides, Ihada
betteryearthanhedid.”
Averysubtlechangeruinedtheparty.ThesamePCandInternettechnology
thatwassweepingcorporateAmericaandgettingridoftellersandtravelagents
andsecretariesandtypesetterswasalsoinvading WallStreet. Nooneneededa
brokeranymore-youcoulddoitallonline.Tradersatirmswerebeingreplaced
byelectronictradingsystemsthatwerefaster,cheaperanddon’tshowuplatefor
workhungoveraftertakingclientsouttoSmith&Wollensky’sSteakhouse.
The whole reason Wall Street got into trouble in the irst place is they
promised20%operatingproitstotheirshareholders.By2002,WallStreetirms,
despitebeinglushwithhugebalancesheetsofcapitaltogeneratereturnswith,
were no longer making money in their bread and butter business of stock and
bond trading, investment banking and money management. Too much capital
chased these once lucrative businesses. Plus, that nasty transition of electronic
and often automated trading lowered proits and obsoleted traders. Good for
individual stock investors, but bad for Wall Street, which found themselves
overcapitalized.
Here’swhereitgetsinteresting,andabitscary.
The one group making money were these weird guys creating exotic
securities,derivatives,piecesofpaperbackedbypoolsofassets,maybeairplane
leases,orhomemortgages.Theneatthingaboutderivativesisthatnoonebutthe
personwhocreatedthemknowswhatthey’reworth,soyoucansellthemathuge

markups.Woo-hoo.HugedepartmentswerecreatedandstaffedupalloverWall
Street to securitize anything that moved. This is why over half of Princeton’s
graduatingclassesinthemid2000’sendeduponWallStreet.
WiththeFedforcinglowinterestrates,thehighertheyieldofthesefunky
newsecurities,thebetter.
Sub-prime home mortgages, because of higher risk (ooh, don’t say that
word)hadhighyieldsandmovedtothetopofthelist.Whennotenoughofthese
loans could be bought from banks, irms like Bear Stearns and Lehman set up
entireloanoriginationsubsidiaries,andintrueWallStreetstyle,wereaggressive
andquicklyrosetothetopofthemarketsharetables.Ifyouwanttoknowwhy
Wall Street CEOs made so much, it wasn’t from trading your 1000 shares of
McDonalds.
Still,thoseprofitsweren’tenough.
Whattheheckdoyoudowith$700billionandstillmake70%marginson
revenues (with that 50-20 employee-shareholder split)? Their customers were
making great money buying Wall Street’s derivatives. Why should banks and
pensionfundsandhedgefundshaveallthefun?Whataperfectuseforallthat
capitalontheirhugebalancesheetsandcheapinancingfromlowinterestrates.
Wall Street, en masse, just boughtthesehighyieldingderivativesfor their own
account.Atetheirowndogfood,ifyouwill.
This, of course, was a major dumb shit move. The sausage maker, who
knowswhatgoesintothesausage,nevereatshisownsausage.

***

Itwastheeasytrade.Borrowat3%andmake6%,or8%or10%.Theyliked
itsomuch,theyleveredup.Meaninginsteadofjustborrowingadollarforevery
2dollarofassetstheyown,whichbythewayisthe50%marginrequirement,for
2:1leverageforyouandmetobuystocksfromtheseirms,theyborrowed20to
1, 30 to 1 and even 50 to 1 if they could get away with it. And man, it was a

lucrative trade. The math isn’t quite perfect, but these “sure thing” mortgage
backed securities each had net margins of 2-2 ½%, and then they used 30:1
leveragetogettothatsame70%.Sowhynot?
I’ll tell you why not. Because all of a sudden, Wall Street is no longer a
business of traders or stock brokers or investment bankers, it’s a giant hedge
fund.Andtheyhavenoideawhattheyweredoing.None.Iranahedgefundfora
lot of years and learned rather quickly that if a trade was too good, one that
everyonewasdoingit,thatIshouldabsolutelyturnaroundandrunforthehills.
Butnooneon WallStreetdid.Thespreadsheetslashedgreen.Riskwasa four
letterwordbestnotsaidinpolitecompany.
Wall Street became hedge fund cowboys and loved the spoils, until a tiny
little downturnin housing madeeveryoneget out ofthepoolat thesametime.
Deleveraging a 30 to 1 leveraged balance sheet is not easy, nor pretty when
everyoneisdoingitatthesametime.Andturningcompaniesbellyupovernight.
Bear Stearns gone, WaMu too, into the belly of JP Morgan. Wachovia into
WellsFargo.FannieandFreddiearethenewU.S.DepartmentofMortgagesand
areclosingtheirK-Streetofices.Lehmanisdustinthewind.AIGinapenaltybox.
Merrill Lynch is a subsidiary of Bank of America, which barely survived their
purchase of Countrywide Mortgages. They didn’t change their name to Lynch
AmericaCountrywide.Theyshouldhave.
Now we have Dodd-Frank reform and Volker rules and Occupiers nagging
the1%erstogivebackorgiveitup.
But you don’t have to legislate lower compensation for Wall Street, it’s
already in the cards. As bank holding companies, leverage is stuck at closer to
10%. Those trading businesses that didn’t make much money still don’t. Wall
Street is slowly going back to the future, classic investment banking which will
takealotlesspeople,halfasmanyasatthepeakof2006-7.Feelluckytohave
yourseat.
Deleveraging means smaller balance sheets, a lot less revenue and much
smaller compensation pools. But not to worry. Smart people always igure out

how tomakemoney.Iftheycan’tatWallStreetirms, theycanat hedgefunds,
private equity and even venture capital. It will be logged constantly, but don’t
countoutWallStreet.Thoseleftstandingwillhelpraisegrowthcapitalforgreat
companiesworldwide,andigureouthowtogetpaid,thoughperhapsnotinthat
order.
SonowWallStreetconsolidates.Shouldyoucare?Notevenforaninstant.I
spentyearsonWallStreet,competingagainstscoresandscoresofirms,always
wondering what they all really did. E.F. Hutton. Shearson, Drexel. Heck I even
worked for PaineWebber in my early days (daze?) on the Street. All gone. And
nobodymissesthem.
AndthenewWallStreet?There’sonlyonedirection.It’sbacktobasics.Not
quite back to the old white shoes - blue blood partnerships of the past but
certainlythatbusinessmodel.Withalotlesscapital,sitontheedgeofthestock
marketandprovideaccesstocapitalforthenextsetofgreatcompanies.Take‘em
public,bank‘emandgrowwith‘em.Itmaynotbeasexcitingasthelastdecade,
butitsurebeatstherealworld.
At the end of the day, WallStreet is not about the names on the door, it’s
aboutthepeopleinside.Thosethathaveanoseformakingmoneywilljoinother
irms, or hedge funds or start their own shop. The truemoney makers all ind
jobselsewhere.Youwanttobeoneofthose.Themiddlegroundofworkerbees
see disruption but some are eventually absorbed into the reconstructed Wall
Street.ThebottomtiergoworkatFootLocker.

FindTheRightRole

Notwantingtohuntinthebackroomforsize11ChuckTaylorAll-Stars,you
betterfindsomethingyouaregoodat.
On Wall Street, there are traders, bankers and salesmen. An old adage on
WallStreetsuggeststhewaytogetthebesttraders is totake ayellowcab into
BrooklynorQueensandhiretheirstthreeguysyouseewhenthemeterreads

$10.Rough,toughandstreetsmart.Investmentbankers,ontheotherhand,are
relationshiptypes,andshouldcomefromtheinestbusinessschools-Harvard,
WhartonandmaybeColumbiainapinch.Andsalesmen?Usedcarsandaluminum
sidingarerelevantexperiences.
Ok, it’s an old adage. Today, trading on Wall Street requires and intimate
knowledge of computer technology, algorithms and a sense for pricing
relationshipsthatplayoutin4ormoredimensions.Streetsmartsstillcount,but
onlycoupledwithtechsmarts.
Bankers are still over-represented by the Ivy League, but no longer
exclusively. And salesmen are pushing increasingly complex stories or exotic
instrumentsthattheyhavetoscrambletounderstandwhattheyaresellingjusta
littlebetterthanthecustomerbuyingit.
Hopefully, you’ll get a chance to check out all parts of Wall Street before
iguring out what you are best at. People do get pigeon-holed. Once a banker,
alwaysabanker,butdon’tletyourselfgetstuckinsomedead -endrole.Checkout
whateveryoneelsedoes.
IcomefromthestocksideoftheStreet.Thebondandderivativesidearenot
thatmuchdifferent,intermsofjobsandrolestoplay,sodon’tgetfooledbymy
overrelianceonequityreferences.

Traders:
That rough and tough historyfor tradersmeant Wall Street loved to hire
athletestoworkastraders.I’veworkedwithOlympichockeyplayersandigure
skaters, NFL lineman, championship squash players, basketball coaches and on
andon.Youcanimaginetheoverdoseoftestosteroneonthestress-illedtrading
loor.Tradersdesks are littered with Rolaids and a collection of Lucite
tombstonesfrompastjunkdeals.
Ontheselarge,opentradingloors,theywouldoftengoaftereachotherand
ightswerecommon.OnesalestraderfromQueensnamedDenniswasthealpha
maleonthetradingloor.Dennishadabigbulgingneckandamassivechestthat

lookedoutofplacepouredintoatailoredshirtwithatightcollar,ayellowpower
tie,andbrightsuspenderswithfootballhelmetsonit.Ifhedidn’tlikewhatyou
were doing, like ripping his client off on a trade, he would walk over to your
turret,prophisfootandmassiveleguponyourtradingstation,maybekickover
yourdisplayandstartchantingJ-E-T-SJETSJETSJETSJETS.Noteveryonebacked
down,andbloodwouldoccasionallyspill.Seriously.Allinaday’swork.
Thisis,uh,discouragedthesedays.Butitwillhappen.
Howdoyoubecomeagoodorevengreattrader?Bysensingwhatthoseon
the other side of the trade are thinking. Are they building a huge position so a
stock is going to keep going up or just tweaking around the edges? Are they
dumpingastockbecausetheyknowsomethingiswrong?Aretheypanicselling,
pukingoutapositionatallcostsbecauseofamargincallwhichmeansthestockis
abouttobottom.
Traders are often facilitating a trade for clients. That’s their job. But even
withtheVolkerRulebeingimplemented,irmstradefortheirownaccount.They
callitsomethingelse,hedgingglobalrisk,butyoucanmakemoneyfortheirm.
Greatwaytogenerategoodwillandcashbonuses.
Buteventhesmartesttradersgetfooled.Maybethesmartestgetfooledthe
most.Marketsgetirrational.Everytraderworththeirsaltknowsthisorlearnsit
quickly.Theoldadageisthatthemarketcanstayirrationallongerthanyoucan
stay solvent. This is why irms put trading limits on traders or cumulatively
trading desks. There is a irm-wide limit, known as VaR or Value at Risk – the
mosta irmcouldloseonanygivenday.Thebetteryouget trading,thehigher
yourpersonallimitandthebiggerchunkoftheirm’scapitalyougettoplaywith
andturnintomoremoney(orendupasasmokingholeintheground,seeNick
LeesonandJPMorgan’sLondonWhale.)
Bond trading is a little different, but not much. Again, trading government
bondsandmunisandcorporatedebtismostlyfacilitatingtradesforclients.But
thereisnoexchange.Thesearenegotiatedtransactions.It’syouagainsttheclient,
eventhoughyouareprovidingaservicefortheclient.Yourjobistogetthebest

price for your irm. Some view this as screwing the client. Very confusing for
outsiders.
HereisaquotefromBloombergNews:
Unlike equities, ixed-income trades typically are privately negotiated
outsideexchanges,increasingthefeestraderscollectbymakingbidsandoffers
becausethey’remoredifficulttoexecute.
Tomakemarketsindebtsecurities,bankstypicallyrisktheirowncapital
to buy assets from clients before lining up someone else to sell them to,
sometimesmakingbetsonthedirectionofmarkets.Thenew[Volker]rulesare
curbingthat,turningtradersmoreintomiddlemen.
Don’tthinkaboutittoomuch.Theclientknowsthedeal.
Bankers:
Wall Street plays an indispensable role providing access to capital, so U.S.
companiescanlaywastetocompetitioninworldmarkets.Andallforthatmodest
fee,(yeahright.)
A little history: at irst, it was white shoe, blue-blooded partnerships that
ruled the Street, providing a gateway to the wild and wooly market. When
Proctor&Gambleneededtoraise$100millionfortheirnewDr.Pepperlavored
toothpaste, the irm ofArntwe,Bornwell and Howemadesome phone calls and
placedshareswithafewfriendsfora$5millionfee.Butthatbluebloodranred
inthe Streetwhen thego-go market inthelate'60'sgotout ofhand with30%
annualvolumeincreases.Settlingtradesmeantliterally sending out certiicates.
Clerksinbackoficescouldn'tmovepaperfastenoughtosettletrades.Customers
refusedtopayuntiltheygottheircertiicates.Themarketwouldcloseonedaya
week to catch up on paper shufling. IBM and others solved the trade-clearing
problem,butbetween1969and1970,acreditsqueezemeant160partnerships
onWallStreetwentbellyup.
Partnershipscombinedintobigirms,manywhowentpublictobeableto
affordmainframecomputers.WhenIntelwentpublicin1971,ittookmorethana
few phone calls to raise money for the creator of dynamic random access

memories,weird stuffback then. White shoes gaveway toroadshowsand the
hiringof analyststopickwinnersandlosersfromnewfunkyindustries.Bigger
wasn't just better, it was critical. Somewhere along the way, though, these big
irmslosttheirsoulsandinvestmentbankingbecameadrabcommodity.Bythe
1980sWallStreethadbecomeitsownworstnightmare:undifferentiatedmenin
grayflannel(Armani)suits.
Bankersrarelybrokethemoldandthosethatdidwongreatsuccess.Whena
Fortune50irminvitedWallStreetirmsintogiveadviceonadeal,allbutone
team of bankers pulled all-nighters for a 200-page pitch book.If you’re an
investment banking analyst or associate, the words ‘pitch book’ are like
fingernailsonachalkboard.
Robert Greenhill, who eventually became CEO of Smith Barney, lew in by
himselfonMorganStanley'sbehalf,pulledasinglepieceofpaperoutofhissuit
pocket,suggestedthreegreatideasandleft.Hegotthebusiness.
Investment banking is a relationship business. Once you have the
relationshipwiththetopexecutivesofairmtheCEOandCFOondown,thetrick
istokeepintouchandofferwaysforthemtoaccessthecapitalmarketsinclever
ways. Their employees need to sell shares? Offer a suggestion. They need to
inanceanewdivision,offersomethingunique.Thenyou’llbetherewhenabig
financingtakesplace.
Unlike the rest of Wall Street, investment banking requires an MBA.
Traditionally,youworkatairmwithjustabachelor’sdegreeinapositioncalled
analyst(nottobeconfusedwithresearchanalysts),thenquitfortwoyearstoget
your MBA, and then come back (though usually at a different irm) as an
investment banker –probably as an associate until you get promoted to vice
presidentthenirstvicepresidentthenmanagingdirectorthenseniormanaging
directoretc.Thejobisthesame,thetitlesjustprovideapeckingorder,though
mostlybasedonseniority.
Forashortpartofmycareer,Ipretendedtobeaninvestmentbanker(untilI
realized you had to be nice to people). The only thing I was good at was

positioningcompaniesfortheirinitialpublicofferings,becauseIiguredoutthat
investorsneededtobefedthreebulletpointsin30seconds.That’sright,forall
the complications in telling a story about a company, the portfolio manager at
FidelityorT.RowePricehasaprettyshortattentionspan,thelengthofaphone
callfroma salesman.Soyou havetoboilitdown –3 bulletpoints inunder 30
seconds.It’skindalikethefamouselevatorpitchtoventurecapitalists

Fortunately,thebulletpointswerealwaysthesame.Acompanyneeded:

1. Amonstermarketintowhichtosell.

2. Anunfaircompetitiveadvantage.

3. Abusinessmodeltoleveragethatunfairadvantage.

That’sit.IstillsitthroughIPObankingpitchesknownasbakeoffsorbeauty
contests.Somepoorinvestmentbankinganalystisupallnightputtingthepitch
booktogether.Youcantellwhotheyare,theonesyawningatthemeeting.Rarely
docompaniesgetpositionedright.3bullets,30seconds.Icouldmakeafortune
justpositioningcompanies.Solet’skeepthisbetweenus,shallwe?

Sales:
Stockstradeeverday.Bondstradeeveryday.Derivativestradealmostevery
day.Butnewsdoesn’tcomeoutthatoften.Companiesputoutquarterlyearnings
reports.Economicdatacomesoutoften,butnoteveryday.
WallStreetemploysgiantsalesforcestoillinthesilence.Therejobistosell
some idea to clients, and hopefully get them to trade with your irm. There is
equity sales, sales traders, bond sales and all sorts of combinations and
permutationsinbetween.Likeanyreallifesalesjob,themoreyousell,thebetter
youdo.It’salsoarelationshipjob.But since tradingcommissionsaretiny (and

you have to share them with the actual traders), the real payoff from sales
happenswithdeals,especiallyinitialpublicofferings,IPOs.CommissionsonIPOs
are7%(FacebookandGoogleweretheexceptionat1%.)Butanytimeacompany
sellsequityorbondsorsomefancyderivative,thesalesforcemakesmasscallsto
clientstryingtogetthemtobuythedeal.
Butyoucan’tjustcallupwithdeals,hencetheneedforsalesmantostayon
topofjustabouteverythingandkeepinconstantcontactwithportoliomanagers
and money managers and analysts on the buy side (and yes, get called asshole
when something goes wrong) so they have that warm and fuzzy relationship
whentheinvestmentbankersbringthedeal ofacenturyforthemtosell(they
arealldealsofthecentury!)
If youarein sales,youdoalot ofschmoozing.KindalikeMad Men,lots of
great lunches and boozy dinners – Broadway shows and concerts, whatever it
takes. There are some restrictions because lots of clients expected to be
schmoozed so much they would demand great baseball tickets in exchange for
doingacertainamountofbusiness.
Youdon’teverwanttobecaughtdoingcreditcardsales,meaningthatyour
only value is in taking clients out and running up the tab on your or your
companiescreditcard.Youwanttobeknownassomeonewhoadsvalue,offers
uniqueinsightand,whattheheck,let’sgrabanicelunchandthatnicebottleof
wine because I’m the client and you can expense it an it’s just Uncle Lloyd
(Blankfein)orUncleJamie(Dimon)whoarepaying.
Syndicate:
When IPOs, like Facebook, are completed, someone has to allocate all the
shares to clients, both institutions like Fidelity and to lucky individuals. That
someoneisasyndicatemanager.Thequaliicationisthatyouhavetobegoodat
addition.TheWallStreetadageaboutsyndicatemanagersisthattheyaretoolazy
tosellandtoodumbtotrade.

Analysts:

Icouldspendpagesdescribinganalysts.That’swhatIdidforwaytoolong.I
wroteabookWallStreetMeataboutit.Readitifyouwanttoknowmore.
Here’stheshortversion:Whenthebullmarkethit,inthesummerof1982,
the pace of initial public offerings quickened.  A tech bubble based on the PC
played out in 1983 and 1984.  Analysts were rapidly hired to follow software,
CAD/CAM, biotech and a host of new industries like biotech.  Institutions
increasingly paid commissions based on analyst coverage, so analysts were
commandedtomake100phonecallsamonth.Asananalystbackthen,Ilearned
quicklythatgettingrankedintheInstitutionalInvestormagazinepolls,whichis
howyougotpaid,wasthegreatleverageforanalysts,youhelpedyourownirms
overall ranking, but other irms who wanted to move up in the rankings then
courtedyou.IoncewasreallyimpressedwhenImetthe#3IIcoalanalyst,only
latertofindoutthattherewereonly3coalanalysts.
Inaddition,thehigheryourankedinII,theeasieritisforyourirmtowin
IPO pitches, what is known as the Bake Off or Beauty Contest.  And then, in a
strange circle, the better companies your irm did banking business with, the
higheryouwouldgetrankedinII.
Makephonecalls,getranked,dodeals.Whohastimetoanalyze?
Analysts naturally turn themselves into self-promoting machines.  Their
incentiveisaonceayearbonus.Theformulawassimple:Phonecalls=Votes=II
Ranking = Investment Banking Business = Big Bonus.  Nowhere are the words
“stockpicking.”EventuallyCNBCandmagazinecoversreplacedphonecalls.
Analysts have lots of clients: institutions, bankers, salesmen, traders,
venturecapitals;thegeneralpublicalwaysrankslastontheirlist.
Unfortunately, analysts are as obsolete as ticker tape machines, as money
managersdotheirownworkandthepublicwillhavetoaswell.
With democratization of inancial markets, we are all analysts now.
Everyonemusttakechargeoftheirownanalysis.Thisisdisturbingtomany,but
itwasinevitable.


Brokers:
Speakingofthepublic,someonehastosellstocksandbondstoJohnQ.Those
institutional salesman can’t be bothered, individuals are too small and not