anecdotes

I handed our three youngest kiddies gigantic Toblerone bars. They cheered, hooted. Jackson’s eyes remained closed, waiting. Into his hands I placed a book, on top of which was the photograph of a 13yr old girl, with a beautiful smile, sparkling eyes. “Who is she?” he asked. “Anne Frank,” I replied, “She wrote that when she was your age, it was her diary.” In Amsterdam I’d toured the attic where she spent two years wi

“My first six months were agony,” he said. “Nothing worked, no matter how hard I tried.” We sat in London, relaxed, reflecting, in a magnificent meeting room, dressed in fine art, disguising the true nature of this wonderfully horrible business. Because trading-floor walls are filthy, stained from risk-takers throwing crap, hoping something sticks. “Worried I’d get sacked,” continued the portfolio manager, now amongs

“Ready to start your day right?” asked Mara, a sly smile. I was making coffee, Saturday, back from wandering the world, wondering what was in store. She flipped pancakes, “Breakfast time!” Teddy came in hot, sliding in his socks to a stop. “Let it fly for your father,” said Mara. “You sure?” he asked, eyes sparkling. She nodded. “F… IT ALL, I’M GOING TO HAVE A GREAT DAY!” screamed Teddy, neck veins bulging. I stood t

“Emerging markets obviously need to restructure,” said the CIO, top performer, years running. “The reason lower commodity prices drive the dollar is reflexivity.” As prices fall, emerging market balance sheets get worse, investors flee to the dollar, tightening global liquidity, and driving commodity prices lower still. “No one trusts the balance sheets of anyone other than the US.” Europe has yet to properly recapit

“The rich and powerful always win; that’s the starting point,” said the clear-eyed cynic, more interested in making mountains from molehills, than tilting at windmills. “When upstarts periodically challenge their dominance, buying leveraged assets at wide credit spreads, central bankers throw the economy into recession, bankrupting new money, consolidating and preserving the existing power structure,” he continued. “

“Can we talk Dad?” asked Jackson, serious, solemn. I sat on the couch, curious, prepared for anything. “Can I try out for West Coast Stars again?” he asked, voice strained. He tried out for All-Star lacrosse last January. The rejection letter arrived, he went quiet, retreated to his room. So I sat on his bed, explained how I moved from NYC at twelve, where I’d never played sports. And years behind, suffered the humil

“How do you bet on deflation when bond yields are already so low?” asked one of the industry’s best performing CIOs, years running. We discussed the one thing even more important than forming the right answers: identifying the right questions. America’s exit from six years of zero rates looms large, Japan doubled down on unorthodox policies, China’s reengineering its economic model, and Europe will soon capitulate &#

“I see some of my younger self in you,” I told Sam, hours before dawn, alone on our trading floor. “That’s what I want,” he replied, in earnest. It’s his first year-end. We’d bumped him up, he’s earned it. “Ian, Chase and Ryan said I work too hard, that I need some adventure,” he admitted, retelling his compensation conversation. You see, I avoid giving those if I can, because I hated receiving them; a year of my lif

“My wife’s girlfriends drove me absolutely crazy,” he admitted. “Dinner parties were the worst; they’d sip away, bragging about their favorite companies, their 60% gains.” They owned two stocks. Her girlfriends who believed in diversification owned three. “Then they’d ask me how much I was up?” Explaining that he was grinding out high single digits hit conversation like a wet fart. “Those were the years that humiliat