For those of you who missed it, Greg Smith of Goldman Sachs resigned in a very public way today.
Among his musings in the NY Times Op-Ed:
Regular readers will recall that just a few days ago I wrote about very similar experiences as an FNG in the brokerage business. While there are some notable exceptions -- some of whom I'm proud to call friends -- many brokerage firms are populated by veterans who don't mind ripping people off and young guys who don't yet understand that their success will involve ripping people off.
I haven't heard the term "muppets" used to describe clients, but it did inspire some thoughts. With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy...
If your broker calls you with Clippers instead of Lakers tickets...
If your commissions exceed your annual profits...
If your mailman sighs and tells you how sorry he is when he hands you your monthly brokerage statement...
If your bathroom walls are papered with stock certificates from Flooz.com, Boo.com and Webvan...
...you might be a muppet.
...you are definitely a muppet!
Among his musings in the NY Times Op-Ed:
The interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money"... "it’s purely about how we can make the most possible money off of them"... and, the classic "I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “muppets."This was not some disgruntled associate who didn't make vice president. This was the Executive Director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Regular readers will recall that just a few days ago I wrote about very similar experiences as an FNG in the brokerage business. While there are some notable exceptions -- some of whom I'm proud to call friends -- many brokerage firms are populated by veterans who don't mind ripping people off and young guys who don't yet understand that their success will involve ripping people off.
I haven't heard the term "muppets" used to describe clients, but it did inspire some thoughts. With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy...
**************
If your broker calls you with Clippers instead of Lakers tickets...
...you might be a muppet.
If your commissions exceed your annual profits...
...you might be a muppet.
If you're not sure what "annual profits" means...
...you might be a muppet.
If your mailman sighs and tells you how sorry he is when he hands you your monthly brokerage statement...
...you might be a muppet.
If he then asks you for the postage due...
...you might be a muppet.
...you might be a muppet.
If the Welcome! package from your brokerage firm includes a tube of K-Y...
...you might be a muppet.
If you've needed it after your dealings with your broker, I hate to break it to you, but...
...you are definitely a muppet!
There are so many possibilities here, please feel free to chime in.
