The bigger the boat, the smoother the voyage. To afford a nice big yacht, something like this, you have to chart the right career course.
And that is why a real Wall Street career has to include multiple trips in and out of the private and public sector. Start off at an investment bank, then hop over to Treasury, then back to an investment bank, to a regulatory agency and then back to the investment bank.
That is the bunny hop to the big bonus…let’s just break this down. Everybody knows that in the case of MF Global customers had their accounts STOLEN from them. Maybe as much as 1.6 Billion dollars in customers’ accounts ended up with players in the investment community.
And the watchdog who should have been barking, Gary Gensler the head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, was silent. So who is this Gary Gensler? Who is this man supposed to be protecting customer accounts from being stolen Jon Corzine at MF Global?
He is a old school professional bunny hopper. Started in investment banking, hopped to Treasury where he helped push through the law that prohibited anyone from ever regulating derivatives. Mission accomplished—move him back to Wall Street and add a zero to his bonus for that one. And then President Obama came along and it was time for Gary to go back to government and that is how he ended up as head of the CFTC.
And really he is the right guy at the right time at the right place—for Jon Corzine and MF Global. Because he didn’t just know Jon Corzine, he worked for Jon Corzine at Goldman Sachs.
So Gensler had no problem approving all the things MF Global did along voyage.
But when those bets went sour. And the customers woke up to find out their money was gone. Gary Gensler, the skipper of the regulatory regime, suddenly remembered that there was a conflict of interest for him to be involved in the matter because of his ties to Jon Corzine.
So he tripped and fell into a lifeboat. Atta boy Gary! Abandon ship! Forget the women and children and row yourself away from the wreckage.
Some big investment tanker will be by to pick you back up soon!