All men are born equal until they become Investment Bankers.
Starry eyed, or should I refer dollar eyed, management graduates dream to join the Ivy league Wall Street investment banks but rarely does luck play an important part in being recruited in one as much as it does so for the author. The author does give due credit to the ‘luck’ factor which ensures his employment with erstwhile Salomon Brothers.
By the first few pages of the book, the author weaves a web around the haloed i-banking community that you end up with a realization that there is no job worth while than as an i-banking Traders or Salesman. I have in the past desperately prayed that the Almighty bestows such favors on yours truly but not in the present gloomy i-banking scenario. Though, I must confess that I still pray that I am still given the divine opportunity in near future.
A brief knowledge and under standing is essential for the reader to understand and comprehend the concepts of Bond trading and Mortgage trading that the book so deeply dwells into. The power struggle, among competing departments is well documented with special references to the Male and Female pecking order in
organizations and deliberately sounding ‘sexist’ in its approach.
The author marvelously documents his transition from being a rookie trainee to a salesman and finally to becoming a ‘Big Swinging Dick’ in Salomon Brothers and yet being unsure of his potential all the time. Since the book details the author’s experience at Salomon Brothers, book lays prime/ over emphasis on Bond and derivatives trading which may be a bit mundane at time. Rarely do we see the kind of predatory style of take over battles by competing entities or Private Investors in India as much as in US. Though unexpected, Salomon Brothers was no exception to this phenomenon ravaging corporate America. Power struggle among competing entities resulting in full scale corporate and board room battle with Drexel Burnham has been briefly but well documented.
The relevance of this book and the questions it raises on the working style of i-banks is all the more relevant in today’s turbulent times. The seeds of wreak and havoc that we witness today can well be traced to origination of mortgage derivatives that is dealt in this book.
Thumbs up to the book!! Do grab your copy today.