(Mar 18) Ahhhh, cocaine. the finance industry's best friend. I was downtown last night at an upscale Japanese restaurant (no, not Nobu) with a salesman and a trader. They were both kind of clumsy; eager to drink and talk about things other than work. My colleague and I weren't incredibly interested in what they had to say ...    Read

(Mar 18) Went to a knicks game with some salesguys the othernight. Great seats- 5 rows up from courtside. The downside was that I felt like a 16 year old girl on prime night. I was plied with alcohol, gifts, etc. It made me feel as if giving my trades to these people was tantamount to giving ...    Read

(Mar 15) Working for a private equity fund or hedge fund is a world of difference compared to an investment bank. I believe the best analogy for financial professionals comes from the airline industry. Working on the buy side is the equivalent of being a first class passenger. Just like first class, hedge funds make up roughly ...    Read

(Mar 11) We have started a tradition here in hedgeland: we are going out every thursday night. And with 25 sell side brokers (in our equities business alone!) there is no shortage of salemen to pick up the tab. Last night was slightly different though because I went out with people that I actually liked. You are ...    Read

(Mar 11) Because on Wall St., that is what you do. Selling your services to the highest bidder is not ignoble, it is not disingenuous, it is common practice. In fact, it is celebrated. My particular “selling out” was leaving a top-tier investment bank to head to a hedge fund. The choice was easy to make: more ...    Read