Over the last few years, Wall Street’s leaders have changed from independent thinkers to drones marching to Washington’s drumbeat. The many who criticized the Street in the wake of the credit crisis, fueled by the failure of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, scared the Street into mediocrity. The resulting companies are massive behemoths bogged down by regulation and led by fearful supervisors who see little room for independent thinking. A giant sucking sound has replaced innovation over the last seven years, but instead of Mexico filling the void, as Mr. Perot believed, hedge funds are doing the job.
Hedge funds, you see, are the last great bastion of capitalism. These private partnerships are filling the liquidity gaps left by the once-great investment banks. It is hedge funds that are making sure the markets run as orderly as they are and provide the capital to fuel the investment world’s fire. And while many are quick to criticize hedge fund fees, lack of performance and lock-ups, most are quick to praise their ability to make money for investors regardless of market conditions.
You can’t compare an investment that can go short with a market index that only goes long. Real investors understand this, and it’s this group that continue to pump billions of dollars into alternative investment vehicles. Investors are looking for returns — and hedge funds provide them, while also insuring that markets move and liquidity exists.
Operations for Alternatives rolls into PGA National in Florida on Monday. It’s our third event in eleven months, and while I hate to toot our own horn, we are clearly doing something right. OFA is all about engagement and information exchange, the sessions are brisk conversations, focused on helping people get answers to their questions about building and expanding a business in this ever-changing regulatory environment. If I don’t see you there, hopefully you will make it next time!
THINGS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY
The Patriots won! OK, that’s enough about that.
What really irks me is when people check their phone while they are ringing up my order at Starbucks, Home Depot or any retail establishment. Recently, I was at Starbucks in Boca Raton and the barista was more interested in checking her messages then helping the customers. When it was my turn, I asked her if it was business related and she smiled and said no, it was boyfriend related.
There’s a time and a place for everything. Texting while waiting on customers? Wrong time, wrong place.