Cats in the cradle.

I no longer feel special. This realization has dawned on me when I heard a group of grandmothers talking about exchange rates, markets going up and down and walking more than they used to so that they can save money because their pensions have got effected. In a years time nearly everyone have become experts in the financial markets. With each of them having their own view. I was blissfuly unaware of the LTCM and Russian default crisis when it occurred. Today I can bet a year's wage that most of the teenagers would know about Lehman, RBS and the collapse of the financial markets.
One of the people I learnt a lot from about hedge funds is today the person in charge of Alternative Investments at one of the major banks. I had invited him and his sons for a Chelsea football match. They must have been around 10. I watched with great intent when he was explaining to his son the concept of a P/E ratio. It was then that I had hoped that my kids would be interested in my line of work and I will be able to teach them about the markets along with a whole bunch of other things. Part of this is possibly the guilt of now knowing the details of my Dad's work.
I do not know if I would push my children to work in the financial industry. However I will tell them about LTCM and Lehmans so that they will be prepared to handle the situation in whatever facet of life they end up being.
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The fall of the monarchy

It would be irresponsible of me not to make any comment with the one year anniversary of what would become one of the biggest financial crisis in history. It was one of those events which was supposed to be a six sigma event. However those six sigma events are becoming more frequent. There are various theories which seek to explain these phenomenon but I will save it for another day.
The collapse of Lehman,AIG, the selling of Merrill Lynch and Royal Bank of Scotland created a paradigm shift which changed the face of banking and the way people viewed bankers and people working in the financial industry. Last Halloween the hottest costumes were that of a banker and Sarah Palin. Suddenly bankers were placed on the same platform as Guy Fawkes, Osama bin laden and George W. Bush. The irony of these three names are that they are viewed as super heroes by some people and villains by others.
Hedge Funds are placed in the same basket and the recent ads by Stella Artois are a hit below the belt. My view was and continues to be that Hedge funds are the only instruments that could have eased the fall. However the brilliant members of the central banks of the world over decided to ban short selling. I liken that move to blaming an undertaker for making profits during an epidemic and preventing from digging graves to bury the body.
The big banks were a monarchy. They ruled the world. Now the people are fighting back. I cannot say whether their cause is just or whether they are even aware of what they are fighting for. The people will win this round but the big banks will be back to their behemoth best in some form or the other. In the mean time I continue to believe that Hedge Funds are one of the best alternatives. I end with a quote made about a person who was a prince in a lot of people's hearts. Jennifer Grey paid tribute to Patrick Swayze on his death by saying "Gorgeous and strong,he was a real cowboy with a tender heart." "He was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace" In my view Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing provides a good metaphor for hedge funds. Johnny Castle was exotic, attractive, kind,misunderstood and had humble beginnings. However he was the only one who had the strength to say "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."
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