Employees are hired and fired, entrepreneurs make their own life decisions...just a different mind-set. IMO, employees take more risk than those who are willing to go into business for themselves. I "started out my life" in Public Accounting..and soon got tired of counting other people's money...started my own practice, started a ski-boat dealership with a friend, moved to Washington state to build racquetball courts, bought some houses, sold some houses...and' then got "dragged" into trading by my brother (in 1979)....Some ventures did well, others did not...but I feel that I made my own choices along the way. I "chose" not to get into Blackjack when my brother did in 1975 (big mistake)....I "chose" not to go to Chicago to trade OEX and S&Ps with my brother in 1985 (he offered a percentage of his profits, and I could keep all my own profits)..another big mistake since my cut would have been Millions over the next two years. I "chose" to stay trading options on the PSE because I felt "comfortable" in California (Chicago was too cold, what a dumb ass for caring about the stupid weather)....learned a good lesson about not being "geographically limited" when it comes to career choices... (Not trying to "romanticize" any of this, just sharing). Don
I don't know if this makes senses... but please correct me if it doesn't : In the end, If it is true or not or if only a small subgroup where responsible for this high average... ...it doesn't matter ! They have made the best marketing possible ! Now everybody will want to work there and they can get good people paying less for a certain position, because this person will expect to have a larger salary in the future ! And they can also sell the firm to the client as having the best personel in "town", because they are paying more then the average for a certain position ! This is a good marketing ! And they don't even have to publish in the news... people with find out and talk it all over the place !
$420,000 x 22,000 = $9,900,000,000 Those GS workers especially the market makers must have pull quite a lot of head fakes to take trader's $$$.
The current oil price is comprised of 20 to 35% speculation...and when you break down the profits of all the majors...a large portion of the record earnings will have come from the oil play... Likewise...it will be interesting to see how they fare when the music stops...It is the ultimate game...to assist in pricing the item...and thus selling the item... All in all...it is nice to know that I smoked past most of these people in total freedom...no kissing ass...and doing as I please... living where I please...I win...fuck the tie wearing ass kissers....
And I hv read before here that many IB/HF hv huge short positions in natural gas. With the recent huge drop, they hv made another killing again.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth that (yes, I can do that). So, how does a young 20-something (late 20s) phd who has come to an epiphany (over the last few years, and not because of this post, ... really) that he loves markets / finance and such make the move in that direction? hypothetically speaking? lets also assume he has no MBA, but has read enough case studies and has enough 'background' knowledge to put many MBAs to shame... again, hypothetically...