Jem has hit the nail on the head in his assessment of not just VN, but the entire culture of bullshit we have witnessed over the better part of the past decade. I honestly believed we would move beyond this crap after the past year and that we would not have to revisit this sort of thing (i.e. VN receiving some more press) this quickly. Besides, the Pabst thread addressed the last debacle with quite a bit of detail.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda right? Are you one of VN's parasitic groupies as well or are you truly this ignorant? His pre-blowup track record includes another blowup, so I have absolutely no idea what sterling record you speak of.
what article were you referring to? The Great American Bubble Machine : Rolling Stone Jul 13, 2009 ... Goldman's mantra of "long-term greedy" vanished into thin air as the game became about getting your check before the melon hit the pavement. ... www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29127316/the.../print - Cached -
"In short, a combined sequence of events � huge declines in individual Thai stocks,losses in the Thai currency and the closing of the U.S. stock market and extensive up moves in the prices of options the fund was short; all came together in one day, in a short and disastrous coincidence." I particularly like this sentence. Joe.
As a very close personal friend of Vic i can say with 100% certainty that he doesn't have a sarcastic bone in his body.
oh man, that purple jacket and his eccentric manner really bugs you, Jem?? Pretty funny, imho! have you considered VN's side of the story that he was FORCED out of the postions by a cabal on the floor? A lawsuit was filed based on this allegation and settled in VN's favor. There were obvious shenanigans going on--- I am not privy to the exact details--- but one must consider this possible fact prior to casting judgement and comparing VN to your evil empire of wall street. best, surf
parasitic like monroe trout, roy niederhoffer, toby crabel among several other billion dollar fund managers plus top traders in many markets. Get a grip, man! the record of accumulating massive wealth from the markets, maybe?? surf
Just a couple of comments: I detect a lot of jealousy in some of these posts. None of these money managers including Vic were doing anything ILLEGAL. So what do you want to do here ? More market regulation ? Selling premium is just another strategy. We need active sellers for a liquid options market. I wonder if Vic has cleaned-up once more by selling puts this past 6 months ?
I think there is the matter of moral hazard when managing OPM. It pays to swing wild for the fences when the trader shares a disproportionate piece of the winnings as compared to the potential losses. To the extent that the trader is looking to maximize his clients' risk adjusted returns, then all is well and the clients should know going in that they are in for a ride. However, the industry seems to be littered with traders who are principally seeking to maximize their own returns. Given the disparity in potential downsides between trader and client, they may find themselves at cross purposes. Since trading is all about risk and reward, the problem arises when the trader is more concerned about maximizing his own risk/reward equation than he is about maximizing the risk/reward of his clients. It may not be illegal to game the system in this manner, but...