According to Al Lewis (Al’s Emporium; Wall Street Journal) psychos run Wall Street. How else do you explain the continuing string of Wall Street scandals and fraudulent activities that rip-off investors. For example, why would a prestigious firm like Goldman Sachs package and sell a $1 billion CDO and then bet against the performance of the product. Investors lost more than $700 million and GS was fined $250 million.
Sherree DeCovny in CFA Magazine that said 10% of Wall Street professionals have psychopathic tendencies based Lewis’ article on an article. That would explain a lot if this analysis were correct.
Psychopaths have anti-social tendencies: Lack of empathy, no regard for consequences, and unlimited risk-taking. Lack of empathy explains how Wall Street executives could damage millions of people and still get a good night’s sleep in their mansions. Lewis also said many of these psychos were charming, narcissistic, glib, had great senses of humor, and could spin the truth like a roulette wheel.
Unless the 10% dominate the Wall Street’s executive suites, I believe the number is much higher. I also think the psychopathic behavior is driven by a massive sales culture that puts huge importance on company profit and very little value on ethical standards that protect investors.
I also believe politicians are paid millions of dollars to allow this culture to flourish. You may have noticed Goldman Sachs paid a fine, but did not have to admit guilt, when its executives made decisions to rip-off investors. This means the psycho executives have huge upside (multi-million dollar bonuses) and no downside (prison). Based on the events of the past few years, fines have become a cost of doing business for companies. Psychopaths in Washington D.C. and Wall Street flourish in a mutually beneficial environment.
The media calls them “alphabet soup”. Investor Watchdog’s record is reviewing the credentials of an advisor who had 28 letters after his name. The soup I am referring to is the letters that represent certifications, designations, and accreditations that appear after advisors’ names.
