club. They were set up with a table in the back and got dances from what he calls “civilians.” The establishment prides itself on not hiring professional strippers... It finds what they call “normal girls” – women with other professions who dance for extra cash. Brad’s night, fueled with vodka and cocaine, produced almost 300,000 shares of business the next trading day. On the other night, “it got a little ugly,” as Brad says. He means it in the best way possible. About once a month he attends an underground party in the basement of a steakhouse with 10-15 guys. It’s an ultra- exclusive invite. The evening’s festivities cost Brad $10,000 for him and a customer. This kind of entertaining is reserved for only his best client... a client who accounts for 25% of his annual commission totals. They trade together almost every day and Brad brings home around $200,000 a year by keeping him happy. Their night started off at the restaurant bar with the other regular Wall Street riffraff. They sipped scotch and waited. Then one by one, they were escorted to the basement. The business was taking precautions to not draw attention to a herd of guys going somewhere. Eventually everyone was seated at the table where they feasted on an epic steak dinner, a full bar, craps table, DJ, and an assortment of drugs. The party had started. Then the escorts walked in – two girls to every guy. The clothes came off immediately.
Cleaning Up Wall Street There are many reasons why this party is so secret. The biggest is that for decades now, Wall Street has been trying to “clean up” the reputation of the industry. Brad admits that the wining-and-dining business model is becoming harder and harder to sustain in today’s environment. The game has changed, he says – it’s not like it used to be. Today, a large portion of the hedge funds on the Street can’t trade with Brad even if they wanted to. Many customers on the buy side have a commission formula already in place – who and how much gets paid are predetermined. So a night out on the town won’t move the needle for those customers.
American Consequences | 19
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