turn. And a lot of the hardcore entertainment practices had to be taken off the books. From 2004 to 2008, the number of guys who could extravagantly entertain clients nearly shrunk in half. The sales traders at bigger banks were on a much shorter leash, but men and woman at lower-tier firms and direct payout shops like Brad still had carte blanche. And there were plenty of buy-side traders willing to partake in some of the good old- fashioned wining and dining. The nights were filled with secretive, Gatsby-like characters, unprecedented greed, and an attitude of impunity. It wasn’t until the financial collapse in 2008 that most hedge funds and mutual funds started to catch up to and monitor this type of activity. The buy side moved their compliance officers from a desk right next to the back office all the way to a corner office next to the founding partner. Who and how much brokers got paid became a major focus. I recently spoke with the head of a trading desk for a multibillion-dollar asset management firm that’s highly respected on the Street. And he too reiterated the same changes in the wining and dining of today. He said he pays for himself every time he goes out with a broker. I tried to give him a metaphorical nudge to the gut suggesting – come on, you can get away with some things... But he responded: "
Not worth it . Today someone on the buy side who partakes in excessive entertainment could be risking their job. In 2017, a lot of the face-to-face meetings between brokers and clients are on a much different level. It’s considered to be somewhat of a plum to be offered a couple of bikes at SoulCycle or a spot in a CrossFit workout class. And even more common is a breakfast meeting in the office. I guess you have to bond over bagels these days. It’s a tougher gig. I followed up with Brad a few days later. He told me he ended up watching a few episodes of Stranger Things on Friday night. The rest of his week looked more interesting... plans to wine and dine at Japanese hot spot Zuma on Tuesday... Drinks at the luxury Mark Hotel on Wednesday... And Thursday, he’ll swing by Beauty and Essex – a speakeasy style lounge hidden behind a pawn shop. Brad says he knows he’s on the endangered species list. But he doesn’t care: “ I don’t have any other skill. I’ll just keep entertaining clients until I can’t do it anymore .”
Turney Duff is a former trader at one of the biggest hedge funds in the world, the Galleon Group, where their founder and several Galleon employees were found guilty of
insider trading. Turney rose through the ranks and then fell prey to the trappings of Wall Street: money, sex, drugs, alcohol, and power. Turney chronicles his spectacular rise and fall in his bestselling book, The Buy Side; AWall Street Trader’s Tale of Spectacular Excess.
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