Movies vs. Reality
Okay so I need some help.
For those of you in the S&T side of things, are things as crazy as The Wolf of Wallstreet/The Buy Side make it seem?
Because I find that craziness making S&T very unattractive to me personally.
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Ask a trader whether you can shadow him/her on their desk for a day and you'll get your answer. Spoiler alert: it isn't.
lol no. At least you aren't on the other side of the spectrum and want to go into S&T because you think it is like that.
None of 'em S&T professionals are able to respond to your query at the moment, since they're all entirely too busy snorting coke off hookers' asses.
In seriousness, no, things are nowhere near that crazy.
My Investment Banking floor is more entertaining than Sales & Trading. But the S&T floor seems to have a more tense/serious vibe, Nigs with 6 computer screens like Battlestar Galactica and their head honcho wearing a turban with 2 Phd's from Harvard. Everytime we have a floor meeting and he speaks, I cant help but laugh my ass off at his rich, thick accent like freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
There is a huge difference between a bucket shop and an actual institution.
Most trade desks/floors at BB's are nothing like that. You'll build some camaraderie with the people sitting next to you, but it's a tough business. The relationships you're paid to build are with the people on the other end of the phone or messenger.
The obvious answer is it is not - however the average trading floor is still an extremely different environment to the average workspace, for example in ER. It is very distilled compared to something like wolf of wall street but still very different to a "normal" working environment. At market open you'll see something that isn't a million miles removed from the movies.
"Unattractive"? The Wolf of Wallstreet is everything BUT unattractive. Look for a spot in compliance, might be a better fit. The sell side when I started was a lot more fun and a bit more Wolf of Wallstreet like - now it's all compliance this, compliance that, safe space this, safe space that. Our balls have been cut out.
Yeah man, compliance sucks. God forbid you make some sort of "off" comment.
Also, it was a different world in the 80's and 90's
Most of the people who replied to you are off topic and your question is wrong.
Jordan Belfort wasn't working on the Trading Floor of JP Morgan. He was a Broker.
Here's the real answer from someone who has experience in that space: It can be a lot crazier and dirtier than what is pictured in the wolf of wall street. I know of some Brokers who told their clients to transfer their "Trading Capital" into the Broker's personal banking account and gave them a demo account with the same amount as they will eventually loose their capital anyway (90/90/90), so better for them to take the whole amount instead of gaining commissions per transaction until they loose, and this is nothing, I know a lot worse.
GG
So what is a sales guys at JP called? It's a broker as well... If you sell derivatives, stocks, equity, fixed income, commodities, etc... you are a broker. The Wolf of Wall Street is about a small brokerage firm that pumps and dumps small retail investors. Big firms like JP Morgan can be seen as pumping and dumping on every IPO to their institutional clients. Disclaimer: I do not believe they do that, but some people do believe that's what they do. Only difference is one is pumping to retail the other is pumping to institutional...
The rest of the post and what you are describing is called theft and like any person sending money to an African king in Nigeria, they probably deserve it. But that's more of a generic scam than broker specific excesses. Talk to me about front running, churning, misrepresentation, and now we are talking.
Disjoint If you think brokers in JP Morgan and brokers at brokerage houses, let alone brokers at brokerage houses outside the US, are all the same species, then I can't help you. Banks and Brokerage Houses don't sell the same products. for example banks "broker" structured derivatives while the derivatives that brokerage houses "broker" are Oil CFDs. Btw pump & dump is theft too, theft that's a bit harder to prove. Let me share a secret with you, pump & dump takes you to prison, the people who got caught doing what I described didn't, because the investor transferred the money by his own will, without the proper paperwork you cannot prove that you have been mislead to transfer the money elsewhere. The thief can simply justify by saying "I was paid this amount of money to teach him how to trade on Demo". I know it's sad, but the world is a fucked up place.
Xiiixiii the world outside doesn't resemble the US, compliance doesn't exist in some parts of the world. I don't care what you call BS and what you don't, I really don't care what you think altogether. It's my fault to share this insight on dirtier things than WOWS that happen with noobs like you, you're still a virgin to hear all that.
+1 for being pedantic
Is this with Forex outside the US? How are "brokers" pulling that past compliance, FINRA and the SEC with the paper trail that would create? I call BS unless "someone who has experience" did a stint at JT Marlin and pulled this off with shady retail banks domiciled on the Isle of Man and worked with clients of severe Dementia.
Dumb ass question. Next!
Most accurate Finance industry depiction in movies? (Originally Posted: 11/14/2017)
We all know Hollywood dramatizes and exaggerates things in the movies. Wallstreet and Finance is no different, especially that watered down Wallstreet 2. They should've just left the classic on its own.
I think Margin Call was pretty accurate. Some exaggeration and artificial drama considering how characters are portrayed, but overall realistic.
Is being an Administrative Assistant as fun as The Devil Wears Prada makes it seem?
Thoughts: Movies About Wall Street (Originally Posted: 04/06/2013)
Generally movies about any profession coming out of Hollywood has to be over sensationalized to bring in viewers but usually at the cost of radically altering the public image of the job depicted.
But, what's the feeling about Wall Street oriented movies? So far I've observed people in finance give it nothing but dry amusement, some of them are really into it though.
Is it just "Main Street" wanting to see what goes on in the industry the media constantly tries to ostracize and blame -- or is it because they can situate "big money drama" with paced high stakes with parallel astronomical losses that would send normal people jumping off buildings?
Box Office Popular Examples:
I thought too big to fail was actually relatively accurate and really showed where the various players were coming from.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1742683/
And obviously American Psycho. Most accurate representation of old school/classic/golden age Wall Street ibanking culture in cinema history.
Best suble element is when he says "let's see Paul Allen's card" and everyone else quietly takes their cards off the table with a glimmer of fear in their eyes. As if everyone is thinking... "oh fuck, Paul Allen's card... don't want to go toe to toe with that."
Thank you for the links, after watching that youtube video I'm going to have to buy both of those films.
Margin Call was spot-on accurate (except for their cheesy dialogue about analyst salaries). Other than that it was golden. In fact, it sucked at the box office because the unwashed masses didn't understand it and thought it was boring.
The Wolf of Wall Street will hit theaters this November. It's about a New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration.
Some of the actors will be: -Leonardo DiCaprio -Matthew McConaughey -Jonah Hill
Should be another one to add to the collection of wall street movies.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/
...Oh ya, Martin Scorsese is making it!
Are movies accurate, does IB pay the most? (Originally Posted: 12/27/2012)
While I can't remember specific names of all the movies, there have been countless times where an incredibly wealthy person has been in IB. How accurate is this really? Would you say that, aside from CEOs and other prominent positions in certain companies, along with select entrepreneurs, that the senior IB positions are the highest paying jobs on average? Or are movies like that just showing the select few "best" and/or "luckiest" bankers in those cases?
I just watched The Game (1997), by the way, where Michael Douglas is a wealthy banker. So that is what made me wonder how typical this is among senior bankers.
That was a different era as well. If you want to see some documentaries that illustrate this I recommend Billion Dollar Day, Trader (about PTJ), and the short one about FX trader who became the president? prime minister? of New Zealand, I believe his name was John Key.
Are you fucking serious?!?
Yeah I am serious, however sad that is.
Successful Entrepreneurs make the most. Private Equity and Hedge Fund guys are probably next.
Investment Banking is probably (this might be controversial) the easiest field (relative to the next options) to ensure a good living in. However the upside staying directly in IBanking is not nearly as good as it is on the buyside or in an entrepreneur or C-Level business role. Any business where you are dealing with money directly, probably pays very well. Minus accounting.
Sigh... you are going to burnout in your 1st or 2nd year if you are aiming for the money. I mean look money is important but its not everything. Maybe I'm just speaking from a WASP perspective but money does not make a family or a person happy, once you have enough of money it just becomes fluff. I think research have shown that if you are past a certain threshold ~100k, each marginal dollar you make brings you less and less happiness. Its economics. I have met plenty of friends who were wealthy and their parents did everything under the spectrum. You can be a rich by being a doctor, being a lawyer, working the energy industry, by being part of the government, shipbroker etc. Just don't go in for the money man I'm telling you.
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