Why does this forum use acronyms so much? Is it how the industry communicates, really? I searched!
Currently entering junior year in college for finance, and I see the emails from this forum, just wondering, why all the acronyms? They seem extremely annoying, it reminds me of old police dept's using 10- codes. Every time I see an email that says "stresses of working at an HF as a PM" I think of 10-4 10-5 to the 10-20/21.
Fe'
Bro your username is an abbreviation
No, you're an abbreviation.
You'll pick up on the lingo, stay awhile
I just feel like, I could use the time spent decoding the acronyms, reading through text and learning without 'hold on let me look this one up". And you cant ask, you literally get set on internet fire if you ask, lol.
Every professional industry has jargon
That's my point exactly, the Financial system is largely dependent on creative power, in order to forecast, innovate, delegate, regulate, & ect. The mental cost of entry into this environment is extremely taxing as it is on its fundamental 101's finance, accounting, economics, banking & so on. On top of that when you look to dabble a bit outside of the classroom you have to navigate the 'not so inviting attitude of some /not all/ but some' and if you just dont automatically know the lingo/jargon/acronyms you are reluctant to engage in the conversations, at least I am most of the times.
For further reference Emergency Communications Departments around the nation have eliminated 10- codes in favor of 'plain language'. I know that it may not seem apples/finance to oranges/police but hear me out.
Lets say you have one police dept from the town of springfield and he hears over the radio that an officer from cleveland said "10-4, 10-5 to the 10-20/21". The springfield cop responds lights and sirens because 10-4 means received, 10-5 means enroute and 10-20/21 means assault with firearm, so he's scrambling to go help him. while enroute gets into an accident and injures himself. It just so happens that in cleveland 10-4 means received, 10-5 means enroute, but 10-20/21 means accident with injuries.
So although the above is an extreme example, we can see why there is a national push to standardize communication in plain language among public safety emergency communications departments, for inter-operability purposes.
In finance, I see a large disconnect among different backgrounds, weather it is a person that natively speaks a different language, or just a reserved person who may a bit introverted. The flow of ideas are limited by the cost of entry weather it is financial (tuition), or mental (minutia/acronyms/attitudes).
Obviously I am not saying that I have a great new idea, but I am saying that a person in my position may possibly have a great new idea, but the person may not have an avenue to openly communicate their idea to explore validity or viability.
For me, it is just annoying.
To outsiders it can be annoying. Once you spend some time in the water and it all starts to click, I think you will find it beneficial. To use your analogy, if 10-20/21 means assault with a firearm, it is a lot easier for the responding officer to simply say 10-20/21 vs fully explain the situation. In just three words, whoever is receiving the message can fully comprehend the severity of the situation. In my eyes, that is a powerful tool. Sure it might not make sense to everybody, but it serves the purpose it was intended to. Not to relate a gun fight to finance... at all.. but I think there are parallels in terms of the utility of jargon
You are over-weighting your importance and representation within the readership. Language is shortened for speed/concision, usually for the benefit of the author. Authors have an audience they wish to interact with, and whilst they don't explicitly exclude certain readers, it is not reasonable to expect they change their dialogue for the sole benefit of those outside their audience.
Your argument is that those outside the audience might have a valuable contribution. This is statistically unlikely and becomes a cost/benefit decision. I'd rather write in a manner convenient to me, minimising my constraints (time and effort), and take the risk that for a very small portion of my content, someone reading it, who might have had a valuable insight, may have been alienated.
Your police analogy is grossly illogical. I don't think that requires an explanation.
If someone doesn't even know the basics to an incredibly complex system, their ideas will likely not be unique, interesting or relevant. You need to quit whining. Ideas are a dime a dozen and are meaningless without execution.
Which acronyms give you trouble? HF and PM should be pretty clear after like ten minutes on this website tbh.
I want to know all of them, is there a list? And if there isn't can we update a collective cloud doc with them? I have noticed that the site has a mouse hover/preview feature that translates some but not all. Is the rest of the industry like this internally as well? Do members of the industry go around using the acronyms in plain speech as well?
AndyLouis WallStreetOasis.com is this something we have? This guy is right that a ton of acronyms that people might not get at first and have trouble looking up (idk maybe how people abbreviate healthcare "HC"--not the most intuitive thing i guess). Just thought it could be good to tag you guys in this. Thanks.
Here's a WSO one and several others:
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/faq-common-acronyms-used-on-wso
http://www.tinalogan.com/faq-pdfs/Tina_Logan_Financial_Mkts_Industry_Ab…
https://www.investopedia.com/categories/acronyms.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_business_and_finance_abbreviations
GOLD
Thank you.
HYPSW -> “FO BB TMT IBD -> MF PE -> M7 MBA -> L/S HC HF PM.” LOL
Could add TMT or HC focused
H/S/W*
Buddy, if you have enough time to complain as much as you did in this thread, you have enough time to look up what a couple of letters mean
It is easier I guess
if you think the jargon used in the finance industry is "too annoying to handle" then the finance industry is probably not for you.
also, if you can't figure out that HF = hedge fund IB = investment banking RE = real estate PE = private equity PM = portfolio manager S&T = sales and trading DCF = discounted cash flow MM = multi manager (or mid market, depending on circumstance) SM = single manager FO = front office BO = back office MF = mega fund L/S = long/short
etc..
then you probably don't belong...
tl, dr?
we use abbreviation because nobody wants to hear Earning Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) 30 times in a presentation.
and its hilarious when someone has a non-approved way of saying eh-bit-dee-aw
"E - bit - Dee - AYY" my newest favorite, best read in a southern drawl.
Weirdo
You seem like a poster child for r/iamverysmart
Engineers actually use way more abbreviations than finance. Like was said above, every industry has abbreviations.
This is very true. Not just acronyms but general industry jargon that makes finance seem easier to pick up on.
Consider it an advantage that you have a resource, such as WSO, to come and see how industry participants communicate. If this is what stresses you out, wait until you need to really talk the talk.
Emergency services, publishing, media, hospitality, law, buying drugs, booking a flight, surviving in a homeless tent city - every aspect of adulthood comes with its own "language" that you need to learn to get by.
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