Rich Handler: The Biggest Hypocrite in the Finance Community

AN @ Jefferies here, and I just need to briefly rant about Rich Handler's activity on social media.

Constantly commenting on FinMeme accounts, cracking jokes & virtue signaling about how culture is so important. Rich buddy, we'll all miserable here. Jefferies has one of the worst cultures on the street. And you're on your Instagram high horse crowd sourcing your self-esteem through random accounts that don't even work on the Street, liking any comment you leave behind? Absolutely hypocritical. Has anyone else noticed this?

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JefferiesMakesMeMiserable

AN @ Jefferies here, and I just need to briefly rant about Rich Handler's activity on social media.

Constantly commenting on FinMeme accounts, cracking jokes & virtue signaling about how culture is so important. Rich buddy, we'll all miserable here. Jefferies has one of the worst cultures on the street. And you're on your Instagram high horse crowd sourcing your self-esteem through random accounts that don't even work on the Street, liking any comment you leave behind? Absolutely hypocritical. Has anyone else noticed this?

No skin in the game, but seniors are so often pitifully unaware of what goes on in the junior ranks, it's laughable.  I bet Rich hears great things about the culture at Jefferies from his sycophant lieutenants who then proceed to make life miserable for people under them.  Senior management at IBs are often made up of low eq guys stuck in a different generation that are now just ineffectual and out of touch.

 

at least dimon isn't on instagram all day filming himself with his chicken

 

It's laughable. Every meme account eats it all up because it validates to have the CEO of an investment bank engage with them. He's out of touch and his comments and pushing of everything that he does is absurd. Jefferies is a wishful wannabe where every top dealmaker backstabs and lampoons, fighting over deals because there's not enough to go around; the ones that land them make junior life hell.

To respect a CEO is one thing, but to think that his efforts to get out there and "interact" are genuine is tantamount to sheer stupidity. I agree with you 100% -- if you're a junior and land there, learn how to model and get out. He has no idea about what's happening at his own firm. 

 

it's good for jeffries from a recruiting perspective to be interacting with the finance meme accounts. very smart move. it's good for the finmeme accounts to be engaging with Rich, gets them more clout and more clout = more followers = more money if they are monetizing.

 
Funniest

Jef analysts who wanted to agree with me and SB, but accidentally throw MS after 20hrs of non-stop working, their eyes can no long see the marginal difference without grid line on.

 

Given all the rants about him, guy is not very good at hypocrisy. New thoughts: The biggest hypocrite is also the honest man.

 

couldnt agree more with this post. He needs to stop creating the notion of "finance bros" on social media

 

Overdue post. Handler can enjoy social media as much as the next guy, but when you constantly post about your self-proclaimed “best in industry” culture, that’s hypocrisy to the highest degree. Laughably far out of touch with reality. Needs to spend less time posting IG stories at the vacation house with his daughter and more checking the pulse in the bullpen.

 

Can we also talk about how unbearable the finmeme accounts have become? It was funny when it started 2-3 years ago but now all of them are shamelessly trying everything to monetize their platforms. 75% of their content is trying to sell you something or advertise

 

don't necessarily disagree with them not being funny but do you want them to not make money from something that they could easily make money from/have poured a fuck ton of time into without making money?

 
Most Helpful

What's up man, I blocked you because you sent it from a burner with zero followers and posts and expecting me to post something with no context. 

I'm ok being called a shill, joke, clown or whatever if you don't like what I post or how I (and the other accounts) monetize the audience I've spent years building to provide comedic relief, inside scoops across other banks, and resources on the industry for free. Reach out to your Media & Telecom team for a wedge on digital media tailwinds. But what people are saying about Rich Handler pressuring me to pump up his daughter or I'm too sheepish to say anything is just coming from salty, jaded analysts who need to get their stuff in order.

I don't think there's any surprise that Jefferies is notorious for having a tough culture, it's been on WSO for a long time and people in the industry know about this, bonus clawbacks, the old Sage Kelly saga, etc. Maybe it's because I'm not a fresh analyst that this doesn't surprise me and I don't find it newsworthy. It's investment banking and it's not like lateraling to Moelis, Evercore, Goldman, JP Morgan is a fluffy walk in the park with MDs hand holding you whenever you feel bad. Yes, it sucks and I've been there many times pulling my hair out across firms both on the sellside and buyside (my path has been IB and PE). I feel it, but things don't change overnight or because it's blasted on IG. I'm already dealing with enough of the reddit neckbeards who followed thinking my page was about tendies, stonks, yolo, or whatever. Not gonna add unnecessary shit because a burner sent in a screenshot of a jaded analyst's rant. 

 

When I first discovered his IG account, I thought it was cool. "Hey, an investment banking executive who is into the meme culture, that's kind of neat."

Then it became a cringetastic shitshow of virtue signaling, horribly out-of-touch takes, shilling his daughter's weird side businesses, and bullying college students and analysts who are just trying to get by. I decided to do some digging on who he is as a person outside of his IG account. Pretty interesting that for such a preening moralizing elitist he has been associated with some rather shady individuals...

 

I will likely get trashed for this but I think it's ridiculous how much the finance industry (Handler included) exalts Milken. I understand everyone in that cohort got their start at Drexel and he created the market but it seems shameless. I also think Handler looping his daughter in and seemingly pressuring Litquidity to pump her up is absolutely cringeworthy.

Edit: lol some fucking interns in here sticking up for a convicted felon who cried in court because he didn't know the sentences were concurrent

 

People who actually deserved their #MeToo accusations, convicted felons, etc.

 

I know someone who grinded like a madman from a nontarget to break into JEF and quit within 3 months of full time. Tells you all you need to know about that institution.

 

Haven't worked at Jefferies, but I've had multiple friends work in various groups there. For what it's worth, most of them have despised working there. The jokes mostly revolve around jumping out the window (which, to be fair, isn't necessarily a unique joke for any bank). However, multiple bankers I know have left Jefferies to similar roles at other investment banks and have been much happier with their new teams. 

It's hard to make a statement without having worked there, and I'm sure it's group dependent, but I've by and large heard negative things about the work culture at Jefferies.

 

Fair...this job can consume your life without realizing it. I work 90 hours a week...in banking. When I have free time, I hang out with my friends...who also work in banking. And on social media a lot of the pages I follow are meme accounts about...banking. 

Fuck I don't know how it came to this and I don't know how to get out.

 

Was an analyst in JEF HC too. Everyone in my class left for PE/HF except for one, and the same is for the class above me (good exits across the board too). There are a few MDs who are great to work for from a deal experience perspective (great clients, work across top PEs, good modeling experience), but you'd resign yourself to be in the office until 11pm at a minimum for 5 days a week (and often 2-3am nights), and work ~5-10 hours a day on the weekends. 

 

Just for FWIW, chatted with her for about 40mins at Rich’s penthouse before his/her foray into IG. I was bored and didn’t want to talk about pitchbooks or hours. She wasn’t close to as annoying as she is on IG. I get trashing her public persona but let’s not all pretend we are physical specimens. Knocking anyone for looks is a scumbag move IMO.

 

Okay you may not like her dad or his firm (neither do I), but this is pretty uncalled for. 

 

Don't think Rich actually hears anything that gets back to him.

Worked in one of the non-US offices, in some offices they kept and promoted mid-level people who made the office a laughingstock.

I'm not even talking about a zero-value-add person, but a negative-value-add person. Dude was not only completely incompetent, he consistently fucked juniors' work up, didn't respond to clients and senior bankers, flouted compliance rules. Another idiot also consistently committed petty theft (I know we're not that well comped, but it's not that bad). Also, neither of them were legacy hires or sons of somebody. Just really good bootlickers

And trust me, the firm doesn't want to know. They just don't want it on record. Culture was toxic af.

When I left and started interviewing, not one interviewer bothered asking about my Jefferies experience, unless they knew someone from the global team that left for Cantor 

 

I won one of those IG contests to get on a call with him. Seems like a genuine guy. I can't speak to culture or much else as i'm not in industry but I he's def not evil. Grandstanding a little prob yes, but I think he's a good guy. Slam on me for this take if you want.

 

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