You peek furtively around the floor. The other financial advisers have gone home to Bedchester. All clear. You pull out your offer letter from Smiling Joe, the branch manager at the wirehouse across the street. The deal is “3x,” potentially paying you three times your...
If you listen carefully, if you pause and remain very still and tilt your head at just the right angle, you might notice the calm before the storm of clients moving assets. Skittish markets, robo advisers and fiduciary regulations are sure to put money in motion over...
This column is about robo advisers. But let’s start with an ugly truth about the advisers, humans included, who are held by law to the fiduciary standard. They don’t always behave like fiduciaries—that is, always putting the client’s interest first—no matter what the...
Whatever happened to all the cowboy stockbrokers who relied on chutzpah and grit to lasso clients? Their stories made us laugh even as we cringed at the shameless antics. Like Prospector Cat: Years ago, a broker drove to posh neighborhoods and released his cat to...
“Somebody authorized a $50,000 transfer online,” your client says. “And it wasn’t me.” “I’m on it.” The first step is clear. You phone the CISO, your firm’s chief information security officer. But do you know what happens next? If you don’t, you might find out the...
“Mrs. Smith is here to see you,” your receptionist says. You wonder, “What’s up?” She doesn’t have an appointment, and while you know her socially, all your communication is with Mr. Smith. You hang up, rush to the lobby, and find her visibly upset. Her husband was...
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.