"Greed is Good: The Demonized Speculator"

Greed is good?

In an industry characterized by its excesses and lavish lifestyles, the world of finance has taken on the role of a materialistic, savage-like society. Is greed pervasive throughout high finance, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, it’s neither my concern nor my business to judge. My question is how far can greed get you? Front row seats at a Lakers game, sure, a 4,000 square foot apartment in midtown, sure, ringing the opening bell on the NYSE, maybe. From the bottom looking up it is easy to be critical and or cynical toward such “luxuries,” but I often wonder where they take you.

At the end of the day trading is a game from my perspective. Most fail, some make it by, others make it big. A game in which an individual is accountable to himself and potentially clients, only as good as his last trip to the plate. A game where loyalty is only measurable in relation to a benchmark for most players involved. If you outpace a benchmark on a regular basis, the aforementioned “luxuries” become second nature. Money continues to flow in, as others hope to piggyback off of your mastery at the game. However, in the back of any trader, investor or speculators mind, they know it can all come to an end with one bad decision.

So what drives an individual to stay in a business of limited loyalty and failure always lurking by your side?

My question to those who’ve “made it” is when and where does it end? Is the end characterized by being in those court-side seats, or 4,000 square foot apartment, or is it elsewhere? Is it bragging to others about your excesses to let them know you are better at the game than they are? Is it having the power to be so influential, an entire nation depends on your actions?

Or is the end characterized by making a friend financially independent by protecting his/her hard earned savings for 30 years? Having the freedom to explore one’s individuality and other interests by being your own boss and setting your own hours? By helping a parent avoid financial catastrophe, before the collapse of a euphoric society? Being able to fund a child's enormously expensive higher education? Or is it being able to spend a weekday afternoon outside with your child/spouse/parent etc., exploring and or sharing various interests in life and having the means to do so? 

I guess it all depends on where and how you derive value.

As a child I was always taught to “follow my passion,” engage in activities and with others that interest me. At some points it can be difficult to pursue a passion, at some points maintaining contact with interesting people can be difficult. However, from my experiences it seemed like a common lesson taught by parents and a commonplace objective of most of my adolescent peers. 

So I ask those that demonize the “speculator,” the trader, the financier to look in their child’s eyes to find the shallow, cold, ruthless greed and “passion” to be a figurehead of materiality. May it be found in some aspiring traders, sure.  However, I would like to think the second of the two “ends” is also a possibility to consider before blanketing the objectives of those in the profession.

I'd argue that many pursue a passion in finance, trading and or speculating for many of the same reasons so many other Americans go to work every day.