The End Was Near…

In 1998, the stock brokerage career was at its very pinnacle – it had never been as good as it was that year and it would never be that good again.  This was that golden moment where the economy was great, everyone was making money in name-brand large cap stocks and the online brokerages were still a non-event so full service commissions of 3% per trade were still the norm.

And that summer, I was working as an intern/cold caller between years at school.  I was with a high-flying retail brokerage where the guys were cleaning up.  We were making markets in a lot of midcap tech names in the electronic contract manufacturing space (Flextronics, Jabil Circuit, Smart Modular etc) and the stocks were working out.  I saw windfalls of money made by the brokers that summer on a weekly basis. It felt like the good times would continue forever.

And then me and the guys I worked for got a rude awakening one afternoon.  The profession of brokerage was peaking and ready to begin a secular decline that would crush firms, ruin business models and deflate all profitability and rationale from the model with every passing year.  The writing was on the wall from a regulatory and technological standpoint but almost no one saw it coming (they never do).

But one guy in particular did.  Investment News just ran a new excerpt from my book Backstage Wall Street, it’s about the time one of the greatest stockbrokers who ever did it threw a bucket of cold water at us that I should have heeded.  Check it out here:

The Reformed Broker: The day I realized ‘the end was near’ (Investment News)

Also:

Backstage Wall Street (Amazon)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. Personalised Drink Bottles commented on Sep 19

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  2. EatVerts commented on Sep 22

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  3. Bitcoin Era Review commented on Oct 01

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  4. bitcoin loophole commented on Oct 04

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you can find 19114 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  5. replica watch winders for rolex commented on Nov 16

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 12878 additional Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  6. Buy weed online commented on Nov 21

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  7. scotia bank online login commented on Dec 03

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 98920 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  8. lace front wigs commented on Dec 17

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]

  9. rugby live stream 2021 commented on Feb 02

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 22962 additional Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2012/04/17/the-end-was-near/ […]