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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: shadowman who wrote (103768)	4/3/2006 5:32:31 PM
From: Knighty Tin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

It is funny to hear this point of view. According to Smith Barney branch managers, the Wall Street arbitration process is rigged against the firms and for the scamsters in the public. But I see where they get that feeling. All the losses go directly to the branch manager for failure to supervise. Even the manager's pension is at risk if a broker in his branch loses a case. Which is why Wall Street branch managers have to have room temperature IQs to take the job. Theoretically, the pay is huge. Realistically, they are likely to lose everything they have. Yes, Wall Street wins 87% of the cases, but 13% is enough to destroy the manager. Which is why they all loved me. My bosses always thought I was a lawsuit ready to explode. Because I did futures and options, and only crooks do futures and options. <VBG> Meanwhile, the guys who put suckers, er, clients into managed money and carefully selected mutual funds got arbitrated to death. The selection process of allowing funds into a brokerage system is as dirty as can be. Even dirtier is allowing fund wholesalers access to the branches. The entire time I was at Smith Barney, I never saw a Van Kampen wholesaler. Van Kampen is a firm I once worked for under its alias, American Capital. In fact, I was their superstar money manager. But Smith Barney had once owned Van Kampen (after I left and the joint fell apart <G>), took it public, and then it was purchased by Morgan Stuckup. The funds went from being part of the family to not being allowed in the door. Maybe the travel time was too far for the Van Kampen wholesaler. After all, their entire equity fund operation was located 5 full floors beneath us on the elevator. <G> Even after the late trading scandals, the firms that paid fines had access. Some were "preferred" vendors. Meanwhile, firms like American Eagle couldn't get in the door. Weird stuff.