Hey P, I kind of understand what you are saying, but trading is different. I would never condone stealing, that is wrong, and I really hate software and music pirates.
But that being said, with freedom come responsibility, if the retired guy wants to put his money out there, I am more than glad to take it. It is not my responsibility to safeguard this person, no matter how badly they handle their money.
Think about this, lets say someone owns a large investment house, we are talking billions here. Now sell side comes up with a new derivative on Wiener Dogs, so upper management gets together with legal and sell side.
First question: how much can we make per quarter
Sell: 250 mio
Second question: legal are we running afoul of any legislation
Legal: we might, but if we are charged it would cost us around 5 mio, and it would take more than a year to catch up, just civil and fines that’s all.
Third Conclusion Well lets see, to make a 100 mio, we have to pay 5 mio, that sounds like a good deal to me, no criminal charges and no one goes to jail, and even better we can write it off, so ladies and gentlemen lets get going, get them Wiener Dogs and sell sell sell.
So in this arena your thinking HAS to be different, if you execute well, you might just cost someone on the other side their job, or money. But you cannot think about that, your job as a trader is to keep seeking Alpha, there is no time for niceties or correctness, people commit suicide in this business, it is not a joke when we say that outside of the Military In Combat, LEO, Trauma Doc, this is the most stressful business in the world. So if any of what I have just said upsets someone or they can’t understand what I am saying, and just want to sit around and sing Kumbaya, you are in the wrong business.
The Ever Cold Blooded VIPER
Liber8 _bob