Friday Feature Book Review: The Indian Renaissance by Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal インド経済のルネッサンス: サンジーブ・サンヤル

Recent economic summit events involving the US, Europe and China dominate global news. India used to be a player, and now seeks to regain its former lost ground economically. This is a deeply researched book equal to the Economist Magazine, The History Channel or Wall Street Journal. Foolishly, I have only read about the "IT rise of India" type stories. It would be better to describe these same headlines as "the return of Indian economic power". I did not know much about Indian history before British rule, and I learned very critical insight about its roots. For example, at the time of Jesus Christ 2000+ year ago, India's economy made up 33% of global GDP, China was only 26% and Europe just 21%. 

At that time, the Roman Empire was just consolidating and spreading far and wide. The world's dominant economic superpower was India. Ships and trade made up a lot of this wealth, and gold was a key currency of exchange. The power of Indian traders was extreme, and the amount of gold that it brought into India was so huge, that it worried the Roman Emperor. The outflow of gold was so high, that they had to discourage the import of many Indian luxuries in order to stem the outflow of their Roman gold! I had never read that ever before, and it opened my eyes to India's economic power in the past. I have been historically ignorant with past market economies. I should add, it is not the first time. 

I find the learning of such a currency crisis in gold, true capital flight from Rome into India over 2000 years ago, to be amazing. Economics have been around for a long time, and the author Sanjeev Sanyal, does a great job of bringing a very clear view of how strong India was, and remained so for 1000 years. He later explains how it went inward in direction, and declined for the following 1000 years. He makes a firm case that two dates in recent memory are turning points. 1947, India's independence from the British Empire and 1991, when it began long overdue and badly needed financial & economic reforms. 

The year 1991, was fortunate as it came about at the same time as the internet itself. India's entire global dominance of overseas call centres, and other outsourcing functions would never have happened if these economic reforms were not in place. It was never a case of the internet spreading freely within India, and being allowed to take off all on its own, as if something purely by chance. It was planned and fully supported once key Indian entrepreneurs were allowed to do so. They were encouraged to take risk, and build global businesses never seen before, using a new internet backbone for various new online products and services. 

The Top 3 Takeaways from this book that impact any reader are:

1) There is a lot of economic history in India that goes back over thousands of years. The long coastline of India has been at the core of commercial trading. This has often run in parallel with China trade over centuries.

2) The value of gold in India has been greatly valued for over 3000 years. The Roman Empire was in fact in fear of the economic power of India. It caused a gold currency crisis, and suffered huge capital outflows.

3) The capital markets are always driven by innovation, and India and been both a victim and a protagonist. Political change has been open, then inward, and now more open again in recent years. The Internet boom really aided this recent renaissance style with IT outsourcing.

Any reader of this great book will be more sensitive to the current leader Prime Minister Modi's impact. Going forward, it will help any reader to anticipate many new directions. It was well worth the read, and gave me a foundation of comfort that sees a bright economic future in India's new renaissance. Perhaps it signals a new cycle of dominance for another 1000 years? Time will of course tell, as history often repeats itself. This book was very eye opening and very engaging in both economic and historic senses. Highly recommended!

Please visit us for our Friday Feature Review where TMJ Partners will review books, movies, conferences and anything else with a financial theme. Follow us now for our free weekly updates, just click here. Thank you for reading and learning more about how money is made in finance! 

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あなたがアジアや日本のセールストレーディング,
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      Mark  Pink                               Shinichi Nagasawa
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Friday Feature Review: The Quants by Scott Patterson (Math Algo Geniuses) ザ・クオンツ: スコット・パタースン 世界経済を破壊した天才たち (数学アルゴ天才)

I first thought this book would be dry, but I was very wrong. It reads like a mystery thriller in many ways. It is a great quantitative finance backgrounder for anybody wanting to know how hedge funds and investment banks moved into the quant space. Citadel, Renaissance, Morgan Stanley's PDT team or the Global Alpha team at Goldman Sachs, are all explained in great detail. You get to know who the key people have been who have driven trading to new levels. They have extraodinary stories and very unique personal backgrounds. Curiously, poker seems to be a theme that is repeated, and ties many of them all together. Clearly numbers are a passion to many of the key quant traders. I do not think this is a learned habit, but comes to a few very naturally. 

The true titans of quant trading are real human beings and they are all driven to succeed in various ways. Edward Thorp is a key early figure who may have started this new computerised money stream. He began by playing poker and counting cards with the mathematical accuracy of odds making. While at MIT he created a poker betting system that worked and later wrote a book on it. It was called "Beat the Dealer" and has inspired many other quants who have a similar dual interest in quant mathematics and poker. Many other inspiring quant backgrounds are also profiled all throughout the book. 

They include Peter Muller, a California boy who created PDT (Process Driven Trading). This was the internal quant hedge fund team within Morgan Stanley that generated billions is P/L for the firm. Cliff Asness worked at Goldman Sachs in the Global Alpha team, but left to start his own quant firm called AQR that now runs over USD180BN in AUM. Boaz Weinstein started as a credit derivatives trader within Deutsche Bank and was blessed with being in the right place at the right time. Although he always was focused on finance and had an internship even in high school at age 17. He started young and created Saba Capital after he left Deutsche Bank. It now runs over USD1BN in AUM.

Jim Simons, the code cracker from the US government left academia and started his own firm Renaissance Technologies with a very unique style with over USD100BN in AUM. Unlike many others, he prefers PhD staffers with NO financial background. Why teach great minds to "unlearn" any financial viewpoint, just start them fresh with an open mind. Ken Griffin, wanted to learn about the stock market as a child at age 12. He traded from his dorm room at Harvard and created Citadel Investment Group straight out of college. This was due to his ability to figure out convertible bond arbitrage and the profits waiting to be made. He now runs over USD26BN in AUM. Clearly there is no shortage of variety in the personalities of these quant entrepreneurs.

There is no secret to making money in the end. The pure quant goal of finding "the truth" or ultimate money making program is like a mirage, and is forever on the horizon. A lot of work is needed to think of, conceptualize, plan, practice and test before going live. It is a never ending process that never ends. Markets themselves change, so no perfect quant program can ever exist. The individuals who started quant trading and those who continue today are driven people. They are outliers and can never be considered ordinary in attitude. They need to find the number. It is in their nature. They do not seem to compromise or just leave it until later, whenever that could be. 

The Top 3 Takeaways from this book that impact any reader are:

1) There is a lot of history to the quant space going back to the 1960s when computers first began to spread widely. There also seems to be a direct link between poker and the motivations of many of the key quant founders. 

2) The value of quant trading brings together the power of a single computer program instead of a dozen trader minds. The leverage of this potential only gets higher with every new more powerful computer. There is no limit to its improvement over time.

3) The capital markets are always driven by innovation, and quant trading has already found its place. From now on, how much of any manual trading will be left in the hands of humans, is the only real unanswered question. The power of trading algos can only refine itself over time.

The main point that needs to be understood is that quant trading has its place, but is imperfect by its very nature. Past behavior may repeat itself, but not always in ways that seem logical. Accepting the imperfect is needed by even the best quants. Perfect storms do exist within financial markets. Black swans are a reality. Never, is a very long time for many, but so called "one in a million events" seem to happen more frequently than may quants can sometimes accept. Two of the biggest worries that the author makes in 2010 are about the future. Would crashes happen quickly, as in within 5 minutes? Well, flash crashes and the end of Knight Ridder proved that would be true. The second was about the ETF liquidity crunch. Is this the next bubble that will pop from leverage? Time will tell. Quant finance has its place and serves its function well most of the time. Overall 99% is a pretty good number to me, even if it is not 100%. I see and fully accept any quant market P/L value, and do not worry about the missing fraction, but then again, I am not a quant. This book was very eye opening and very engaging. Highly recommended!

Please visit us for our Friday Feature Review where TMJ Partners will review books, movies, conferences and anything else with a financial theme. Follow us now for our free weekly updates, just click here. Thank you for reading and learning more about how money is made in finance! 

If you are interested in Sales & Trading, Banking or FinTech focused roles in Asia or Japan then click here. Follow TMJ Partners on Linkedin Instagram or Twitter. We are the world's #1 recruiter on Twitter, with over 40,000+ followers globally! click here! 

あなたがアジアや日本のセールストレーディング,
バンキング、フィンテックの役割に興味がある場合は、こちらをクリックしてください。ティエムジェィパートナーズをLinkedin Instagram またはTwitterでフォローしてください！ 世界中のTwitterで第1位のリクルーター、40,000以上のフォロワーを既に持っています！クリックしてください。

For more Buy-Side and Sell-Side roles in Asia-Pacific, contact our TMJ Partners Japan & Asia Finance team.
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      Mark  Pink                               Shinichi Nagasawa
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Friday Feature Book Review: " Money Mavericks" (Hedge Fund Startup Story) by Lars Kroijer マネー・マーヴェリック―あるヘッジファンド・マネジャーの告白 (ヘッジファンドのスタートアップストーリー): ラース クロイヤー

This is just pure gold. This is a truly awesome hedge fund diary. Without doubt, this is the most honest "true confession" of how to build a hedge fund, ever written. It is a warts and all explanation of the drive, hassle, envy, self doubt, family stress, vindication, satisfaction and acceptance in defeat, of a full roller coaster of emotions that any entrepreneur faces. The book reads as a step by step how to manual of all of the steps needed to set up a hedge fund from scratch in London. It would fit any hedge fund, but also any FinTech style startup so popular now as well.

It explains in extremely clear and professional detail, every aspect of a start to finish hedge fund creation. "If you can do it surely, anybody can" was the one quote that the author's friend said that I will never forget. Not the comment of a winner or a closer in my view, just a critic. That kind of friend would not be on my Christmas card list, ever again.

I only wish there was such a book in existence 15+ years ago, when I first entered the industry, I could have saved a lot of time getting up to speed. Such is life, and that is where we are. At least we have this great "how to" hedge fund manual now for other startups to follow. There may be a few differences in the setup procedures between a hedge fund in Europe vs the US, or even Asia, but they seem minor by comparison. With the amount of offshore legal structures out there, there are more similarities than differences. As someone similar who has built and maintained a business, there were many aspects explained that I also agonized about. I could share business building experiences with many of the events written. 

There was a time window when many with the right abilities at the right time, were lucky enough to succeed quickly. However, as we adapted to the post Lehman crisis world of hedge funds, top tier returns have suffered, so where is the next step forward? Redemptions and inflows have moved on to the larger names, not the new startups of late. Would Ken Griffin be able to start Citadel today? Would George Soros? My bigger question is what qualities will be needed to succeed in the coming wave of hedge funds in this post China peak, and Abenomics world of rising Federal Reserve interest rates? 

Risk appetite from investment banks must go somewhere, and this is a great insight into what any new aspiring hedge fund manager needs to review before winning in the next wave. This is extremely satisfying for the entrepreneur wanting to start a fund in the US, Europe or Asia. All of the lessons are spot on and so clear. I could not put it down due to the very candid, and openly revealed truth in every page. These are the author's insights that are often kept secret for too long, and shared only with a few trusted professionals.

The Top 3 Takeaways from this book that impact any reader are:

1) There is a lot to learn about setting up a hedge fund. Legal details never seem to end. Service providers may seem complicated, but it comes down to a solid foundation at the start. Operational risk is a key part of hedge funds today. 

2) The integrity of hedge fund returns being higher than market average has been suspect recently, but gets more clear when explained by an expert. The grey zone seen by outsiders can be easily removed once you read this book.

3) The capital markets are always driven by many factors. Hedge funds serve a need and have a place. Investors seek out those returns, but these flows go in cycles. Right now large size firms seem to dominate. However, like any market, this could change, and fast.

There is no secret though, luck has to be behind you. If the market is able to get traction and is in "risk on" mode, you can succeed. If not, you just have to wait until the market window is ready, no matter how good you are or how high your personal alpha is. Market prices in London, where this is set, or anywhere else, can actually replace difficult thinking or debate about more difficult questions. The reality of markets leaves it mark on the global economy with any hedge fund set up in London or elsewhere. Highly recommended!

Please visit us for our Friday Feature Review where TMJ Partners will review books, movies, conferences and anything else with a financial theme. Follow us now for our free weekly updates, just click here. Thank you for reading and learning more about how money is made in finance! 

If you are interested in Sales & Trading, Banking or FinTech focused roles in Asia or Japan then click here. Follow TMJ Partners on Linkedin Instagram or Twitter. We are the world's #1 recruiter on Twitter, with over 40,000+ followers globally! click here! 

あなたがアジアや日本のセールストレーディング,
バンキング、フィンテックの役割に興味がある場合は、こちらをクリックしてください。ティエムジェィパートナーズをLinkedin Instagram またはTwitterでフォローしてください！ 世界中のTwitterで第1位のリクルーター、40,000以上のフォロワーを既に持っています！クリックしてください。

For more Buy-Side and Sell-Side roles in Asia-Pacific, contact our TMJ Partners Japan & Asia Finance team.
Tokyo                                          Tokyo

      Mark  Pink                               Shinichi Nagasawa
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Friday Feature Movie Review: Arbitrage: Richard Gere (Hedge Fund Thriller!) キング・オブ・マンハッタン : リチャード・ギア (ヘッジファンドのスリラー！)

Money, Sex and Power are all here. Our hero is a hedge fund manager wanting to sell his business. Nothing wrong with that, but he has to sell. That is never an easy place to be. Life is good at the top, but when a mistress ends up dead, and the police start asking questions, life even at the top of finance, gets complicated.

Richard Gere plays the patriarch of a family owned investment firm. It is large and well established like the Gabelli Funds, but without the brightness of a younger generation. We first see the public face on CNBC and other channels, but his life behind the scenes is not for public viewing. Manhattan is full of flash and affluence, but the people serving the rich, are also part of the same world. Good people you need to rely on. Loyalty from long-term staff can never be overestimated. It can even be life saving.

There seems to be a hole in the balance sheet, not a stolen money hole like Madoff, but more a funding hole caused by Russian markets. It is a big gap that needs to be filled by a Ultra HNWI loan. Help that gets frustrated when the 2 week period takes longer longer than expected to repay. When trying to pass a final audit, that kind of loan is the type that is best not found.

How can you sell after an audit investigation when the accounting books are questionable? Drama and tension continue all through this story, and never seems to let up much. It may look wonderful from the outside, but the life of this hedge fund manager, at the center of the story, is far from comfortable, and never easy.

Susan Sarandon plays the wife, poor in the early days like her equally hungry husband, but monetary success came ultimately. She was tolerant of affairs as the money came, but everything has a limit. When cash flow trouble over a medical charity donation gets delayed, a backup plan begins. 

It is every money manager's worst nightmare, a divorce lawyer, with no pre-nup, enters the story. That is true fear when you are over 60, a founder trying to sell, looking at a retirement exit, and not getting much room to maneuver. Major markets can be scary when you need to make money, not just desire to do so. Emerging markets can also be the most scary due to unexpected events. Every experienced market player knows those risks, and often has the scars to prove it.

The Top 3 Takeaways from this book that really impact any reader are:

1) There is a lot to learn about how to be a long-term successful rainmaker, and no single profit stream with last forever.There is no single way to success, so keep open to every new trading opportunity.

2) The best rainmakers know how to make money and keep doing what they do best by observing key decision makers and possible patterns. Knowing what buttons to press to close a deal at the best price is the EQ magic that many lack, not IQ, that only gets you to the table.

3) When becoming a successful rainmaker, your emotional strength from family at home, may help you perform on deals at work. Every person has a personal life, so the more empty or fulfilling it is, the more that can creep into personal performance. It cannot be denied.

The police detective played by Tim Roth, is spot on. He brings the most raw and tasty character to this big screen movie. There are many curious moments in this New York financial story when he is on camera. The old style face to face sale of the firm and how it goes down, is classic and very much old school. If you get a chance to watch it, it is worthwhile viewing. Highly recommended for all staff at an investment bank, hedge fund or asset manager. It is all realistic, and portrayed wonderfully by an excellent cast. An amazing movie that is perfect for the holidays, highly recommended!

Please visit us for our Friday Feature Review where TMJ Partners will review books, movies, services and anything else with a financial theme. Follow us now for our free weekly updates, just click here. Thank you for reading and learning more about how money is made in finance!

If you are interested in Sales & Trading, Banking or FinTech focused roles in Asia or Japan then click here. Follow TMJ Partners on Linkedin Instagram or Twitter. We are the world's #1 recruiter on Twitter, with over 40,000+ followers globally! click here! 

あなたがアジアや日本のセールストレーディング,
バンキング、フィンテックの役割に興味がある場合は、こちらをクリックしてください。ティエムジェィパートナーズをLinkedin Instagram またはTwitterでフォローしてください！ 世界中のTwitterで第1位のリクルーター、40,000以上のフォロワーを既に持っています！クリックしてください。

For more Buy-Side and Sell-Side roles in Asia-Pacific, contact our TMJ Partners Japan & Asia Finance team.
Tokyo                                          Tokyo

      Mark  Pink                               Shinichi Nagasawa
Direct + 81 3 3505 3891              Direct + 81 3 3505 3891

Friday Feature Film Review: The Family Man (Finance Christmas Special!) : Nicholas Cage 天使のくれた時間 (金融のクリスマススペシャル！) : ニコラス・ケイジ

It is Christmas eve, and the M&A transaction must still get done, a deal close meeting is set on Christmas day, but the staff are not happy. Nicholas Cage plays Jack Campbell, a Wall Street Rainmaker with everything that money can buy, except love from a family of his own. If only he made a different choice, his life may be different. A former girlfriend calls his office out of the blue, and a new twist in his normal life begins.

He soon wakes up in suburban New Jersey, not New York City. He is in bed with Tea Leoni, his former flame and current wife with screaming children running around. How is that possible? A parallel universe shows him what could have been. He cannot believe he is now married with 2 kids and working as a tire salesman, but that is the life he now has. 

This is really a movie that questions the morality challenge of money & career vs family fulfillment. It is a fun film that tries to bring a mirror to the materialism that keeps many within finance happy in their possessions, despite the emptiness of a surrounding growing family and the ties that bind. Is this attraction to things just a temporary part of any human's emotional evolution? It is a timeless question with no clear answer.

For many early in their financial career, yet to marry and yet to start a family, you will find the story basic. Those more senior than 30 or even 40, with the internal need to breed, will see this story in a very different light. It may make one uncomfortable with the lack of depth that money can bring in a career. You question what wealth is worth without the family love and bonding that grounds many in the world today. It may be a movie to avoid for those not quite sure on their life choice. Those who wonder if they have sacrificed personal relationships for careers of cash, may wonder if they still have made the best choice. 

The opening of this movie is around the Christmas holiday and the work vs life balance around deals at this time. All members may want the deal to happen, but not all have as much to lose at home. The emotional price that each member pays to work on that day varies enormously. The younger the member, the lower that price when single. Time is money shows itself to have another price tag for those with families at home. It can be a very high price.

The Top 3 Takeaways from this book that impact any reader are:

1) There is a lot to learn about how to be a long-term successful rainmaker, and no one answer will do. The more motivations you can find to close deals, the better. There is no single way to success, there are many, so learn them all.

2) The best rainmakers know how to make money and keep doing what they do best by observing key decision makers and possible patterns. Knowing what buttons to press to get a decision is the EQ magic that many lack, not IQ, that only gets you to the table.

3) When becoming a successful rainmaker, your emotional strength from family at home, may help you perform on deals at work. Every person has a personal life, so the more empty or fulfilling it is, the more that can creep into personal performance. It cannot be denied.

Much of course depends on your personal definition of financial success, and the drive or core reason to pursue it in the first place. Beware to all those who may look at a financial career with less interest and more longing for the basics of life. Be warned of what you could really be feeling! A perfect movie choice for the Christmas holiday season. Highly recommended for all of the typical staff at an investment bank portrayed wonderfully by an excellent cast,  and deservedly so. Made back in 2000, is holds up well, and is still an amazing movie that is perfect for the holidays, highly recommended!

Please visit us for our Friday Feature Review where TMJ Partners will review books, movies, conferences and anything else with a financial theme. Follow us now for our free weekly updates, just click here. Thank you for reading and learning more about how money is made in finance! 

If you are interested in Sales & Trading, Banking or FinTech focused roles in Asia or Japan then click here. Follow TMJ Partners on Linkedin Instagram or Twitter. We are the world's #1 recruiter on Twitter, with over 40,000+ followers globally! click here! 

あなたがアジアや日本のセールストレーディング,
バンキング、フィンテックの役割に興味がある場合は、こちらをクリックしてください。ティエムジェィパートナーズをLinkedin Instagram またはTwitterでフォローしてください！ 世界中のTwitterで第1位のリクルーター、40,000以上のフォロワーを既に持っています！クリックしてください。

For more Buy-Side and Sell-Side roles in Asia-Pacific, contact our TMJ Partners Japan & Asia Finance team.
Tokyo                                          Tokyo

      Mark  Pink                               Shinichi Nagasawa
Direct + 81 3 3505 3891              Direct + 81 3 3505 3891