nan | 楠木

I just finished a book titled The Accidental Investment Banker, by Jonathan A. Knee. It’s another book on the I-banking industry.

One such book on the industry I’ve read before is Monkey Business, which supposedly is a good portrayal of life as junior associates, and mainly describes the mundane tasks that the associates are responsible for. The Accidental Investment Banker is much more concerned with the bigger picture at a more senior level, and spends quite some length discussing the evolution and trends of the industry, especially the industry’s development throughout the boom of the late 90s and its subsequent bust in 2001.

The book is also very direct and open. Real names are used without disguise, and quite some big names are mentioned as the book goes through analyzing the political struggles at Goldman Sachs (the rise of John Thornton, and his subsequent purge by Hank Paulson, the current US Treasury Secretary) and Morgan Stanley (John Mack’s power struggle with Phil Purcell after the MS merger with Dean Witter). The writer benefits from the fact that he was quite close to the men with power at both these two institutes, as he first worked at GS and later at MS. Indeed as a relative insider he seems to have much more depth in his analysis and discussion.

The writer does seem to justify his actions and choices and consciously / unconsciously satisfies his ego. There’s at least some hint of hypocrisy as the writer portrays himself as a banker of conscience (who respects traditional values) in an era where anything goes and ethics are increasingly disregarded. Still, the book is a good read for anyone who wants to understand more of the industry in focus.