Thorsten Roland Wegener

A little more detail if needed

Excerpt from my unpublished memoirs:

OPTIONS, FUTURES & PROSECUTORS – THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT MEMOIRS OF A GRUMPY OLD TRADER

Once upon a time, there was this almost mythical place where you could become rich beyond your wildest dreams if you were smart and worked hard. It didn’t matter whether you were a man or a woman, black or white or brown, or gay or straight. Nobody cared about your family’s wealth; all that mattered was your willingness to put in the effort. Smart and elegant women dressed like goddesses, and dashing men in expensive suits never wore brown shoes. This place used to be the banking industry during the time I worked in it.

Many books have been written about my industry. Most of them, and I probably read most of them, are utter rubbish. They are written by people who may have only spent a few days on a trading floor, if at all. Some wanted to become traders but didn’t make the cut, and worst of all, resentful journalists trying to give anything resembling a meritocracy and capitalism a bad name. If you can’t join them, write mean things about them.

The story I am going to tell you revolves around my active career as a banker. All scandals, trading losses, near-disasters, and court cases will be presented from the perspective of someone who was actually there, right in the midst of it all, and knows what he is talking about.

I started my banking career in the early ’90s, and I had plenty of time to observe, learn, and make mistakes—some small, some big. I climbed the corporate ladder, developing a profitable business that I thoroughly enjoyed working in. I loved chasing deals, getting drunk once a week on “expiration Thursdays,” and buying ridiculously overpriced things with the money I earned. There was no need to apologize for being a banker or for making obscene amounts of money. Like in any profession, there were always people around you probably wouldn’t make godfather or godmother to your children, but professional respect and appreciation of skill was always in high regard. Initiative was appreciated, and the battles we fought for our place in the sun were mostly good-natured.

When I learned my trade as a market maker for equity options in the banking industry, being clever was a goal to strive for, not a suspicious activity that hindered your progress within the firm. Honesty and profitability didn’t contradict each other, and when you made mistakes, you could see your boss, confess, clean up, learn something, and move on with your life and career.

I enjoyed every minute of my time as a trader and manager, developing ideas, building, and running businesses. It was fun to do what I did during the time I was privileged to do it. I also like the idea of leaving a record of this time for my kids, who mostly know and remember Dad as the guy hanging around in front of his screens at home in jeans and T-shirts, grumbling about how times have changed.

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