Honorary Lecturer, Author, Investor &
Househusband, Father, Cook & Chauffeur
Curriculum Vitae
since 2018
Founder
The Tactical Brief
Research and education on options, volatility and macro.
2009 – today
Investor, Author, Honorary Lecturer
Househusband, cook and chauffeur included
Retired from institutional markets after twenty years; managing own capital ever since. Since 2016, advice to family offices, asset managers, hedge funds and private principals on asset allocation, quantitative strategies and fraud-detection methods. Consultancy to law firms on allegations involving complex financial products, exclusively on the defence side. Regular talks at VTAD e.V. (the German association of technical analysts); guest lectures at HAN University of Applied Sciences (Arnhem Business School) and the DVFA, among others. Author, most recently for Macro Hive. Teaching and writing on a not-for-profit basis: no product to sell, no commercial dependency.
2006 – 2008
Managing Director / Partner, Structured Equity Products (Volatility)
Bear Stearns International, London
Head of Securitized Equity Products for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; member of the Structured Equity Products volatility desk in London. Built the German business and launched “Best Markets”, the issuance platform for delta one, leveraged and capital-protected products. Ran the book through the firm’s collapse and the J.P. Morgan takeover.
2002 – 2006
Executive Director, Head of Equity Derivatives
WestLB Panmure / Panmure Gordon, London
Built the institutional client franchise and an independent distribution platform for structured retail products. Established the Structured Solutions Group, a Jersey-domiciled vehicle issuing equity-linked structured products to UK investors. Additionally ran Equity Sales London for 15 months through the sale of Panmure Gordon and the 2004 restructuring.
2001
Chief Trader & Prokurist (authorised officer), Head of Warrants & Structured Products
WestLB, Düsseldorf
Led a team of seven covering trading-book risk, product development and distribution. WestLB became a top-five issuer in the German retail derivatives market. Regular live market commentator on n-tv.
1998 – 2000
Senior Trader, Equity Derivatives
WestLB, Düsseldorf
Market maker on Eurex in single-stock options; proprietary trading in OTC equity positions within delegated limits.
1995 – 1998
Trainee, then Junior and Senior Trader, Equity Sales International
WestLB, Düsseldorf
Licences and admissions
1998
DTB trader examination, Deutsche Börse, passed at 96.95%
1998
Admitted to exchange derivatives trading, Eurex Deutschland
1998
International Trading Institute, Chicago, “Trading & Pricing for the Professional Trader”, final grade 95.7%
1999
Börsenhändler for electronic trading (Xetra), Frankfurt Stock Exchange
2001
Prokura (statutory power of attorney), WestLB
2002
Securities Institute (UK), Regulatory Paper
2002 – 2009
FCA (UK), Individual Reference Number TRW01024, no disciplinary history
Education
1994
Diplom-Kaufmann (German master’s-level degree in business), Freie Universität Berlin
T. unfiltered
An 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. The best golfer was black and the best rapper white. 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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