Where are the Customers' Yachts?: or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street

Where are the Customers' Yachts?: or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street

Rating

9.0

The Pequod Review:

Published in 1940, Where are the Customers' Yachts? is a witty book on one of the most timeless of subjects — Wall Street and high finance. Because Fred Schwed is writing about investment processes and motives, rather than specific events, virtually all of his observations remain relevant today:

At the close of the day’s business, they take all the money and throw it up in the air. Everything that sticks to the ceiling belongs to the clients.

[...]

Now if you do [a financial salesperson] the single honor of asking him a difficult question, you may be assured that you will get a detailed answer. Rarely will it be the most difficult of all answers – ‘I Don’t Know.’

[...]

There have always been a considerable number of pathetic people who busy themselves examining the last thousand numbers which have appeared on a roulette wheel in search of some repeating pattern. Sadly enough, they have usually found it.

Highly recommended.