If you have a history in this business or seeking to pursue it, have read any of the popular finance books, or simply sat back and enjoyed some of the classic Wall Street movies, you will certainly appreciate this well-crafted and first hand perspective of the finance industry. The title was quite interesting because if you are a voracious reader of investment literature, you will reflect back on the excesses in the Wolf of Wall Street, the questionable high frequency trading dark pools in Flash Boys, or the so called “Master of the Universe” in Bonfire of the Vanities. The author paints a much different picture for people who have formed their views on Wall Street based on the financial crisis, outsized bonuses, insider trading scandals, options back-dating, and movies like Boiler Room. He describes the hundreds of thousands of finance professionals that work hard every day to support their families, pay their mortgage, and act with ethics in their business practices.
You can learn a significant amount from someone as successful as Mr. Jason Trennert. The opportunity to learn his side of the street can be very valuable to our own careers. Mr. Trennert, also known as “Jase” by those close to him, takes us through his experiences starting off as a cold caller, moving on to institutional sales with extensive travel and client facing interaction, business school at Wharton, and eventually starting his own firm. Ultimately, it seems that his love for macro, entrepreneurial spirit, and past experiences set him on the path to start Strategas. You can learn from Mr. Trennert’s experiences on how to break into Wall Street, build connections, go from back to front office, the value of reading both investment literature and non-fiction, the importance of curbing the late night entertaining, when to say no to opportunities, and perhaps when to know it’s time to become the captain of your own ship. At the end of the book, Mr. Trennert offers some wise career tips such as assuming no one will help you until you’ve accomplished something, focus on achievement rather than status, live CAPM, play your strengths, Wall Street is both large and small, and finally….Read!
Upcoming Schedule:
April 19, 2016: While America Aged: How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis by Roger Lowenstein
May 17, 2016: The Green and the Black: The Complete Story of the Shale Revolution, the Fight over Fracking, and the Future of Energy by Gary Sernovitz
June 21, 2016: Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos
To sign up for a future book club event, please click here: