Smith Barney FAs
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With C getting drilled, what’s the mood and environment at SB nowadays? I ask as it’s one of the firms I considered when I last moved. Times then were however very different!
Not pretty.
But i would imagine that the mood is not pretty most anywhere right now.
I am curious to know what the morale is like at SB after today… Think of the guys that worked there for 20+ years with a ton of their retirement assets tied to company stock, yeah that party is over…
Guess you never heard of CAP?Of all people, FAs should be the LAST people overexposed to their company stock. We’ve all banged our heads against the wall when we encounter a client like this - shame on us if we get caught in the same trap.
I would think the mood is right about what it was at Wachovia circa October 3. Single digit stock, firm on the block, market sucks. Good times!
Whale - regarding cap - Cap doesnt force you to have a concentrated position. The stock you get vests in 2 years. and every six months you get stock vesting. I’ve always sold my stock as it vests. I would imagine most FA’s with a brain did the same over the years.
Yes, having cap forces you to won stock, but if you run it smart, there is no need to end up having your wealth tied up in the stock.
I heard they are all moving to Dubai, the New New York.
It isn't rocket science what SB should do: Move all operations and back office support to the south where cost of living is... maybe a little cheaper than living in New York City, not to mention people are generally nicer. Pay execs a livable wage not a superhyped one. Those steps alone would save the company millions if not billions.I have a retired friend that wokred at ML for 25 years. He was telling me yesterday that he has a not-yet retired friend (among many others like him) that had 100% (yes 100%) of his 401K in Merrill stock. He said his account went from 10mm down to around 1mm. And he is close to retirement. Is that not the WORST possible thing to do??? I simply don't get it. His rationale was that "Merrill will always do as well or better than the market." Gee that's prophetic. Can you imagine being able to retire on 350-400K of income per year, and STILL growing your portfolio?? But you had to get greedy and go for broke. Well, he reaped what he sowed. Knucklehead.Of all people, FAs should be the LAST people overexposed to their company stock. We’ve all banged our heads against the wall when we encounter a client like this - shame on us if we get caught in the same trap.
People are floating some banks taking over SB from Citi. I was wondering if UBS has any cash to do this. Would it make sense? ML wouldn’t want SB.
I am expecting a Citi gov’t bailout today. The stock can only go down another $4 or so.
Not gonna happen, they will find a way for Citi to maintain it’s independence and the company intact. It’s too big and too global. The gov’t reviewed their book and they say it looks fine or better than all their competitors.
Agree with Squash1. They have a solid book, the govt will invest in them, maybe insist that they divest, assets, (maybe even SB) but the pressure will be off so they wont have to conduct a fire sale. They will wait till things settle down and get a fair price.
Charlie Gasbag - gotta love him. He starts every sentence with “Listen…”
Here is a hunch, futures will be triple digits up or down tomorrow!