Eliot "Tiger" Spitzer
10 RepliesJump to last post
right, Eliot.
Still a Chump’s Game
Is the stock market safe again for the small investor? Not by a long shot.
By Eliot Spitzer
Posted Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, at 5:30 PM ET
The New York Stock Exchange
One of America’s great accomplishments in the last half-century was the so-called “democratization” of the financial markets. No longer just for the upper crust, investing became a way for the burgeoning middle class to accumulate wealth. Mutual funds exploded in size and number, 401(k) plans made savings and investing easy, and the excitement of participating in the growth of our economy gripped an ever larger percentage of the population. Despite a backdrop of doubters—those who knowingly asserted that outperforming the average was an impossibility for the small investor—there was a growing consensus that the rules were sufficient to protect the mom-and-pop investor from the sharks that swam in the water.
That sense of fair play in the market has been virtually destroyed by the bubble burstings and market drops of the past few years. Recent rebounds notwithstanding, most people now are asking whether the system is fundamentally rigged. It’s not just that they have an understandable aversion to losing their life savings when the market crashes; it’s that each of the scandals and crises has a common pattern: The small investor was taken advantage of by the piranhas that hide in the rapidly moving currents. And underlying this pattern is a simple theme: conflicts of interest that violated the duty the market players had to their supposed clients. It is no wonder that cynicism and anger have replaced what had been the joy of participation in the capital markets. Take a quick run through a few of the scandals:
Analysts at major investment banks promote stocks they know to be worthless, misleading the investors who rely on their advice yet helping their investment-banking colleagues generate fees and woo clients.
Ratings agencies slap AAA ratings on debt they know to be dicey in order to appease the issuers—who happen to pay the fees of the agencies, violating the rating agency’s duty to provide the marketplace with honest evaluations.
Executives receive outsized and grotesque compensation packages—the result of the perverted recommendations of compensation consultants whose other business depends upon the goodwill of the very CEOs whose pay they are opining upon, thus violating the consultants’ duty to the shareholders of the companies for whom they are supposedly working.
Mutual funds charge exorbitant fees that investors have to absorb—fees that dramatically reduce any possibility of outperforming the market and that are set by captive boards of captive management companies, not one of which has been replaced for inadequate performance, violating their duty to guard the interests of the fund investors for whom they supposedly work.
“High-speed trading” produces not only the reality of a two-tiered market but also the probability of front-running—that is, illegally trading on information not yet widely known—that eats into the possible profits of the retail clients supposedly being served by these very same market players, violating the obligation of the banks to get their clients “best execution” without stepping between their customers and the best available price.
AIG is bailed out, costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, even though (as we later learned) the big guys knew that AIG was going down and were able to hedge and cover their positions. Smaller investors are left holding the stock, and all of us are left picking up the tab.
The unifying theme is apparent: Access to information and advice, the very lifeblood of a level playing field, is not where it needs to be. The small investor still doesn’t have a fair shot. While there have been case-specific remedies, the aggregate effect of all the scandals is still to deny the market the most essential of ingredients: the presumption of integrity.
The issue confronting those who wish to solve this problem is that there really is no simple fix. As easy as it is to excoriate those who violate their solemn duty to a client or the entity to which they owe a fiduciary duty, the remedies attempted over time have all had their own unintended consequences. Still, some conclusions can be reached: The scale and complexity of organizations—such as the investment banks that were to provide all services to all people—make the blurring of fiduciary duty inevitable. The difficulty of establishing a revenue stream for “content”—whether an analyst’s report or a newspaper article—forces creative minds to pair that content with other revenue streams (such as investment banking fees) that generate conflicts. And the lack of disclosure of overlapping roles—whether for compensation consultants, members of boards of mutual funds, or high-speed traders who buy and sell both on the bank’s account and for the bank’s clients—make fiduciary duty tough to evaluate.
It is not clear that the new regulatory framework proposed by the Obama administration will directly improve the ability of regulators to address these tensions and conflicts. But if, indeed, there is a new consumer-protection agency created, it might want to set out as its first mandate the simple objective that it get every market participant to define clearly (and publicly) to whom it owes a fiduciary duty—and what possible tensions might exist in fulfilling that duty. If this agency does nothing more than root out those conflicts and examine them, it would be providing the small American investor with a valuable service, one that the SEC and others have failed to perform over the past decade.
[quote=amfUBS]
Dedicated to public service. Some public gets a little more than others. [/quote]
funny
this guy is such freak show. scary
a very rich freak show. probably the one person most responsible for the destruction of AIG.
I dont give a fukc if he is worth $500 billion.
Guy a cokcsucker and witch hunting MF tool.
95% of his grandstanding histrionic crap is without merit (d#ck graso, mutual fund jive etc)
NONE total power hungry MF who#e
waste of taxpayer money
dangerous sociopath
I think what was most telling were the types of reforms he most aggressively pursued - research, IPOs - none of the actual practices that really impacted retail investors.
Whether you are the Democratic sheriff of wall street or a republican evangelical christian senator…
sooner or later, living the “perfect life” gets old and you just want to go out and bang some whores!
[quote=Still@jones] Whether you are the Democratic sheriff of wall street or a republican evangelical christian senator…sooner or later, living the “perfect life” gets old and you just want to go out and bang some whores!
[/quote]
yep (or if you can shoot 63 at National)
Augusta National Golf Club members list
The Augusta National Golf Club membership list obtained by USA TODAY covers a time frame within the last two years. The membership list is fluid and changes as members resign, die or leave the club. USA TODAY did not include those identified as former or deceased members.
lou holtz? wow
State First Name Last name Employer Age
Ala. Crawford Troy Johnson III Coca-Cola Bottling, Retired 78
Ala. Joseph Lamar Lanier Jr. Dan River 71
Ala. Claude B. Nielsen Coca-Cola Bottling 51
Ala. Robert H. Radcliff Jr. 84
Ala. Hall W. Thompson Thompson Tractor 79
Ariz. Lyle Anderson Lyle Anderson Co. n/a
Ariz. Jack Steele Parker General Electric, Retired 84
Ark. J. Frank Broyles University of Arkansas 77
Ark. Joe Thomas Ford Alltel 65
Ark. Scott T. Ford Alltel 40
Ark. Jackson T. Stephens Stephens Group n/a
Ark. Warren A. Stephens Stephens Group 45
Calif. Samuel H. Armacost Weiss Peck & Greer, Retired 64
Calif. Donald R. Beall Rockwell International 64
Calif. Riley P. Bechtel Bechtel Group 50
Calif. Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. Bechtel Group, Retired 77
Calif. Benjamin F. Biaggini Santa Fe Southern Pacific, Retired 86
Calif. Donald L. Bower ChevronTexaco 79
Calif. Michael R. Bowlin ARCO International Oil & Gas, Retired 60
Calif. Lodwrick M. Cook Atlantic Richfield, Retired 74
Calif. Rex D. Cross Lone Star Industries 81
Calif. Kenneth T. Derr ChevronTexaco, Retired n/a
Calif. Sam Glen n/a
Calif. Frederick W. Gluck Scient 66
Calif. Harold J. Haynes ChevronTexaco, Retired 76
Calif. Paul M. Hazen Wells Fargo, Retired 60
Calif. Charles B. Johnson Franklin Resources 70
Calif. Ruben F. Mettler TRW, Retired 79
Calif. Edfred L. Shannon Jr. Global SantaFe, Retired 75
Calif. George P. Shultz Former U.S. Secretary of State, Retired n/a
Colo. Edward B. Close Jr. n/a
Colo. Peter H. Coors Coors Brewing 56
Colo. Charles C. Gates Gates Rubber Co., Retired 81
Colo. Frederic C. Hamilton Hamilton Oil 75
Colo. Will F. Nicholson Jr. Rocky Mountain BankCard System, Retired 74
Colo. Jack A. Vickers Castle Pines Golf Club 77
Conn. Ray C. Adam n/a
Conn. John F. Akers IBM, Retired 68
Conn. Ralph E. Bailey Conoco, Retired 79
Conn. Morrison H. Beach Travelers, Retired 86
Conn. Lawrence A. Bossidy Honeywell, Retired 68
Conn. Edward H. Budd Travelers, Retired 69
Conn. George A.L. David Otis Elevator 61
Conn. Clifton C. Garvin Jr. ExxonMobil, Retired 81
Conn. Kenneth H. Hannan 91
Conn. Robert S. Hatfield Continental Group, Retired 87
Conn. Reginald H. Jones General Electric, Retired 85
Conn. Dohn L. Kalmbach Berman, Kalmbach & Company 65
Conn. Robert D. Kennedy The Perkin- Elmer Corporation, Retired 70
Conn. James W. Kinnear III ChevronTexaco, Retired 75
Conn. John E. Kircher 84
Conn. John L. Weinberg Goldman Sachs, Retired 78
Conn. John F. Welch General Electric, Retired 67
D.C. Amory Houghton Jr. U.S. Congressman 76
D.C. Melvin R. Laird Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Retired 80
Fla. Warren M. Anderson 80
Fla. Richard T. Baker n/a
Fla. Robert H.B. Baldwin Retired 82
Fla. William Houston Blount Vulcan Materials 81
Fla. Willard S. Boothby Jr. Paine Webber, Retired 81
Fla. Rinehart S. Bright 90
Fla. Anthony J.A. Bryan Copperweld 80
Fla. Howard L. Clark Sr 86
Fla. E. Mandell de Windt Birmingham Steel 72
Fla. John H. Dobbs 70
Fla. Beverly F. Dolan Compressor Components Textron, Retired 75
Fla. Nelson Doubleday Former owner New York Mets, Retired 69
Fla. James D. Finley J P Stevens, Retired n/a
Fla. Maurice F. Granville ChevronTexaco, Retired 87
Fla. George V. Grune Wallace-Reader’s Digest Funds 73
Fla. James M. Hoak Jr Heritage Communications 59
Fla. John C. Jansing Vestaur Securities, Retired 77
Fla. David S. Kirkland Bessemer Trust 63
Fla. Richard K. LeBlond II Chase Manhattan Bank 82
Fla. Donald S. MacNaughton Hospital Corp., Retired 95
Fla. Frank L. Mansell Paine Webber, Retired 81
Fla. Robert S. Oelman Koppers, Retired 93
Fla. Edward M. O’Herron Jr. Eckerd Drugs, Retired 77
Fla. John R. Opel IBM, Retired 78
Fla. John G. Ordway Stillman Maynard & Co. 79
Fla. H. Lawrence Parker Morgan Stanley Canada, Retired 76
Fla. Ogden M. Phipps Bessemer Trust 62
Fla. Lawrence R. Pugh VF Corp., Retired 70
Fla. J. Howard Rambin Jr. ChevronTexaco, Retired 91
Fla. Fred S. Ridley Foley & Lardner 50
Fla. F. Morgan Taylor Jr. 71
Fla. Ronald Townsend Communications consultant 61
Fla. Rawleigh Warner Jr. ExxonMobil, Retired 82
Ga. W. Hale Barrett Hull, Towill, Norman, Barrett & Salley 74
Ga. Louis L. Battey River City Augusta, Retired n/a
Ga. James H. Blanchard Synovus Financial 61
Ga. Thomas M. Blanchard Jr. Blanchard & Calhoun n/a
Ga. Clayton P. Boardman III Boardman Petroleum n/a
Ga. Stephen W. Brown n/a
Ga. Hugh M. Chapman Nationsbank, Retired 70
Ga. William P. Copenhaver The Pinnacle Club 78
Ga. Thomas G. Cousins Cousins Properties 70
Ga. Edwin L. Douglass Jr. Augusta Cab 66
Ga. Walter W. Driver Jr. King & Spalding law firm, Atlanta, GA. 58
Ga. Nick W. Evans Jr. Spartan Communications 53
Ga. H. Ray Finney Retired n/a
Ga. James R. Gabrielsen n/a
Ga. William T. Gary III Gary Concrete Products, Retired n/a
Ga. Ben S. Gilmer AT&T, Retired 97
Ga. Phil S. Harison Harison-Kerzic n/a
Ga. Harry T. Harper III Harper Pennington & Shaw n/a
Ga. E. Val Hastings n/a
Ga. Eugene M. Howerdd Jr. The Howerdd Group 66
Ga. W. Howard Hudson Orthopaedic Associates n/a
Ga. Clifford M. Kirtland Jr. Cox Communications n/a
Ga. Boone A. Knox Allied Bank of Georgia n/a
Ga. Jefferson B.A. Knox The Knox Foundation 39
Ga. Dessey L. Kuhlke Kuhlke Construction, Retired n/a
Ga. Peter M. Menk 75
Ga. Charles H. Morris Morris Communications n/a
Ga. William S. Morris III Morris Communications 68
Ga. John L. Murray Jr. n/a
Ga. J. Fleming Norvell 42
Ga. Samuel A. Nunn Former U.S. Senator, Retired 64
Ga. William P. Payne Premiere Technologies 54
Ga. Carl J. Reith Oxford Industries, Retired 89
Ga. John D. Reynolds III Club Car n/a
Ga. Julian H. Roberts Spatial Sites n/a
Ga. J. Haley Roberts Jr. n/a
Ga. Ray M. Robinson AT&T 54
Ga. Carl E. Sanders Troutman Sanders LLP/Georgia Senate, Retired 77
Ga. George A. Sanoken Jr. n/a
Ga. Leroy H. Simkins Jr. The Tubman Home n/a
Ga. Frank Troutman Jr. Coil Coaters of America n/a
Ga. George Wislar Fountainhead Water n/a
Ga. Danny Yates 52
Ga. Charles R. Yates Jr. Moses Contracting n/a
Ga. P. Dan Yates Jr. Yates Insurance Agency n/a
Ga. Charles R. Yates Sr. Atlanta Arts Alliance, Retired 89
Hawaii C. Pardee Erdman Jr. Retired n/a
Ill. Edward A. Brennan Sears, Retired 69
Ill. John H. Bryan Jr. Sara Lee 65
Ill. Richard J. Ferris United Airlines, Retired 66
Ill. Donald V. Fites Caterpillar, Retired 69
Ill. H. Laurance Fuller BP Amoco, Retired 64
Ill. Christopher B. Galvin Motorola 52
Ill. Lester B. Knight 44
Ill. Vernon R. Loucks Jr. Baxter Travenol Labs, Retired 68
Ill. Lee L. Morgan Caterpillar, Retired 83
Ill. Richard M. Morrow BP Amoco, Retired 76
Ill. Donald S. Perkins Jewel Cos., Retired 75
Ill. Philip J. Purcell III Morgan Stanley 59
Ill. Irving Seaman Jr. Burston-Marsteller n/a
Ill. Daniel C. Searle GD Searle, Retired 76
Ill. Arthur M. Wood Sr. Sears, Retired 89
Iowa Lloyd D. Ward 53
Kan. Howard J. Carey Jr. 80
Ky. William S. Farish US Ambassador 60
Ky. William A. Marquard Arkansas Best 83
La. Frank A. Godchaux III Riviana Foods, Retired 76
La. John G. Phillips Louisiana Land and Exploration, Retired 80
Mass. Frederick S. Moseley III Seaward Management 74
Mass. Robert P. O’Block McKinsey and Co. 60
Md. Nicholas F. Brady Former US Secretary of Treasury, Retired 72
Mich. Wendell W. Anderson Jr. Bundy, Retired 77
Mich. William C. Ford Ford Motor/Detroit Lions 78
Mich. Robert J. Hampson Ford Motor, Retired 85
Mich. Roger S. Penske Penske Group 66
Mich. Harold A. Poling Ford Motor, Retired 77
Minn. Paul J. Bridston Bridston 74
Minn. John R. Harris Professional golfer n/a
Minn. Bruce A. Lilly Minnesota Museum of American Art n/a
Minn. David M. Lilly University of Minnesota, Retired 85
Minn. Robert R. Waller Hormel Foods 65
Minn. Wheelock Whitney Former owner Minnesota North Stars and Vikings, Retired n/a
Mo. Andrew N. Baur Mississippi Valley Bancshares 58
Mo. Charles F. Knight Emerson Electric, Retired 67
Mo. Eugene F. Williams Jr. Centerre Trust, Retired 79
N.C. John M. Belk City of Charlotte (N.C.) 82
N.C. Blake C. Clark 80
N.C. R. Stuart d***son Rudd*** 73
N.C. Thomas W. d***son Rudd*** 47
N.C. James H. Hance Jr. Bank of America 58
N.C. John W. Harris Lincoln Harris n/a
N.C. James E. Johnson Jr. Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice 72
N.C. Hugh L. McColl Jr. Bank of America, Retired 67
N.C. Paul J. Rizzo IBM 75
N.J. Robert E. Allen AT&T, Retired 68
N.J. Charles L. Brown AT&T 80
N.J. Richard A. McGinn Lucent (former) 56
N.J. John S. Reed Citicorp, Retired 75
N.J. Donald P. Remey 60
N.J. Reuben Francis Richards Emcore, Retired 73
N.J. Arthur F. Ryan Prudential Financial 60
N.J. Walter V. Shipley Chase Manhattan Bank, Retired n/a
N.Y. William R. Acquavella Acquavella Art dealer 64
N.Y. Kenneth I. Chenault American Express 51
N.Y. Theodore N. Danforth Retired 77
N.Y. D. Ronald Daniel McKinsey & Co. 73
N.Y. Louis V. Gerstner Jr. IBM 61
N.Y. S. Parker Gilbert Morgan Stanley Group 68
N.Y. Edward D. Herlihy Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz 55
N.Y. James R. Houghton Corning, Retired 66
N.Y. John F. McGillicuddy Manufacturers Hanover, Retired 71
N.Y. Douglas D. Mercer 66
N.Y. Thomas S. Murphy Capital Cities/ABC 77
N.Y. Peter G. Peterson The Blackstone Group 76
N.Y. Richard I. Purnell 84
N.Y. James D. Robinson III American Express, Retired 66
N.Y. Whitney Stevens 75
N.Y. Robert G. Stone Jr. Kirby Corp. 78
N.Y. Douglas A. Warner III JP Morgan Chase, Retired 54
N.Y. Sanford I. Weill Citigroup 70
Neb. Harold W. Andersen InfoUSA 79
Neb. Warren E. Buffett Berkshire Hathaway 72
Nev. William L. Searle GD Searle, Retired 75
Ohio William Boeschenstein Owens-Corning, Retired 77
Ohio William W. Boeschenstein n/a
Ohio Edwin D. Dodd Owens-Illinois, Retired 83
Ohio E. Bradley Jones TRW, Retired 75
Ohio Patrick F. McCartan Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue 66
Okla. Robert W. Berry 78
Okla. William K. Warren Jr. 68
Okla. John H. Williams Williams Companies 84
Penn. Lewis W. Foy Bethlehem Steel Corp n/a
Penn. Henry L. Hillman The Hillman Company 84
Penn. Michael H. Jordan CBS, Retired 66
Penn. Howard M. Love National Intergroup, Retired 72
Penn. Thomas H. O’Brien PNC Bank, Retired 65
Penn. Arnold D. Palmer Professional golfer, Retired 73
Penn. David M. Roderick USX 78
Penn. Thomas J. Usher U.S. Steel 50
R.I. Bradford R. Boss A. T. Cross, Retired 69
R.I. J. Terrence Murray Fleet Financial Group, Retired 63
S.C. Robert H. Chapman III Inman Mills 51
S.C. James W. Foley 91
S.C. Alester G. Furman III Alester G. Furman, Retired 84
S.C. Robert Goodyear 77
S.C. John B. Harris Jr. 81
S.C. Lou Holtz University of South Carolina 66
S.C. William W. Johnson Augusta National Golf Club Chairman 73
S.C. David S. Lewis Jr. McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics 58
S.C. Roger Milliken Milliken & Co. 86
S.C. Robert P. Timmerman Graniteville Co. 82
S.C. Francis A. Townsend Jr. 63
S.C. Wilson C. Wearn Multimedia Inc., Retired 83
S.C. Joseph H. Williams 76
Tenn. W. Lipscomb Davis Jr. Davis Cabinet 69
Tenn. John C. Dobbs Fourjay 83
Tenn. David B. Ingram Ingram Entertainment 39
Tenn. John T. Lupton Arnold Palmer Golf n/a
Tenn. J. Bransford Wallace Advocat 70
Tenn. Toby S. Wilt TSW Investment 58
Texas John R. Butler Jr. J.R. Butler and Co. 63
Texas James F. Chambers Jr. 89
Texas Peter J. Fluor Fluor 54
Texas John M. Griffith Jr. 66
Texas William R. Howell J. C. Penney, Retired n/a
Texas James W. Keay 80
Texas Edward C. Kennard 83
Texas Ben F. Love Texas Commerce Bancshares, Retired 78
Texas Felix R. McKnight 92
Texas James M. Moroney Jr. Belo, Retired 81
Texas Boone Pickens Mesa Water 74
Texas Lee R. Raymond ExxonMobil 64
Texas Robert H. Stewart III Bank One 76
Texas Edward E. Whitacre Jr. SBC Communications 61
Texas J. Otis Winters Dynegy 69
Va. William C. Battle Ivy Foundation For Biomedical Research U. VA, Retired 70
Va. Howard W. Blauvelt Conoco, Retired n/a
Va. Harry W. Easterly Jr. n/a
Va. David R. Goode Norfolk Southern 61
Va. David P. Reynolds Reynolds Metal Company, Retired n/a
Va. W. Thomas Rice Seaboard Coast Line Industries, Retired n/a
Va. Robert H. Spilman Jr. Bassett Furniture n/a
Vt. James G. Affleck American Cyanamid, Retired 79
Vt. Andrew C. Sigler Champion, Retired 70
Wash. Richard P. Cooley Bank of America’s Seafirst Bank, Retired 78
Wash. Bill Gates Microsoft Corp. 47
Wash. Charles M. Pigott Paccar, Retired 73
Wash. Mark C. Pigott PACCAR 49
Wis. Virgis W. Colbert Miller Brewing Co. 63
Wis. James E. Reinhart 48
Wyo. Richard E. Heckert DuPont Co, Retired n/a
Wyo. John K. McKinley ChevronTexaco, Retired n/a
Canada David M. Culver Alcan Aluminum Ltd 78
Canada Richard M. Thomson Nexen, Retired n/a
England Ronald Hampel n/a
England Gordon B.B. Jeffrey n/a
England H. Colin Maclaine n/a
England Wolfgang Reitzle Linde Ag n/a
France Jean-Marie Tine n/a
Ireland Ian W.L. Webb n/a
S. Africa Ivor R. Jones n/a
Scotland W. Ronald Alexander n/a
Scotland Michael F. Bonallack Royal and Ancient Golf Club n/a
Scotland J. Stewart Lawson n/a
That would make a pretty good calling list.
gezz no joke
wonder what net worth of this group is?