“[My dog] was a rescue from a shelter in Downtown LA about six years ago. And it was a – the person who dropped her off – they came in two, as two sisters. And I don’t know how old you are – you look pretty young – but you might not know this movie called Thelma & Louise. It was like back in the 80’s. So anyways, this is Thelma. But now I – her name is Samantha. She’s a corgi – part corgi and a part blue heeler. [Blue heeler] is an Australian cattle dog. So I don’t know how she got here, but there aren’t very many blue heelers around in the US.
I had a dog before. Twenty years ago actually. She passed away twenty years ago. And I never got another dog after that, but then I saw her, and I was, I think it’s time to adopt – you know, save a life. It’s all about compatibility. If you find someone or something, and it’s a match, that’s more important than anything else. As opposed to trying to find an ideal situation or candidate. Life doesn’t always work that way.
I work in downtown LA. I am a compliance officer. I work in financial services. When I was in high school, I didn’t really have a path. And I saw a movie called Wall Street. Interesting tidbit is that The Wolf of Wall Street, the story is based on a true story. And the firm that was represented in the movie, Stratton Oakmont. The second firm I went to work for had a relationship with Stratton Oakmont. I couldn’t finish watching the movie. I watched halfway, and I almost threw up. It was disgusting. They way they portrayed it – it was realistic. But how the industry is so fraudulent, just wrought with fraud, and unfortunately, our government is inept. So a lot of people lose a lot of money. Hard-working people, middle class people, like you and me. It’s sad.
I saw that movie, Wall Street, and thought, ‘Wow. That’s something I could do.’ That was it. It was so exciting. So much money moving around. You make a lot of money, you lose a lot of money. I never really did either one. It just turned out to be a career, but it is really exciting. It’s really neat to see how money motivates people. Money moves society. How it dictates patterns in our lifestyles: houses, cars, things like that. And you can see money moving from one industry to the other. So, you know the saying, ‘Money makes the world go ’round?’ It really is true. But I think, realistically speaking, it’s not really money. Money is just a medium, a transaction. It’s people that motivates. So it’s really human emotions that ultimately [move].
So, a typical day. I wake up at 5 in the morning. I get ready. I drive. I’ll get in, check e-mails like everyone else. I’ll look at any new rules or regulations that have been pushed out by the SEC. There’s always news coming out, either rule change or some type of regulatory action towards a firm in the industry. You wouldn’t believe how often there’s like a civil suit from the SEC against a small firm. So after that – or before that – I get my green tea. I have to have green tea. I drink three cups a day. It’s the best. And then I’ll eat my breakfast. I’ll take some phone calls. I’ll make some phone calls. I’ll review documents because part of my job as a compliance officer is oversight. So I’m kind of like the policeman in the company.
I’ve been doing this for 20+ years now. I’m in a point in my life, career where if I could do it all over again, it would be in a different industry. I would probably do something that benefits society or that has to do with animals or nature. So, maybe like – it doesn’t pay very much, but a park ranger, or a vet. Although I think it would be really tough for me to see animals in despair. I probably couldn’t do it, so maybe not a vet. Maybe a pharmacist or something like that. You know, something that helps people, right? So, diagnose illness and whatnot. And help the elderly, making decisions in terms of their health.
It was exciting when I was young, to go into the field that I’m in. But it’s definitely changed me too. I’m realizing how avaricious people are. I think it’s, I don’t know, it’s human nature? Or, I don’t like the fact that … I used to trust people a lot more. Obviously, the industry is the way it is, and that’s the way it probably always will be. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I was ignorant. You know how they say ignorance is bliss? Not really, not all the time. But I don’t like the fact that it changed me too. The industry almost got me to the point where I wanted to be part of that industry and be that way in order to be successful. I think I realized that I’m not cut throat enough. I guess you could say it’s a positive too. I’m not as blinded by greed as some.
But at the same time, I kind of miss that ignorance because my faith in people has been tested. It seems as if the very, very wealthy can get away with almost murder. I mean, technically, people die from this, right? You lose your house, your job, your car, whatever. The way they manage and control the system’s peaks and crashes. People lose hope. Some people commit suicide, some people give up, die from stress, cancer, drinking, whatever. It does kill people. The super wealthy – they don’t care. It’s just dog eat dog.
There’s a level of unfairness. And it’s jaded me to the point where I’m like, ‘Why should I participate in this corrupt system?’ I’d rather do something that I’m happy with. Forget the money. Don’t let money motivate you. You know how they always say, ‘Do what you love to do?’ After twenty years doing this – I love it. I love this industry, but I just don’t like how it’s wrought with fraud. If it were, you know they always say we gotta level the playing field, small investors, blah blah blah, that’s nonsense. A level playing field is illusory. I don’t know if you’ve been following the news lately, about HFT, high frequency trading? Another scandal – it just blew up last week, where these trading firms are trading ahead of customers. So it’s called front-running, what they do. And it’s illegal. But they’ve been doing it for the last ten years. And now finally, our government steps in and says, ‘Oh, we better look at this.’ Well, no shit. People have been talking about this for a long time, but you’ve never done anything about it. So the government regulators are always one step behind the big players. But when a small firm does something wrong, even if it’s inadvertent, they’ll get fined a not insignificant amount. But these big players? They get away with a lot, and if they fail, they get bailed out by the taxpayers. And that’s why the thought of doing something else would be enjoyable.”
Excerpt may be edited for clarity.