Bernie Sanders says Wall Street’s business model is Greed & Fraud…

Posted by David Nelson, CFA on November 18, 2015 in Investment Management, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

By David Nelson, CFA

Saturday’s Democratic debate hosted by CBS from Des Moines, Iowa covered a range of topics and was viewed by over 15 million people. I have to take issue with one of Senator Sander’s comments he made repeatedly throughout the evening.

First, let me start by saying Bernie is the real deal. He believes what he says and has been consistent with his rhetoric throughout his career.

I sympathize with some of his calls i.e. the repeal of Glass Steagall. President Clinton’s repeal of the law likely sowed the seeds for the financial crisis.

Respectfully, here is where Bernie’s argument goes off the rails. He said the business model for Wall Street is GREED & FRAUD. Think about that for a moment.

First of all, greed is a line item in the business model of any for-profit organization. Every company looks to maximize profits. Is their fraud in the financial community? Of course there is but perhaps the Senator should look in his own back yard. Every industry has fraud. There is fraud in government, law enforcement, the legal profession, the drug industry, hospitals, energy companies as well as nonprofit organizations like the church.

Signaling out my industry saying it is based on GREED and FRAUD isn’t only miss-leading it’s an insult to all of us who bust our ass every day helping corporations, pension plans, charities, and retail clients navigate through a challenging economy and even more challenging world markets.