华尔街的"伟人论":金融巨头如何主宰市场 | 经济学人财经

财富   2024-12-05 07:30   浙江  

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导读


导图作者:
May Li,我要去追逐心中的太阳,还要继续努力的亚古兽

1.重点单词

ponder - 思考,考虑

dicey - 危险的,不确定的

quantum - 数量

elucidate - 阐明,解释

uncanny - 不可思议的,神秘的

macho - 大男子主义的

idolatry - 偶像崇拜

acumen - 敏锐,洞察力

egotism - 自负,自我中心

pantheon - 万神殿,名人堂

rogue - 流氓,无赖

staid - 古板的,一成不变的

supine - 懒散的,不作为的

peerless - 无与伦比的

lustre - 光泽,光彩


2.词组

fat fingers - 操作失误

hedge fund - 对冲基金

hero worship - 英雄崇拜

great-man theory - 伟人理论

private markets - 私募市场

stockpickers - 选股者

top brass - 高层管理人员

working-class - 工人阶级

succession planning - 继任计划

risk management - 风险管理

deposit taking - 存款业务


3.固定搭配

sharpen the mind - 使头脑清醒

weigh the question - 权衡问题

inflict damage on - ...造成损害

tank a hedge fund - 使对冲基金崩溃

blow up firms - 使公司崩溃

strike out - 独立创业

hail from - 来自


4.文章概述:

华尔街仍然由少数个人主导,这些"金融伟人"的成功与失败对整个行业影响巨大。从巴菲特到达利欧,金融公司往往反映其领导者的风格。虽然大银行领导层变得低调,但私募市场和对冲基金领域仍充满英雄崇拜。个人仍能轻易摧毁公司,如比尔·黄和山姆·班克曼-弗里德的案例所示。尽管有继任计划和风险管理,金融业永远不会真正成为团队运动,因为机构处于永久更新状态,风险承担者离开后新的循环又开始。


5.问题(如何读完文章能很快回答这几个问题,证明我们真正读懂了这篇文章):
Q1: What historical theory does the article compare the "great-man theory" of finance to?
Q2: Who are the two recent financial disaster protagonists mentioned in the article?

Q3: Why will finance never really be a team sport?

2



精读|翻译|词组
Finance & economics | Buttonwood

财经版块|梧桐树专栏

英文部分选自经济学人20241123期财经板块


Finance & economics | Buttonwood

财经版块|梧桐树专栏
The great-man theory of Wall Street

华尔街的英雄史观/伟人推动华尔街

Why finance is still dominated by bold individuals

为什么金融领域仍然被冒险者主宰

注释:

great-man theory:英雄史观,认为历史都是由少数精英人士所创造的观点,否认人民群众在历史上的重要角色。

At thistime of year, as they await their Christmas bonuses, people on Wall Street ponder their worth. Two questions can sharpen the mind of even the most senior employee. Imagine first accepting a position in Donald Trump’s new administration. How great a financial loss would your employer suffer? Before Mr Trump picked Scott Bessent as his treasury secretary, two of America’s biggest financial institutions weighed that question. Analysts quizzed Jamie Dimon, the boss of JPMorgan Chase, about whether he would leave the bank for public office. Shareholders of Apollo worried about a future without Marc Rowan, who has transformed the investment firm in recent years.

每年的这个时候,华尔街上的精英们翘首企盼圣诞奖金的降临,同时思考自己的价值。即使最资深的员工都对两个问题保持头脑敏锐。首先,想象一下接受唐纳德-特朗普(Donald Trump)新政府的职位,你的离职会给雇主带来多大的经济损失?在特朗普选中斯科特-贝森特(Scott Bessent)作为财政部长前,美国两家最大的金融机构都在权衡这个问题。分析师们询问了摩根大通的老板杰米-戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)是否会离开银行去担任公职。阿波罗(Apollo)的股东们则担忧没有马克-罗文(Marc Rowan)的公司未来,因为近年来他重塑了这家投资公司。

注释:

Apollo:波罗全球管理公司(英语:Apollo Global Management, Inc.)是一家位于美国的投资管理公司。由Leon BlackJosh HarrisMarc Rowan 1990年创立。主要投资于信贷、私募股权和实物资产。

The second question is dicier still: how much damage could you inflict on your employer? Whether by fat fingers or fraud, the quantum of losses an individual is trusted to avoid is a good proxy for their importance. Anyone can steal a paper clip. Few are able to tank a hedge fund (and, indirectly, a big bank) with huge, concentrated trades like Bill Hwang, an investor who received an 18-year prison sentence on November 20th. Wall Street rewards those who are very good at doing risky jobs.

第二个问题则更加棘手:你能给雇主带来多大的风险?不论是胖手指(操作失误)还是欺诈,一个人被认为能够规避的损失大小能很好地代表他的重要性。任何人都能偷一枚回形针,但很少人能够像比尔-黄(Bill Hwang)通过大规模的集中交易摧毁一家对冲基金(并间接影响一家大型银行)。这位投资人在1120日被判处18年监禁。华尔街会重赏那些善于从事高风险工作的人。

注释:

1.dicey: Something that is dicey is slightly dangerous or uncertain. 危险的; 不确定的

2.tank: If something such as a stock price or a movie tanks, it performs very badly, for example because it loses a lot of money. 表现得很糟糕

3.Bill HuangBill Hwang,是一位出生于韩国的美国投资者、交易员和被定罪的欺诈者。他经营Archegos Capital Management,该公司于2021326日违约,给几家著名的投资银行造成了重大损失。20214月,《华尔街日报》报道称,Hwang3月下旬的10天内损失了200亿美元,给他的银行对手方野村和瑞士信贷造成了巨额损失。2022427日,他因欺诈和敲诈勒索的联邦指控被起诉。Archegos的违约导致了瑞士信贷的最终崩溃。

4fat finger胖手指是在瞬息万变的电子金融市场中,交易员必须以迅速的动作进行操作,高强度的工作加上巨大的压力使得他有可能出现按错键盘的现象,其雇主也将因此损失惨重,这种情况被称为胖手指

This parlour game also elucidates one of the most important truths of finance. For an industry obsessed with managing risk, it remains greatly exposed to the triumphs and failures of a small number of individuals. From Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway to Ray Dalio at Bridgewater Associates, firms reflect the style of their leaders to an uncanny extent. Tech firms may run finance close, but nowhere else in business is hero worship quite as common.

这个问答游戏也阐明了金融行业里最重要的真相之一。对于一个充满风险管理的行业来说,它仍然高度依赖于少数人的成功和失败。从伯克希尔-哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway)的沃伦-巴菲特(Warren Buffett)到桥水公司(Bridgewater Associates)的雷-达里奥(Ray Dalio),各家公司都出奇地反映了其领导者的风格。科技公司可能在这方面与金融业不相上下,但在其他商业领域,英雄崇拜的现象并不常见。

注释:

1.parlour gamean informal indoor game 一种特别室内游戏项目

2.uncanny:If you describe something as uncanny, you mean that it is strange and difficult to explain. 出奇的

A financial equivalent to the great-man theory of history might seem counter-intuitive. Compare the current leadership of America’s largest banks with those hauled before Congress after the global financial crisis of 2007-09. That the country now has bigger banks run by smaller bosses is an inescapable conclusion. Of the crisis-weathered class, only Mr Dimon remains. The replacements are less macho. Dick Fuld, the hard-driving leader who led Lehman Brothers to bankruptcy, would struggle to be promoted today.

金融领域的伟人论可能看起来有悖常理。将美国大型银行的现任领导人和那些2007-09年全球金融危机之后被国会所传讯的领导人进行比较,可以得出一个无可辩驳的结论:如今美国的银行规模变得更大,而领导者的影响力则变得更小。在历经危机洗礼的群体中,只有戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)仍然在位。其他的继任者则不再那么强硬。迪克-富尔德(Dick Fuld),这位带领雷曼兄弟走向破产的强势领导人,如今恐怕很难再被提拔。

注释:

1.haulIf someone is hauled before a court or someone in authority, they are made to appear before them because they are accused of having done something wrong. 传讯

2.machoYou use macho to describe men who are very conscious and proud of their masculinity. 大男子气的

3.hard-driving:进取心十足的,咄咄逼人的

In reality, the action (and idolatry) have moved elsewhere in the financial system. That includes firms such as Apollo in private markets, and also institutions designed specifically to avoid concentrations of power. “Multi manager” hedge funds spread investment decisions between hundreds of largely independent and often competing stockpickers. Yet it is hard to imagine Citadel or Millennium prospering as much without their prominent founders, who shape the structures in which their underlings compete. The top brass at quant-heavy firms such as Jane Street are more secretive, but doubly keen to shield their most talented mathematicians from the glare of competitors. Although Gordon Gekko might not have the numerical acumen to thrive in today’s financial system, he would certainly recognise its egotism.

在现实中,金融活动以及偶像式崇拜已经转移他处。这包括像Apollo这样的私募市场公司以及那些专门设计用于避免权力集中的机构。多经理制对冲基金会将投资决策分散到数百名相对独立甚至相互竞争的选股人身上。然而,如果不是其杰出的创始人塑造的竞争机制,很难想象Citadel或者Millennium 这样的公司会取得当下的成绩。而如Jane Street这种量化交易主导的公司其高层则更加低调,但仍致力于保护他们最具天赋的数学家免受竞争对手的勾引。尽管戈登·盖柯(电影《华尔街》的虚构角色)可能没有在当今金融体系中取得成功所需的数字敏感度,但他一定会认同其中的个人英雄主义。

It is also still eminently possible for individuals to blow up firms. Mr Hwang’s folly earns him a statue in the pantheon of financial disaster alongside Sam Bankman-Fried (who ranftx, a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in 2022) and Nick Leeson (whose derivatives trades nuked Barings Bank in 1995). The location of rogues might change: these days working-class Mr Leeson would be underqualified to join the credential-clinging cadres of junior bankers; Mr Bankman-Fried, by contrast, was too qualified and started his career at Jane Street. Rest assured, though, that more like them are lurking somewhere.

即便如此,个人仍然有能力导致公司破产。比尔黄的冒险行径让他在金融灾难榜上赢得了一席之地。与他齐名的还有山姆·班克曼-弗里德(运营加密货币交易所FTX,于2022崩盘)和尼克·里森(其衍生品交易对巴林银行造成了致命打击)。害群之马们的背景可能有所变化:在当今世界,出身工人阶级的里森可能很难融入那些迷恋证书的初级银行家圈子。而班克曼-弗里德则大概会因资历过高而直接在Jane Street起步。但毫无疑问的是,还有更多像他们这样的人还潜伏在某个角落。

For all the succession planning and risk management, finance will never really be a team sport. That is because, perhaps with the exception of staid activities like deposit taking, its institutions are in a permanent state of renewal. When firms survive the loss of visionary founders, supine managers often take their place. The same thing happens when they become big and diversified. Risk takers leave and the cycle starts afresh. After the death of Siegmund Warburg, the peerless post-war banker, his outfit was bought by what becameubs, a Swiss lender. The operation lost its lustre and its best struck out: founders of Moelis and Centerview, two top advisory houses, used to work there. Mr Hwang hails from Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management, a hedge fund known for its successful offspring. Today private-market firms and hedge funds may be ascendant, but in time the same thing will happen to them. 

即便有着接班计划和风险管理机制,金融终究不会成为一个真正意义上的团队项目。因为除了储蓄等相对稳定的业务外,金融机构始终处于不断更新的状态。当企业失去富有远见的创始人后,继任的管理者往往是苟且偷安之辈。同样的事情在企业做大且业务多元化之后也会发生。冒险者离开后,循环重新开始。在战后举世无双的银行家西格蒙德·华宝(Siegmund Warburg)去世后,他的企业被后来成为瑞银集团(UBS)的瑞士银行公司收购。被收购的企业随即失去光环,而其中的菁英也纷纷另起炉灶:两家顶级咨询公司MoelisCenterview的创始人正是这批人。比尔黄则出身于朱利安·罗伯逊的老虎基金。这是一家以培养出众多成功的老虎仔而闻名的对冲基金。当今私募市场的企业和对冲基金可能正处于上升期,但迟早会经历同样的命运。

注释:

Tiger Management 是一家非常知名的对冲基金,不仅在投资领域表现出色,还培养了许多杰出的投资经理,这些经理后来独立创立了自己的基金,被称为 “Tiger Cubs”(老虎崽)。这些老虎崽基金(Tiger Cubs)包括知名的 Lone Pine CapitalCoatue Management Viking Global Investors 等,它们延续了 Tiger Management 的投资风格并取得了巨大的成功。

翻译组:

Vivifang,顺应周期,爱与自由同时发生

Dreamian ,寻找着方向的人,一路走走停停再回首看看


校对组:

Alexis, Less is more

Hannah, 爱读财经的金融小白 经济学人唯粉

SummerQE在职,梦想能仗走天涯 翻译/音乐 /健康


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