Thought For The Day

Why So Few Female Traders

When you speak off the cuff, silly sounding things can pop out. Thats why I am so reluctantly to speak quickly over the radio, and I need pauses so that i don't say things such as those said by Paul Tudor Jones.




For a billionaire hedge fund manager who carefully manages his public image, Paul Tudor Jones had a minor crisis on his hands. Mr. Jones, a billionaire and philanthropist of legendary stature in the minds of many Wall Street traders, was forced on Thursday to explain what he meant in remarks that surfaced in a video published by The Washington Post. The video, depicting a University of Virginia symposium in April, shows Mr. Jones trying to explain why there is a scarcity of female traders.

“As soon as that baby’s lips touch that girl’s bosom, forget it,” Mr. Jones, who has three daughters, says in the video. “Every single investment idea, every desire to understand what’s going to make this go up or go down, is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience, which a man will never share, about a mode of connection between that mother and that baby.”

“I’ve just seen it happen over and over,” he added. “I’m talking about trading, not managing.” The video was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

His comments went viral online and were widely criticized. In an e-mail sent to news outlets, Mr. Jones said he was speaking “off the cuff” and referring in particular to “global macro traders,” who work across multiple markets.

“Macro trading requires a high degree of skill, focus and repetition,” Mr. Jones said by way of clarification. “Life events, such as birth, divorce, death of a loved one and other emotional highs and lows are obstacles to success in this specific field of finance.” He added that success was possible “as long as a woman or man has the skill, passion, and repetitions to work through the inevitable life events that arise along the way.”

The episode was an uncomfortable turn for Mr. Jones, who earlier this month was called a “modern-day Robin Hood” by CBS News’s “60 Minutes” in a report on the financier’s charitable foundation.

Watching the video, there was a “pit in my stomach of how 1950s that is,” Alexandra Lebenthal, chief executive of the financial firm Lebenthal & Company, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday.

“I’m not sure that bonding experience of breastfeeding is all that wonderful,” Ms. Lebenthal added.

Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan, said on MSNBC: “What you see in this is actually what a lot of men on Wall Street still actually think.”

Mr. Jones’s theory is “scientifically unsound,” Simone Foxman said in Quartz. “Women don’t produce as much cortisol when in risky situations and therefore — theoretically at least — aren’t as likely to be as overwhelmed by negative emotions.”

My View is that there is some truth in it, but very little in effect. Let's be honest, Paul is not the person who created the financial trading system, he merely commented on the reality. Truth be told, most good traders who happen to be men, are also mostly dead inside. Nuff said. The ability to focus and block out other thoughts and considerations are paramount to be a great trader. Let's be frank, how many of us can do that without our minds wondering and wandering. Great traders usually have very empty lives, have to keep drowning their hollow soul with liquor and checking their bank balance gives them the kind of temporary adrenaline high to remind themselves falsely that what they are doing is worthwhile.

The reason why most great traders are men lies in the society structure and biases - men still have certain advantages in terms of "old boys network", and preferential treatment when hiring traders. The whole system is geared towards a brutal Darwinian elimination process. Only the good survive the industry. When you have 980 men and 20 women in trading positions to start with ... isn't it normal to see the top ten traders being largely men, maybe 9/10 or even 10/10.

The Silent Movie Man - Speaks For All

Everyone has seen some Charlie Chaplin movies, they were great and still are. That alone would have suffice in leaving a wonderful legacy of a life well lived. Not many has even heard of him speak, but if you watch his only snippet from The Great Dictator, where he spoke in his movie for the first and only time, ever ... you know he has an even greater soul. While disguised as part of a movie script, its blatantly obvious that he chose that one instance, that one platform to voice his important empathetic view - funny how much of that speech is still so relevant for so many people in so many places, ours included.

Good day to you, Sir Charlie Chaplin ....



Another example of his great talent, he composed the music to Smile ... Michael Jackson's favourite song of all time. Charlie Chaplin, a man so devoted to make us all laugh, must have known what hurt is to come up with these two important contributions during his life on earth.

Gotta Watch This - Miyoko Shida Rigolo

This is an exceptional piece of performance art. In fact, it is so much more than just exhibiting the powers of concentration. It is art definitely, loaded with meanings and inflections. The inter-connectedness of everything in life, its delicate balance ... seemingly unimportant (feather) yet it holds everything together. Its beautiful, moving and thought provoking.

Finally, .... 101 Proposals

Finally, somebody has decided to remake my all time favourite TV series, the Japanese romantic comedy 101 Proposal. You will cry buckets and laugh like a lunatic if you have watched it before. The remake is a China production with Lin Chiling, whom I have never thought to be much of a talent, but did well. The always funny and self deprecating Bo Huang. To consolidate a TV series into a movie is never an easy task, but its pretty good. 

If you have a few hours to spend, go watch the entire 12 episodes on You Tube. I have linked the first episode at the bottom (yes, got English subtitles).

The original 101st Marriage Proposal is a "Beauty and the Beast" story starring Takeda Tetsuya (Virgin Road, 3 nen B gumi Kinpachi Sensei) as a down-on-his-luck man who has gone through 99 omiai (arranged dates with the intention of marriage if the date goes well). Not particularly smart, nor handsome, nor rich, he is a man who cannot lie and of course, has a heart of pure gold. On the 100th omiai, he meets Kaoru (Asano Atsuko), an extremely beautiful and talented cellist who can't forget her dead fiancee.



So, Takeda has had 100 arranged dates with marriage in mind setting but its the 100th date that caused him to abandon the "arranged marriage" mentality and pursue true love and devotion. The entire series has him trying to pursue the girl and failing and failing, with comical results. Besides the many things that were seemingly incompatible, she cannot love again as she fears anyone she loves will die on her again like her fiancee. Why is the thing called 101 Proposals ... well ... the 101th proposal is by the girl asking Takeda to marry her, thats why.

Its such an iconic series helped by the ever brilliant Chage & Aska theme song Say Yes which can be heard throughout the series and also in the new Mandarin remake. A side note, am I the only one to notice that Takeda Tetsuya, the original lead, made a cameo appearance as the husband of the girl's teacher from Japan - what a gem of cinematic kismet.

The series was made back in 1991 ... but you can certainly see and count how many more recent movies have stolen ideas left right and center from the series ... HK, China, Korea, America...

If you do not have the time to watch the movie or the series, well at least watch the final 14 minutes of the original series ending as they provide the entire flashback of the courtship and ending. The series is infinitely better as its like 12 movies, and there are many great relationships .... the most touching is between Takeda and his good looking brother.




Watch the whole original series, start with Episode 1, there are 12. If English subtitles are not showing, look for the Caption button and turn to English.

Give Yourself Away

 ... are you a registered donor  ... if not, why not.

Alex Ferguson, Thank You Sir

Ferguson first few years were dicey, much like the first few years experienced by the last 5 Liverpool managers. In actual fact, he was almost booted but turned a corner and has not looked back since then. Continuity is so important and valued in being a football manager, something the modern game can no longer afford, or rather the owners cannot afford. Show me the results within 2-3 seasons or you are out. Molding a team requires time and in Ferguson's case his strategy was most prominent in the way he used the youth system, making it a celebrated channel for bringing up local talents.



In the present days of money buying talent strategy, Manchester United is Manchester United because we can proudly claim a large contingent of home grown talents and still a significant portion of players from the UK, something A LOT of teams cannot claim. At one stage, I though Liverpool was going to change name to Liverpool-Herzagovina.

The New Guy

The bookmakers is giving it to David Moyes, who, I must say has done wonderfully well with a limited budget and slightly above average team. He has shown that he can stick to it for some time. We should want someone who will stay around for at least 10 years. For Manchester United, its not just a manager we hire but a critical new family member.

But my preferred choice from day one has always been Martin O Neil, I think he is a bit more colourful and quite brilliant a manager.