5 ms·

Sure, but Gabe Plotkin is the uber-wallstreeter. All the rich-but-average Chosen Ones who get internships because of mommy and daddy look at what guys like him

Sure, but Gabe Plotkin is the uber-wallstreeter. All the rich-but-average Chosen Ones who get internships because of mommy and daddy look at what guys like him accomplish and think, "someday that too can be mine." This is like that scene in 300 where Leonidas makes Xerxes bleed. The point isn't that Wall Street has fallen. It's that, for once, Wall Street is fallible.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
52-6F-62 6y ago
I can't see how that's the case. They aren't going to suffer for this, let alone personally. Even if the fund tanks, they can set up a new one, probably with sympathetic money or just cruise off into the sunset with their millions.
- risyachka 6y ago
  Loosing billions still hurts a lot I would guess.
  - shin_lao 6y ago
    It's not their money, it's the money from LPs who invested in the fund.
    - yellowstuff 6y ago
      If you know the term LPs you should know the typically senior management at hedge funds have a significant portion of their net worth invested in their own funds.
  - 52-6F-62 6y ago
    The fund and it's investors may lose a lot. The people running the fund will not. But it's important to remember that it's a matter of scale here. Billions is a lot to a midwestern retail worker who put half his rent check into a volatile stock. It's not a lot to large groups of already-wealthy investors who have a portion of their portfolio invested with this one fund.
- thebean11 6y ago
  You don't think losing his fund would have any personal or reputational effect on him, just because he has plenty of money to live, or do something else? I don't buy it.
- paulddraper 6y ago
  They're so disconnected that losing billions doesn't matter? The problem is bigger than originally conceived then.
  - beervirus 6y ago
    It matters to the investors in the hedge fund. It matters a lot less to the people running it.
    - totalZero 6y ago
      Wall Street is driven by money, relationships, and reputation. Obviously, Plotkin lost money here in terms of his this-year payout. But I believe he also takes a hit in other ways. On Money: Plotkin's fund lost money for his investors, all of whom are rich people who will be upset with him. There will probably be some redemptions, and AUM will go down -- not just because he lost some of it, but because investors will pull out some of what remains. On Reputation: Plotkin ends up with egg on his face because he held the bag for a bunch of mom-and-pop investors on Robin Hood. You know how Soros is known for famously breaking the Pound Sterling? Plotkin is now known for infamously being broken by GME. On Relationships: Plotkin lost even after getting an injection of liquidity from Cohen and Griffin. That can't be good for his standing with those two power players.
    - yellowstuff 6y ago
      "Hedge fund managers typically have a substantial amount of their own capital invested in the funds they manage, and a significant portion of their compensation is based upon the absolute, or positive, performance they achieve for their investors. As New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer observed recently, the interests of hedge fund managers and their investors tend to be "aligned", largely due to this combination of the managers' commitment of capital to their funds and the performance-based compensation structure." https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/hedgefunds/hedge-mfa.htm https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/hedgefunds/hedge-mfa.htm
  - npsimons 6y ago
    > The problem is bigger than originally conceived then. You're starting to get it.
astrea 6y ago
While I enjoy the esprit de corp of this particular discussion, the recurring allusions to "David vs Goliath"-esque tales are rather cringe-inducing and really speak to the maturity level of those involved (if that wasn't already clear by their "tendies").
- monadic3 6y ago
  How do you figure?
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  The image I have in my head is less LOTR defenders or David(s) vs Goliath, and more of a horde of zombies that broke through a barrier and jumped some guards, but are about to be mowed down by a well-armed group behind a barricade. This isn't going to end well for the retailers - but hell if isn't sending a message. Also the collateral damage is going to be more interesting to follow than the financials themselves. Already Discord and RobinHood painted themselves as enemies of the people - whether this was their least bad option legally, or they were influenced by Wall Street is immaterial - it's already viewed as the latter. Couple that with other high-profile bans by social media platforms this year (and it's not even February!), and I can see a lot of regular people all across the political spectrum who feel abused by big, rich companies. I think the last time we saw this kind of energy on the Internet, it led to Scientology protests, Occupy WallStreet and the Arab Spring...
jrumbut 6y ago
I would have imagined you could read the business category of any major news outlet on any given day and see the fallibility, but I think you're right that that may be a common interpretation of this event.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

52-6F-62 6y ago

I can't see how that's the case. They aren't going to suffer for this, let alone personally. Even if the fund tanks, they can set up a new one, probably with sympathetic money or just cruise off into the sunset with their millions.

risyachka 6y ago
Loosing billions still hurts a lot I would guess.
- shin_lao 6y ago
  It's not their money, it's the money from LPs who invested in the fund.
  - yellowstuff 6y ago
    If you know the term LPs you should know the typically senior management at hedge funds have a significant portion of their net worth invested in their own funds.
- 52-6F-62 6y ago
  The fund and it's investors may lose a lot. The people running the fund will not. But it's important to remember that it's a matter of scale here. Billions is a lot to a midwestern retail worker who put half his rent check into a volatile stock. It's not a lot to large groups of already-wealthy investors who have a portion of their portfolio invested with this one fund.
thebean11 6y ago
You don't think losing his fund would have any personal or reputational effect on him, just because he has plenty of money to live, or do something else? I don't buy it.
paulddraper 6y ago
They're so disconnected that losing billions doesn't matter? The problem is bigger than originally conceived then.
- beervirus 6y ago
  It matters to the investors in the hedge fund. It matters a lot less to the people running it.
  - totalZero 6y ago
    Wall Street is driven by money, relationships, and reputation. Obviously, Plotkin lost money here in terms of his this-year payout. But I believe he also takes a hit in other ways. On Money: Plotkin's fund lost money for his investors, all of whom are rich people who will be upset with him. There will probably be some redemptions, and AUM will go down -- not just because he lost some of it, but because investors will pull out some of what remains. On Reputation: Plotkin ends up with egg on his face because he held the bag for a bunch of mom-and-pop investors on Robin Hood. You know how Soros is known for famously breaking the Pound Sterling? Plotkin is now known for infamously being broken by GME. On Relationships: Plotkin lost even after getting an injection of liquidity from Cohen and Griffin. That can't be good for his standing with those two power players.
  - yellowstuff 6y ago
    "Hedge fund managers typically have a substantial amount of their own capital invested in the funds they manage, and a significant portion of their compensation is based upon the absolute, or positive, performance they achieve for their investors. As New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer observed recently, the interests of hedge fund managers and their investors tend to be "aligned", largely due to this combination of the managers' commitment of capital to their funds and the performance-based compensation structure." https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/hedgefunds/hedge-mfa.htm https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/hedgefunds/hedge-mfa.htm
- npsimons 6y ago
  > The problem is bigger than originally conceived then. You're starting to get it.

astrea 6y ago

While I enjoy the esprit de corp of this particular discussion, the recurring allusions to "David vs Goliath"-esque tales are rather cringe-inducing and really speak to the maturity level of those involved (if that wasn't already clear by their "tendies").

monadic3 6y ago
How do you figure?
TeMPOraL 6y ago
The image I have in my head is less LOTR defenders or David(s) vs Goliath, and more of a horde of zombies that broke through a barrier and jumped some guards, but are about to be mowed down by a well-armed group behind a barricade. This isn't going to end well for the retailers - but hell if isn't sending a message. Also the collateral damage is going to be more interesting to follow than the financials themselves. Already Discord and RobinHood painted themselves as enemies of the people - whether this was their least bad option legally, or they were influenced by Wall Street is immaterial - it's already viewed as the latter. Couple that with other high-profile bans by social media platforms this year (and it's not even February!), and I can see a lot of regular people all across the political spectrum who feel abused by big, rich companies. I think the last time we saw this kind of energy on the Internet, it led to Scientology protests, Occupy WallStreet and the Arab Spring...

jrumbut 6y ago

I would have imagined you could read the business category of any major news outlet on any given day and see the fallibility, but I think you're right that that may be a common interpretation of this event.