Brokerage veteran extols 'traditional virtues' of Wall St. in new book
Jason Trennert began his Wall Street in an entry-level support role in the wake of the 1987 stock-market crash. By the time the industry was battered by the 2008 global financial collapse, he was a longtime investment strategist and founding partner in his own brokerage firm, Strategas Research Partners.
Over that span, he retained few illusions about the various shortcomings of finance. But he also developed a deep appreciation for the crucial role Wall Street plays in the economy.
In the storm of recrimination that still rages over the perceived damage done by the financial industry to world economic fortunes, Trennert saw a need for an amiable reminder of what’s right about the business, and how it helps fuel economic growth.
The result is “My Side of the Street: Why Wolves, Quants, and Masters of the Universe Don’t Represent the Real Wall Street,” a blend of personal memoir and sober defense of his chosen field.
“Certainly there are plenty of vices, the book isn’t to defend the indefensible,” Trennert says in the attached video. “But it’s also to talk a lot about its virtues – particularly the virtue of turning money into capital, and the idea that it’s a big part of the economic system in America.”
The book is a good-natured reminiscence of Trennert’s career through the 1990s and 2000s, starting in the drudgery of the Morgan Stanley back office before he joined revered Wall Street economist Ed Hyman when he launched his research boutique ISI Group. There, Trennert when on the road to call on institutional investors, learning the art of good client service and managing a sometimes-grueling pace.
He launched his current firm on a shoestring in 2006 and came through the financial crisis intact, though a bit chagrined at the way the largest banks nearly sank the system.
Drawing on as series of mentors such as Hyman and pioneering investment-research chief Jim Moltz, Trennert clings to “the idea of being a fiduciary – putting other people’s needs before your own” as a traditional fix for many conflicts and excesses in finance.
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With the 2016 presidential campaign clamoring into motion, Trennert is bracing for plenty of efforts to exploit the public’s residual disdain for financial operators. Despite the recovery in the financial markets and a strong run of job gains, demonizing Wall Street and the rich in general is still a message that politicians view as a winner.
“In some cases the centerpiece of the campaign is to talk about how evil Wall Street is,” he notes. “Certainly there are very few defenders of Wall Street. [JPMorgan Chase CEO] Jamie Dimon might be the only one – he’s the best one.”
“I think the industry itself should be a bit less apologetic,” he says, by pointing out “there’s good and bad in every industry, good and bad in every person, yet Wall Street is a big part of the economic engine.”
Of course, the public mood suggests this message would not necessarily be warmly received. If the lessons of past cycles hold, it might take still-higher stock prices to thaw the average American’s heart toward the Street again.
“A bull market would probably be the best antidote,” Trennert concludes.
