Wells Fargo

Always remember when Meyer Lansky was taken down to the NY Stock Exchange floor and then on to a big lunch with many a Wall Street top dog he remarked -

"I think I joined the wrong mob".

The Gambino family seems to be the equivalent of a professional pickpocket organization compared to Wells Fargo. 

Wall Street Leadership Gone Wrong in 2018

The Times today is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Registered Investment Advisory firm  of Native American Advisors, Inc. whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this anonymously is the only way to deliver important perspective to our readers. We invite you to submit questions about the essay or our vetting process here. 

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the firm of Native American Advisors, Inc.  

Dean Parisian is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern American corporate leader.

It’s not just that the idea of a bear market looms large. Or that the firm is bitterly divided over Mr. Parisians leadership. Or even that his family  fortune might well lose  a few dollars to an opposing investment strategy which might cause a drawdown of say, 5%. 

The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own company are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his investment strategy and his worst inclinations.

I would know. I am one of them.

To be clear, ours is not the popular “resistance” .   We want clients to succeed and know that many of its policies have already made clients far more prosperous.

But we believe our duty is to an untested investment strategy  that we read about in Money Magazine.   It is about forecasting a bear market instead of waiting for a bear market to start.

We feel the CEO of the firm continues to act in a manner that is negative to the health of our client portfolios and should lighten up market exposure as the market goes higher.

That is why many employees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our new and untried strategy  while thwarting Mr. Parisians experience and investment moxy. 

The root of the problem is the president’s desire to work hard  us so hard and ask so many questions about "what might happen" in a market pullback that anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible principles that guide his decision making regarding a market corrections.  He keeps talking about 1986 in bonds, the '87 crash of 22%, the Russians in 1998, the pounding in NASDAQ shares in 2000, and on and on and on, yet he remains fully invested. 

Although he voted as a Republican, the president shows great affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives: free minds, free markets and free people. At best, he has invoked these ideals in  settings across all aspects of the firm. 

In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion that the markets will again pull back like any normal correction we think he is the “enemy of the short-sellers”.  

Don’t get me wrong. There are bright spots that the near-ceaseless positive message of the firms investment philosophy fails to capture: effective deregulation, historic tax reform, more robust military spending and so much more.

But these successes have come despite — not because of — the president’s leadership style, which is honest and inspiring.  

From the executive branch departments  and senior officials of Native American Advisors, Inc privately admit their daily disbelief at the CEO's comments and actions. Most are working to insulate their negative thinking  from his positive whims.

Meetings with him can veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants about staying the course, staying fully invested, and his impulsiveness often results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless humor that never seems to have to be walked back.

“There is literally no telling whether he might change his mind from one minute to the next,” a top official complained to me recently, exasperated by an meeting at which the president flip-flopped on a major  decision he’d made only a week earlier.   "We are going to be keeping the old Keurig Coffee Maker for the foreseeable future!"

The erratic behavior would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the firm.  Some of his friends have been cast as villains by other anonymous sources  because they donate too much to charity. But in private, they have gone to great lengths to keep those "bad" decisions contained to the golf course, though they are clearly not always successful.

It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Dean Parisian  won’t.  The result is a two-track investment ideology.

Astute observers have noted, though, that the rest of the administration is operating on another track, one where methodology in equal-weighted indexes counters capitalization weighted investments.  

On bonds, for instance, the president was reluctant to liquidate so many of the high yield holdings held in the firm.   He thinks the FED is in a corner.  Raising rates is foolish politically.  He knows raising rates will hurt the owners of the FED and make President Trump irate.  

This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state. It’s the work of the steady state.

Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the firm of invoking the old trading rule of never shorting a dull market, which would start a complex process for removing the possibility of getting killed in a short squeeze. But no one wanted to precipitate a crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the trading desk in the right direction until — one way or another — that thinking is over.

The bigger concern is not what Mr. Parisian has done to the firm  but rather what we as a firm have allowed him to do to us. We have been elevated so high in our net worths with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of any pessimistic thought.

Senator John McCain put it best in his farewell letter.  All Americans should heed his words and break free of the bear market  trap, with the high aim of uniting our shared values and love of the great investment strategy of using both active and passive management.

There is a quiet resistance within the firm of choosing to put clients interests first because the SEC won't do it in their quest to make American investors better off in dealing with brokers and brokerage firms. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above negative thinking and putting money to work with the great leading and entrepreneurial companies, reaching across the aisle between growth and value and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: making money.

The writer is a senior official in Native American Advisors, Inc.

Vacation? Forgettaboutit..........

Wife and I were thinking of heading south this winter for an extended camping trip; maybe over the holidays. But we decided against it. We don’t want to miss that much of John McCain’s funeral.

Humor at the expense of a great liberal bullshit artist

Chuck Schumer was visiting a Washington D.C. primary school and the class was in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.

The teacher asked Mr. Schumer if he would like to lead the discussion on the word 'Tragedy'.

So Mr. Schumer asked the class for an example of a 'Tragedy'

A little boy stood up and offered: 'If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills him, that would be a tragedy.'

'Incorrect,' said Schumer. 'That would be an accident.'

A little girl raised her hand: 'If a school bus carrying fifty children drove over a cliff, killing everybody inside, that would be a tragedy.'

‘I'm afraid not’, explained Schumer, 'that's what we would refer to as a great loss'.

The room went silent.  No other children volunteered. Schumer searched the room.

'Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?'

Finally, at the back of the room, little Johnny raised his hand and said: 'If a plane carrying you and Mrs. Pelosi and The Obamas and Mrs. Clinton was struck by a 'friendly fire' missile & blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy.'

'Fantastic' exclaimed Schumer, 'and can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?'

'Well', said Johnny, 'it has to be a tragedy, because it certainly wouldn't be a great loss and it probably wouldn't be a fucking accident either!'

From the worlds largest gambling operation, J.P. Morgan bank.

• J.P. Morgan's top quant Marko Kolanovic predicts a "Great Liquidity Crisis" will hit financial markets, marked by flash crashes in stock prices and social unrest.
• The trillion-dollar shift to passive investments, computerized trading strategies and electronic trading desks will exacerbate sudden, severe stock drops, Kolanovic said.
• Central banks will be forced to make unprecedented moves, including direct purchases of equities or negative income taxes.
• Timing of when this next crisis will occur is uncertain but markets appear to be safe through the first half of 2019, he said.f

Argentina Dove Shoot 2018

I've been interested in watching birds since about the 2nd grade.  I've been shooting at waterfowl since about the 4th grade.   I had never shot a dove in my life until this summer.  I had clients invite me to dove shoots in Southern California, in south Georgia, I think the in-laws even invited me once to shoot doves in TN.  I remember specifically going dove hunting one time in my life.  I was a senior in high school in South Dakota.  Never shot one that day and that was in the fall of 1971.

Fast forward to June, 2018.

My good pal who has hunted far and wide with me over the years found himself at an Alzheimer's Benefit Fundraiser about a year ago.   A few liquor drinks being involved, he put in the minimum bid to go on a dove hunt to Argentina.  When the night was over he had "won" the hunt!   I use the term "WON" here rather loosely, it is what my wife says when we depart benefit fundraisers and I softly remind her it really isn't winning.  The funds still come from the checking account. I bet you know well what I am talking about.

When my pal called to ask if I was "in" to shoot doves in Argentina I was thrilled.   Cheap trip for sure with the Argentinian peso on the ropes!   There were some great guys going and traveling from Dallas via Atlanta to Buenos Aires allowed us to travel together on the same flight.

We are all busy in our respective careers and figured that three days of gunning were enough to schedule.  We were correct in that assumption. It's a long way to Argentina however you decide to get there and flying south late on a Saturday night in the dark gave me a good look at the Cuban coastline and dimly lit cities that harbor the one-sided socialist republic in which political power is vested in the Communist Party.

Arriving into Buenos Aires on Sunday morning and a short layover before another flight into Cordoba, Argentina about 400 miles to the north-west of Buenos Aires.  We didn't bring any ammo, we didn't bring any guns.   We "rented" Benelli .20 gauge semi-automatic shotguns for $75 per day and paid $15 for every box of shells we shot.  Airfare round-trip ran about $1,800 and the total cost of my trip outside of airfare was between $2,500 and $3,000.   Lots of friends and acquaintances have asked me what the cost was so I thought I'd include it here.

The name of the outfitter we used was Maers & Goldman out of Cordoba.  The lodging provided was excellent.  The grounds were clean and well-kept.

The services provided by staff were outstanding and the food was simply world-class.

I wasn't worried about hitting the doves, nobody yet has ever called me a bad shot, probably has something to do with practicing shooting.  I was concerned that  with so many guys gunning week after week, year after year that somehow there wouldn't be enough doves to shoot at.  I. Had. No. Idea.     The number of doves was simply unbelievable.

This is our driver.  He always had a smile and could drive that rig through any greasy gumbo back road in Argentina safely.  He always smelled like a liquor drink.  Maybe there was a correlation there.

The first morning we had a great breakfast and board the Mercedes Benz travel van and were taken to the field where we met our guides.   The guide's job is make sure your gun is cleaned every night, to count the number of shells you shoot, to count the number of birds you drop and to make sure everything goes well because his income is dependant only upon the gratuity a hunter gives him at the end of the hunt.  My guide was Marcos.

Marcos was probably early 50's, spoke little English, and what English he did speak was very plain, "good shot Dean, good shot" or "swing, swing, swing" when I would miss.   The only exception to that was when I was shooting parakeets he would call them "tweeties" in his own brand of humor.  Marcos could put shells into my shotgun faster than I could.  His fingers were bandaged to protect them from putting thousands of shells into my gun.  Without the shoulder pad I had purchased the trip would have been far tougher.  Ear protection, eye protection, shoulder protection were very important.  I don't know what company manufactured the ammo we used but I had only 1 misfire out of thousands of rounds.

When the birds come off the massive roosts in the morning it was truly a spectacular sight.   Argentina does a couple of things very well.   The country produces soybeans and corn.  They also don't tax the citizens to provide welfare for able-bodied Argentians.  You either work and eat or don't work and don't eat.  Sounds pretty simple.  The SWAMP could probably learn a thing or two in that regard from Argentina!

This picture is what it is all about but it just doesn't give the sheer immensity of the birds coming at you.  It seems like there is no end to the number of birds.  How many birds did I shoot?  Alot.  I don't know how many I shot.  The numbers don't matter to me, much like the score on a big deer I might shoot.  I don't care.   Getting your hand burned by touching a smoking hot barrel is always possible!  Marcos was non-stop and I was hammering!

I did enjoy pounding wild parakeets.  They fly at tremendous speed and have the acrobatic ability and speed of a hummingbird.   Farmers have a hard time with parakeets because they make their nests everywhere.  Here is a parakeet nest that disabled a windmill.

Here are some parakeets I was able to kill.

The head honcho of the show, Mr. Goldman has been in the game for 33 years.  He told me there are more birds now than when he started due to the agriculture methods providing more food for the birds.  When the shooting stops in the morning the raptors are moving in to feed on dead birds and the puma's (mountain lions) are coming in the evening to feed in dark of night.  Lion tracks are everywhere in Argentina.

One day the guides picked up our birds.  This is a pretty hefty pile and am not certain how many  birds were in this pile.  We had dove for supper and they were delicious.  The other days the birds were left in the field. Nobody it seems wants to clean and eat dove when Argentinian beef is so common. 

Would I do it again, yes.  Would I try to do find a place closer to home, yes.  Mexico has great dove shooting.  Next time I would probably want to do some waterfowl shooting along with the dove shooting.  I liked the opportunity to get into cool weather during the American summer and loved the opportunity the currency devaluation in Argentina provided. The U.S. dollar goes a long way in some places around the world.

One question I need answered is with the dozens of hawks and eagles that swoop into the fields after the daily shooting, and how much lead they must ingest day after day, why aren't all the raptors dead in the entire country?   We read about the effects of lead shot in America and Argentina seems to be growing populations of raptors with lead shot!!

I am fortunate to have gone on the trip and thankful for such good friends who made the memories and laughter so great.

And to Argentina, thank you too.  I hope one day you elect honest leadership and are able to become a South American powerhouse.  And to the doves of Argentina, may you continue your torrid pace of breeding and raising so many broods year after year.  It is truly unbelievable until you see it for yourself!      

             

NFL Wake Up.................

You graduated high school in 2011.  Your teenage years were a struggle.  You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.  Your mother was the leader of the family and worked tirelessly to keep a roof over your head and food on your plate.  Academics were a struggle for you and your grades were mediocre at best. The only thing that made you stand out is you weighed 225 lbs and could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds while carrying a football.  Your best friend was just like you, except he didn’t play football.  Instead of going to football practice after school, he went to work at McDonalds for minimum wage  You were recruited by all the big colleges and spent every weekend of your senior year making visits to universities where coaches and boosters tried to convince you their school was best.  They laid out the red carpet for you. Your best friend worked double shifts at Mickey D’s.  College was not an option for him.  On the day you signed with Big State University, your best friend signed paperwork with his Army recruiter.  You went to summer workouts.  He went to basic training.

You spent the next four years living in the athletic dorm, eating at the training table. You spent your Saturdays on the football field, cheered on by adoring fans.  Tutors attended to your every academic need.  You attended class when you felt like it. Sure, you worked hard.  You lifted weights, ran sprints, studied plays, and soon became one of the top football players in the country.  Your best friend was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. While you were in college, he deployed to Iraq once and Afghanistan twice.  He became a Sergeant and led a squad of 19 year old soldiers who grew up just like he did.  He shed his blood in Afghanistan and watched young American's give their lives, limbs, and innocence for the USA.

You went to the NFL combine and scored off the charts.  You hired an agent and waited for draft day.  You were drafted in the first round and your agent immediately went to work, ensuring that you received the most money possible. You signed for $16 million although you had never played a single down of professional football.  Your best friend re-enlisted in the Army for four more years. As a combat tested sergeant, he will be paid $32,000 per year.

You will drive a Ferrari on the streets of South Beach.  He will ride in the back of a Blackhawk helicopter with 10 other combat loaded soldiers.  You will sleep at the Ritz.  He will dig a hole in the ground and try to sleep.  You will “make it rain” in the club.  He will pray for rain as the temperature reaches 120 degrees.

On Sunday, you will run into a stadium as tens of thousands of fans cheer and yell your name.  For your best friend, there is little difference between Sunday and any other day of the week.  There are no adoring fans.  There are only people trying to kill him and his soldiers. Every now and then, he and his soldiers leave the front lines and “go to the rear” to rest.  He might be lucky enough to catch an NFL game on TV.  When the National Anthem plays and you take a knee, he will jump to his feet and salute the television.  While you protest the unfairness of life in the United States, he will give thanks to God that he has the honor of defending his great country.

To the players of the NFL:  We are the people who buy your tickets, watch you on TV, and wear your jerseys.  We anxiously wait for Sundays so we can cheer for you and marvel at your athleticism. Although we love to watch you play, we care little about your opinions until you offend us. You have the absolute right to express yourselves, but we have the absolute right to boycott you.  We have tolerated your drug use and DUIs, your domestic violence, and your vulgar displays of wealth  We should be ashamed for putting our admiration of your physical skills before what is morally right.  But now you have gone too far. You have insulted our flag, our country, our soldiers, our police officers, and our veterans. You are living the American dream, yet you disparage our great country.  I encourage all like minded Americans to boycott the NFL

National boycott of the NFL for Sunday November 11th, Veterans Day Weekend. Boycott all football telecasts, fans, ticket holders, stay away from attending any games, let them play to empty stadiums. Pass this post along to your friends and family. Honor our military, some of whom came home with the American Flag draped over their coffin.

Collusion 101

Glen Simpson lying under oath about when he first met Bruce Ohr passing to him foreign spy Christopher Steele's totally fabricated documents is not any sort of collusion or conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 presidential election however, Michael Flynn speaking to the Russian ambassador in his capacity as the newly appointed National Security Advisor is?  GMAFB