Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Opium

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan in stately pleasure palace doth decree...wait, not that kind of opium...
Today was sort of surreal. I went to law school, hypothectically, to get out of the investments game. Instead, I find myself in a meeting with a couple of hedge fund managers discussing a deal where they invest a boatload of money into a condominium project at the beach.
It reminded me of what bothered me in my previous career - that is "Other People's Money", or OPM. Life is so much simpler when you are dealing in OPM. It is addictive like the drug. Want to buy a BBB-rated tranche within a CDO, that's great, so long as you are playing with OPM. How about a business loan for a children's clothing store so that your wife has something to dabble in during her free time. It's fine, so long as it is funded with OPM.
Deja vu passed and I returned to reality, myself hooked on OPM. How can a beach condo deal look bad when it is only OPM?

2 comments:

  1. I would like some of that too. OPM. i like the sound of that OPM

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