Over the past week, lots of people have called and emailed me to ask what’s causing the crisis in the markets. It’s simple: Arrogance.
Arrogance is what has brought extremely powerful Wall Street firms to their knees, wiped out billions of dollars in assets, and lost thousands of people their jobs. It is arrogance that is the root of the crisis in the credit markets, what has caused all of this havoc over the last few weeks, and what will probably cause it to happen again sometime in the future.
As I wrote last week, there was so much news and information being thrown at me that my head was spinning. Well, I’m pleased to say that spinning has stopped. Just like the cause of today’s troubles, the solution was simple: Turn it off.
The TV is off, I’ve cancelled my newspapers, and I’ve stopped surfing the web trying to figure out what is going on, what happened and what is going to happen. I have made my life much simpler and I love it.
Things are starting to get back on track and as we slowly make our way through the weeds, as we end of one of the most treacherous, tortuous and tumultuous weeks ever to hit Wall Street, there is one thing that we’ve learned. What we have learned is that the sun will always rise, and there’s still going to be a line at the Lincoln Tunnel during rush hour.
So, here’s what I think you should be doing and thinking about if you’re thinking about during the next few weeks: Nothing. Don’t do a thing. Relax. Take a breath. Go outside for a run. Play with your kids if you have some. Try to make some if you don’t. Just try to enjoy yourself. Because tomorrow is going to come and things will get better. The tide is going to turn and you need to be ready.
Hang in there, stay focused, pay attention and remain calm. The times they are a changin’. It may take some time, but change will occur and all will once again be right on Wall Street and Main Street.
In other news, we finished HedgeAnswers this week. It was quite interesting and a lot of fun. The roundtable discussions were engaging, and panelists provided thought-provoking strategies for creating and launching hedge funds both here and abroad. If you didn’t attend this year’s events, look for information about HedgeAnswers 2009 some time after the first of the year and get the dates on your calendar so you don’t miss these great programs.