10/16/2008

Wall Street Wiped out Too

A word or three about Wall Street bonus payouts. Many of the really big hitters got their bonus money in preferred stock in the same company they worked for. There were requirements that the shares could not be liquidated til the stock holder turned fifty then, and only then, could the stock be sold. Preferred stock in Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley and many other firms are worth zero. A commenter has opined that the stock was restricted common stock and not preferred. He is correct, but this post is about Many of the really big hitters got preferred and kept the interest payments every month. There are real tears on the street right now, many have seen their entire retirements and college funds wiped out. In other words, we are all in the same boat. It has been observed that the entire system just got a margin call. Let's hope that observation is untrue.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not preferred stock. It is restricted stock that you can't sell for a certain number of years and is not dependent on your age. I was ratfucked in Morgan Stanley stock. John Mack on tv today said that he has learned that leverage works both ways. Go figure!

Howard said...

My info comes from a pretty big executive at Merrill. While the main brokers get restricted stock the guys at the top received preferred and took the guaranteed returns every year.