Since the 1970s, the National Rifle Association has bandied about its clever slogan:
“Guns don’t kill people – people kill people.”
Depending upon your view-point, this catchphrase is either woefully irresponsible or quite profound.
For instance, British comedian Eddie Izzard added to the NRA’s adage when he said: “The National Rifle Association says that guns don’t kill people, people do. But I think the guns help.” [1]
The Wall Psychologist’s Gyroscope is intended to inspire you to consistently seek clarity across the murky landscape that is the financial services industry. Not everything is as it appears.
Borrowing liberally from our friends at the NRA, I advise my patients:
“Hedge funds don’t crush markets – irresponsible narcissistic financial psychopaths crush markets.”
As with a gun, a hedge fund can be manipulated by sinister forces to inflict great harm. Yet, hedge funds are not inherently evil. Sure, from the outside looking in, it is difficult to not despise these outsized gains and oft offensive displays of ridiculous wealth. Though, to be human is to be jealous.
The key to assembling your Gyroscope is objectivity and balance, appreciating all the uses of the gun and how it can be used as a vehicle for prosperity or twisted into a weapon of malice.
[1] In his HBO special Dress To Kill (1999)