Michael Ridpath - Free To Trade

I nodded. This guy is dangerous, I thought.

'But they won't let me do it,' Jack went on. 'If I buy more than one or two million they panic. I tell you, it makes it hard to make any decent money.'

So there was someone sensible, somewhere, controlling Jack.

'Are there any companies I should look out for tomorrow?'

'Yes, there is one I like. "Fairway." I think they have a good story.'

' "Fairway"?' I said. 'What do they do?'

'They make golf carts. You know, the little buggies you drive around golf courses.'

'I know. Thanks, I'll make sure I see them speak,' I said. We ate on in silence for a minute or two. 'Are your offices near here?' I asked.

'Pretty close. They are about ten miles away, downtown. But I'm staying at the hotel for the conference. It's a good opportunity to meet some of the other people involved in the business.'

'Do you have a big operation?' I asked.

'No, only two or three of us on the investment side. I make most of the trading decisions. But you don't really need a lot of people to throw around a lot of money.'

'We are a small operation too,' I said. Then I started angling, 'It would certainly be interesting to compare what you do to what we do. Although we live on different continents, I get the impression we have a similar outlook.'

Jack took the bait, 'Hey, when the conference is over, why don't I show you round. Could you spare a couple of hours?'

I smiled, 'Thank you. That will be very interesting. I look forward to it.'

Cash had been chatting away to the woman from Amalgamated Veterans Life. At first she had been very aloof, but she was slowly beginning to warm to Cash's charm. After half an hour or so, her laughter was ringing out to match Cash's.

I murmured to Cathy, 'Cash seems to be hitting it off with that woman. Why does she get the star treatment?'

'Amalgamated Veterans is one of the largest investors in the US,' Cathy said. 'Madeleine Jansen is the senior portfolio manager there. She decides what strategy to follow. When she changes her mind about a market, that market moves. She's supposed to be very good.'

'I see,' I said. 'But Amalgamated Veterans isn't one of Cash's clients, is it?'

'Precisely,' said Cathy. 'But, you never know, one day it might be. Cash likes to make sure he knows as many of the major investors as possible. When he moves back to the States, he will probably call her up to see how she is doing.'

'And what will the salesman from Bloomfield Weiss who covers her think of that?'

'That's Lloyd Harbin. He isn't here this evening. A perfect opportunity for Cash.'

I didn't say anything. I supposed stealing a client off one of your colleagues was nothing compared to stealing $20 million from one of your clients. I thought of Debbie Chater. But I couldn't tell Cathy my suspicions. I shook my head. 'Cash seems like a nasty piece of work to me.'

'I can see how you might think that,' said Cathy diplomatically. 'It's true some people don't like him, but he's not always that bad really.

'OK, I admit he can be untrustworthy, he does take advantage of his customers now and then, and he is a notorious thief of other people's clients. But I wouldn't say he is the devil personified.'

I shrugged.

'Oh no. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He's quite a softy. Wants everybody to love him. Even me. Although I grumble about him, he does stand up for me. A couple of months ago, they told me I wasn't getting a pay rise this year. I had worked hard and I deserved one. Cash threatened to resign unless they increased it. So they did. There aren't many bosses at Bloomfield Weiss who would do that for their staff.'

I was impressed by Cathy's loyalty, but I wasn't convinced. I let it drop.

Cash broke off his conversation and called over to us. 'Hey, Paul, I'm getting a complex here! First of all, you conspire with Jack. That makes me nervous. Two of my clients plotting against me. There are some awkward stories you two could share about me. And if that isn't enough, you start turning my very own partner against me.'

'Yeah, you had better look out Cash, Paul here has told me all your secrets,' Jack said.

This last comment made me distinctly uncomfortable. I knew Jack was joking, but did Cash? I looked carefully at Cash, but he just laughed. I could see no indication that he was concerned.

Waigel butted in. 'There are quite a few secrets about Cash I could tell you. Remember Sheryl Rosen?'

'Hey, Dick, be fair,' laughed Cash. 'That was a long time ago.'

'You two have known each other for a while?' I asked.

'Oh yes,' said Cash. 'We go back a long ways. We both grew up in the same neighbourhood. Dick was the smart one. Always top of the class. Columbia University, then Harvard Business School. I was just good at drinking beer and getting to know girls like Sheryl Rosen.'

'You should have seen his bar,' said Waigel. 'Full every night. Lots of kids having a great time. It's a shame you had to shut that down.'

'Was that near Tremont Avenue?' I asked as innocently as I could manage.

'Right round the corner,' said Cash. Waigel looked at me narrowly. I held his gaze for a second or two, doing my best to look innocent. I wasn't sure I succeeded. Waigel thought I was up to something; I would just have to make sure that I didn't give him any evidence to back up his suspicions.

Cash went back to his task of charming the woman from Amalgamated Veterans. Waigel turned to Cathy.

'Tell me, how do you like the conference?' he asked.

'Oh, it's fascinating,' she said. 'It's amazing how well a lot of these companies are run. Having piles of debt to service really seems to focus the mind.'

'Yes, there were some great companies talking today. Did you see Chem Castings. That was a deal I structured myself. Great management. That's a company that is really going places.'

I had seen Chem Castings's presentation. The management did seem to be competent, and the underlying business was a good one. But, thanks to the advice of its investment bankers Bloomfield Weiss, the company had taken on too much debt, and would struggle to meet even its next interest payment.

'Yes, I saw that one,' said Cathy.

'It's a shame we can't sell deals like that into Europe,' said Waigel. 'Why is that, I wonder?'

Cathy stiffened. She didn't say anything for a second or two. I could feel the tension rising beside me, and I focused on my plate, pretending to ignore it. 'I don't know,' she said, carefully. 'Our clients just don't seem to have any interest.'

'Of course it's very difficult to know whether it's the clients that lack interest or the salesmen,' said Waigel. He was chewing his steak noisily as he said this, staring defiantly at Cathy. The sweat shone under his thinly plastered hair. 'Selling that Chem Castings deal was very important to the firm. We were left with a block of bonds that lost us a bunch of money. If we had proper international distribution, we just wouldn't have had that problem.'

Cathy kept her cool. 'The problem is that most of our clients just don't like the risk of junk bonds. You can't force them to change their views.'

'You can't force them, but with a body like yours, you could sure as hell persuade them.' Waigel laughed as he said this, took a gulp of wine, and winked at me. I glowered back.

Cathy looked confused, unsure whether to take this as a joke or the insult it clearly was. In the end she smiled thinly.

'Aw, come on, what are you upset about?' said Waigel with a leer. 'A good-looking girl like you could sell anybody anything. I bet you have built great relationships with your clients. After an evening out with you, I'm sure I could be persuaded to take whatever you were selling.' He turned to me, with another wink. 'Am I right, or what?'

'Dick,' muttered Cathy through clenched teeth, 'remember there are clients here.'