Years ago, a successful friend of mine was telling me stories about his early Wall Street interviews with a big-name investing house. One stood out to me. The question:
If you had to invest $1,000,000 for a client, and your had only two choices, which would you choose? (A) “Invest” the whole $1,000,000 on red or black at the roulette wheel. (B) “Invest” on red or black $1000 at a time, one thousand times.
My friend said he knew the right answer, to that question and most of the others. I believe he was offered this particular job, but declined it in lieu of better offers elsewhere. Anyhow, he asked what my answer would be.
I said (B). If single zero roulette, the client can expect to lose on 1/37 (about 2.7%); if double zero, 2/38 or about 5.3%. My friend said, sorry, wrong answer. If you lose money for a high-net-worth client, even 2.7%, they are likely to be disappointed and take their business elsewhere. If you double their money, a roughly 50/50 proposition, you will have an ecstatic client who will stick their $2,000,000 with you for years. If you lose their whole $1,000,000 they will be disappointed and walk away, but “them’s the breaks.”
This story resonates with me to this day. This is an absurd question from a financial standpoint, but it is a powerful question on ethics. The business rationale behind answer (A) is valid. However, I chose to work for a company where the correct answer is (B).
Balhiser Financial 