Wall Street’s Burbs
Connecticut has many nicknames, including The Nutmeg State. But nutmegs are native to the east Indies, not New England.
Nutmegs powered Connecticut’s economy long before hedge funds, although they both can carry shady connotations:
But some say sly Yankee peddlers sold people WOODEN nutmegs, not real nutmegs. So a Nutmegger might be a shrewd and slippery character, a kind of colonial con artist. If this story is true, the Nutmegger nickname is pretty insulting. CT nicknames
For better or worse, hedge funds drive commerce in Fairfield County today. Perhaps someday Connecticut will be associated with paunchy, balding white dudes. Like this guy...
Addison A. Armstrong, manager of exchange-traded markets at TFS Energy, an energy and energy-related brokerage firm in Stamford, said the attraction of Connecticut for financial firms is obvious.
"What generally happens is that Wall Streeters grow up. They have families, they have children," he said. "They've grown up elsewhere and are not necessarily equipped to live in Manhattan. Southern Connecticut looks good."
Connecticut is likely a strong buy, as the state accounts for the lion’s share of growth in the securities industry this decade…
Hedge fund growth is fueling a striking increase in the number of investment jobs in Connecticut, state officials report.
The number of jobs in Connecticut, long a magnet for the investment industry because of its proximity to New York’s financial markets, tripled between 1990 and this year, according to a recent state labor report.
Investment jobs are few, totaling 21,000 in January, compared with 7,000 in 1990, according to the Connecticut Economic Digest, published by the Department of Labor and Department of Economic and Community Development. Employment in Connecticut totaled 1.69 million in January, the most recent month for which statistics are available.
Some of the new jobs came when the financial services firm UBS moved to Stamford in the late 1990s. But nearly half of the total jobs - about 10,000 - are in hedge funds and private equity firms. AP
Lots of money. And no decent restaurants. Go figure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of underthecounter. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Comments:
Next entry: Spotted in the Hamptons
Previous entry: Wall Street Compensation
