UK
I’m going to retire before I’m 30.
I’m currently 25, and since graduating from Cambridge in 2004 I’ve already earned over 1m after tax, and have paid off the mortgage on a flat in South Kensington and country house in Surrey. Even in this new world we enter of deferred bonuses, lower payouts and tighter municipal regulation, I’m still absolutely convinced I’ll have retired within five years.
When I first said this last week in response to news that Marshall Wace’s Wasim Rehman is retiring aged 28, I was met with ridicule and claims that I’m either deluded or outright lying.
If you assume that I plan to retire based solely on what I’m earning as a good FX trader at a leading bulge bracket (ie a very healthy six-figure package), it may indeed seem unrealistic.
The truth is, however, that for every year since 2004 my day job in FX has only accounted for between 40% and 60% of my annual earnings. There are endless ways you can make good money on the side, and especially in this new environment of depressed payouts it’ll be necessary to be creative and innovative in sourcing other revenue streams. That is unless you’re (a) content to be dragging along slowly, working into your 40s or 50s with three decades of mortgage debt, (b) you strike gold as a hedge fund superstar or become a partner at Goldmans early on (even more unlikely in this new market).
Despite the banking world’s notorious longer hours, all of you have considerable free time. This might include face time in M&A where you’re not being wholly productive, the quieter periods in trading, or the evenings and weekends outside the office on the markets side.
Here are ten suggestions on how to use this free time to make a handsome income on top of your day job:
1. Invest your own money in financial markets
The resources at your disposal at work coupled with your interest in financial markets mean you should have confidence in your own ideas. Over 40% of my income last year came from short-selling US and UK banks and credit/real-estate related equities, just one of many ways to express my bearish macro views. Use your bank’s research, and peers in different areas (FX, credit, bonds, commodities, interest rates, equities etc) to get some insights, do your own research and get involved. Typically your compliance department may restrict you from instruments you’re directly involved in, and may impose minimum holding periods, but even so the opportunities to make good money here are enormous. Having this year already seen my five-figure investments in Citi and RBS provide a 100%+ return, I expect investing myself outside my day-job asset class (FX) to provide about half of my income.
2. Poker & sport betting
Especially if you’re a (good) trader, your knowledge of risk vs reward could aid some great strategies playing poker or betting on the horses. These sites will likely be restricted at work, so play internet poker in the evenings, head out to one of London’s many casinos on a Friday night, or quickly pop into the nearby Ladbrokes during your lunch break.
3. Real estate
I believe the second half of 2009 will provide the best opportunity in our lifetimes to invest in real estate. Enormous re-corrections whether in Central London, towns in the midlands or abroad whilst the rental demand remains buoyant as ever are creating the potential for eye-popping yields. Go buy a 3-bedroom house in Liverpool for 50k and rent it out for 1k/mth. Take out a mortgage on a London property and the rental income can easily be more than double the mortgage cost. Or, how about looking at the plethora liveable USA “distressed assets” going for the lower end of 5 figures. With any of this, I have absolutely no doubt on a 3, 5 or 10 year view you’ve made a great investment.
4. Tutor GCSE & A-level students
Hopefully your Maths should be pretty good, and especially if you’re fresh out of university you should have solid knowledge of your subject that will be sufficient to tutor A-Level students well. There are thousands of middle-class parents who’ll pay upwards of 25/hr for some tutoring to help ensure they make the grade. A friend of mine in credit sales does 5-on-1 tutoring each Saturday afternoon, making 300 for a three-hour session, effectively adding 16k to his basic salary for little effort.
5. Provide interview coaching
In a similar vein, you’re the ideal person to coach and advise students and graduates trying to break into banking how to do it, providing mock interviews and CV improvement tips. Oxbridge Investment Banking do this – if you’re able to take a lunch break you get 70 for chatting to a student for an hour. 20 each time to spend 20 minutes improving someone’s CV which you may be able to do from your desk. Similarly Oxbridge Applications will pay you nicely to coach students on how to pass university interviews. The best part of working for such firms is they are fully flexible – you only accept projects if you want, when you want, when the timing suits your busy schedule.
6. Events marketing
You have a huge network of university friends in London, and peers at your bank, who love a good night out in the capital. Three of my friends from Cambridge now in investment banking by day are involved in ‘Man Make Music’ Man Make Music, doing the DJ-ing and party promoting on the weekends. There’s enormous money to be made (easily thousands for a single big party) taking a cut of everyone’s entry fees and drink spends, and you of course can have a great time hosting an event.
7. Showcase your artwork or music
Many of you have excellent creative talents, all part of the very rounded CV that got you where you are. Two peers I know in FX are pianists, who have a regular slot playing at wine / jazz bars once a week as a handsome side-earner. Plenty more are DJs for weekend parties, whilst others are in bands occasionally having sizeable gigs. Or how about selling some of the excellent photos you took on your recent holiday to Bali or Mauritius (easy to do by setting up a simple website selling prints)? Or if you’re an artist there are plenty of avenues in London to showcase your work if you know the right people (who aren’t exactly hard to meet)? The opportunities are endless.
8. Create a Start-Up Company
Ever had a ‘genius’ idea for an invention? Particularly a service, something that seems simple and straightforward to implement which would make life easier but hasn’t been done? Why not go ahead and run with the idea.. half the people you see on BBC2′s Dragon’s Den have a full-time job and have been working on their project outside the office. There is a great community of London entrepreneurs, very approachable and keen on listening to ideas, and will help you seek business partners or provide funding if you really impress to get your idea off the ground. Many of you will know bankers involved in a side-project, who left the industry when they got their big break or had enough confidence their business/service would work.
9. eBay arbitrage
Buy low, sell high. I see plenty of traders with eBay taking up one of their 8 screens – often trying to spot a bargain (or relatively cheap product) they could then re-sell for more – World Cup, FA Cup final and sold-out music concerts are the obvious choices, but such trading is doable for artwork and music memorobilia, wine, collector’s items…
10. Leak stuff to the Press
I’ll save the most dangerous, far too risky (and downright stupid?) for most of you, until the end. Notice how every ‘internal’ employee memo from Ken Lewis and Vikram Pundit is in the New York Times an hour later? As are credible rumours about firing sprees the week before the axing on CNBC and Bloomberg. This is largely the work of bank employees in contact with journalists, normally for a triple figure (four figures if its exclusive, and good) fee each time. With the amount of salacious gossip you know and the press’ current obsession with bankers, there’s plenty of scope here. Needless to say to take care with the IT monitoring – perhaps save things to an external USB drive, send emails from Gmail on your iPhone, texts not from a company Blackberry, and don’t bother unless you don’t care about potentially losing your job, being blacklisted from any financial institution, and maybe getting sued. Just a thought for the more audacious.
Before you moan that these kind of ideas are unrealistic and unfeasible given the demands of your day job, just remember there’s plenty of bankers doing everything I’ve just mentioned without detriment to their careers or personal lives. In fact it can be very beneficial for the latter as you could be involved in the things in life you’re most passionate about, and with the art, music and events ideas you could meet some amazing people.
Just like my first article I may again be accused here of stating the bleeding obvious, but I hope this is useful in reiterating the endless opportunities you have out there to have a more fulfilled life if your real passion is outside finance, help get on the property ladder quicker, and not moan if your day-job bonuses never again match 2007 levels!
‘Henry’ graduated from Cambridge University in 2004, and is now a 25 year old Vice President working as an FX trader at a major investment bank. Some of that is not strictly true as he feebly attempts to retain his anonymity (after 6 friends have now figured out who he is), but he is very, very real. You can contact him at henry.efc@googlemail.com
Henry,
While your 10 ideas were actually interesting, the diatribe at the start of the article was defiantely an unneeded, unwarranted and unfortunate distraction.
Nobody other than you actually cares how much you earn.
You make me laugh so much with your stupidity…well done, I ll buy your coming book to read on the beach this summer. You ll get most of your money as a comedian, thats how you are going to retire before 30.
silly boy.
Henry, some of what you say is pretty good stuff. Thanks mate.
1 million flat and house…when was this written 1978…you Prat
‘Poker and Sport betting’….
Are you seriously suggesting this is a good way to make money?! Dear oh dear….
Perhaps Steve. Just it gives some context to the ideas – that they’re realistic, sensible, actually work if you want to get rich quick. For nearly everyone in this new world doing some of those will be essential if you want to make proper money especially early on.
I don’t care if there’s any critics of these piece – the ideas I’ve suggested are great and useful.
Henry mate – so much emphasis on money and then a ‘in your face’ attitude once you’ve earned some is typical MIDDLE class attitude.
As they say … you can take henry out of a council flat but you cant take a council flat out of ….
“1 million flat and house…when was this written 1978…you Prat”
1m easily gets you a nice 2 bed flat in South Kensington and a 3 bed house in Surrey. 2009. Prat.Are you seriously suggesting this is a good way to make money?! Dear oh dear….
“Are you seriously suggesting this is a good way to make money?! Dear oh dear….”
Most traders I know can make serious money on their casino/sport of expertise. Remember you’re competing against morons and should have some sort of edge with your experience.
‘Go buy a 3-bedroom house in Liverpool for 50k and rent it out for 1k/mth’
I agree with Max1. Comedy gold from Henry! A 50k house renting out for 1k a month. Have you ever visited Liverpool?!
I actually agree, do first three, though wouldn’t rely solely on bank’s research
and Henry I suggest you another source of income – writting articles for HELLO magazin ;)
‘Comedy’, you’d be surprised. That’s an actual quote. Take a look at some of the distressed assets going for bargains at auctions across the north. Decent properties going for 5 figures, which can be rentable out for a decent amount. 1k/mth in Liverpool is 77 per person per week – less if there’s a couple sharing a room. Not exactly unrealistic.
I have a friend who bought a 96k property in the midlands and is making 1,750 a month from it.
“so much emphasis on money and then a ‘in your face’ attitude once you’ve earned some is typical MIDDLE class attitude.”
Perhaps, that said all of my actual ‘upper class’ mates, the minor aristocrats etc, are very crass and in-yer-face with their cash.
If you look at Tatler, largely people in the ‘upper’ classes, it is incredible crass and tasteless about money these days…
Many of the nouveau riche are notorious about rubbing it in. I don’t blame them, they worked hard and deserve it.
My advice – look at bank’s research and then do the opposite. Never, but never follow the advice research departments.
Henry,
Which currencies should I be long / short at the moment?
Henry, hats off to you mate.
I would also agree with RussianCutie. You may want to include articles for magazines as such also, which would complete the list.
50,000 and rent for 1k per month?! Did you do any research Henry? Or are you just plain stupid.
Its more like 160,000 and rent 700 per month you dimwit.
Sadly London just wont move in price. I’m not seeing any of my flats in the docklands change much in value. I’d advise anyone who thinks about real estate to ignore London.
I’d also agree the stating your grounds(i.e your cash earnings) isn’t exactly tactful. Associates in failed German banks were pulling 400k bonus’s during the good times on a yearly basis, it makes me wonder what you are actually trying to convey.
why do you want to retire in mediocraty
taking your 3 bed semi and pokey flat in south ken, and your future earnings over the next 5 years – lets say at the top end you manage to save another 1.5 after tax – you will have net assets of 2.5,
as you seem to enjoy the high life, that kind of money would afford you a benidorm reitement, not as i would presume you aspire to, a monaco reirement. then again as an fx broker perhaps benidorm is really where your suited, so good luck and enjoy your long and pikey retirement
henry you are the reason why i wake up in the morning
You can try your hardest to stick up for bankers in the face of recent criticisms and then some posh, arrogant idiot with his head wedged firmly up his own bum comes along and writes this article, leaving you without a leg to stand on.
Henry, it’s considered extremely vulgar and the act of someone with absolutely no class whatsoever to actually say how much money you have earnt and you’ve clearly been pulling teeth trying to get 10 ideas up there. How the hell are you going to retire by 30 giving CV advice at 20 a pop? Investing in real estate and going to the bookies in your lunchbreak – priceless! I’m pretty surprised you left out: write a best-selling novel, start your own mafia crime family, and put everything you own on spurs not to get into the champions league.
Stick to the day job mate and leave the journalism to the professionals. And get over yourself
Henry, the incessant bragging about your earnings does mark you out to be fairy… common
its almost as if your self-esteem is so low that you have to constantly overcompensate by reassuring yourself about the size of your wallet in front of others
Henry. It is so encouraging to see there are people that stupid like you in the world. We need your total dumbness and inability to judge reality in order to rule better. Thank you.
How much are EFC paying you for these “articles”? – surely that should be tip number 11?
agree most of it was stating the obvious – but looking at the comments most readers leave on here – they really need some help with “the obvious”….
“How the hell are you going to retire by 30 giving CV advice at 20 a pop?”
Every little helps. Lots of those little things I do on the side, 20 here and there for 15-20 minutes work, all accumulate to be worth 40-60% of my annual income every year for the last few years.
And I couldn’t care less if its a societal norm that its apparantly crass to talk about money. That means you’re just following herd mentality instead of having your own mind. Things are changing too – especially in entrepreneur and private equity circles people are congratulated for ‘exiting’ depending on the acquisition value / money they personally pocket.
I agree with Henry – there should be nothing wrong with talking about money. Why is it acceptable for people to brag about their education, qualifications etc but not their resultant salary?
I really wish that salary & bonus was something we could be more open about. I’d love it if there was an option on your Facebook profile to put your salary & bonus. That would make it a lot easier for me to find a high quality wife!!
“50,000 and rent for 1k per month?! Did you do any research Henry? Or are you just plain stupid.
Its more like 160,000 and rent 700 per month you dimwit.”
160k and 700 rental? The landlord is being conned mate, haha.
Just asked some more people here – in London they make 2k/mth renting out 300k pads.
And my point was the distressed assets are knocked down – you’re getting a 110k place for 50k, yet the rental income is equiv to a 110k place.
77/person / wk for a 3 bed house in Liverpool = bullish but not unrealistic.
Along with betting and buying 50k houses in Liverpool you left out drug dealing, armed robbery and mugging little old ladies.
Whenever I think henry cant get any lower he writes an article like that highlighting what a horrible creature he really is.
So Henry you have bought a 3 bed house in Liverpool for 50k and rent it out for 1k a month then?!
No thought not. Great article though, really great.
Henry,
You are an inspiration to me.
It is a shame that your British counterparts have this awful jealous culture of contempt towards anyone striving to make it in life and anyone who is being a success.
Here in America things are very different. Write this article to an American audience and you’d get rapturous comments. People would congratulate you, say how you inspire them, “you GO man!!” etc.
Maybe you should move out to New York. You’d do pretty well as an Englishman in New York ;-)
Tutor A level students?!! I wouldnt trust you to walk my dog!
The vice president who is ALWAYS on Efinancialcareers posting away!
joker
@Heny…
when do you work, seeing that you’ve spent all day responding to these comments??
@ THE REST OF US:
Some people define themselves by the things around them and without those thing their life has no meaning. Henry defines himself by his degree, his assets and earnings. Take them away he is nothing… So deep down he maybe trying to fill a void that non of these will ever fill…
Amassing all the wealth and asset and retiring at 30 still will not make you happy.
There is only one true way to finding happiness… contact me and I can show you.
Henry,
Is this really you writing the article? And are those your comments? The whole tone seems a little more wordy and less inflammatory than your comments to the articles of others.
Bargains abound in Docklands! A friend bought repo’ed 2 bedder for 305k. Orginally sold for 560k in 2004.
So much for shrewd business mind on this forum. Most are sheep…We all know what happens to sheep… THEY GET SLAUGHTERED!
“@Heny…
when do you work, seeing that you’ve spent all day responding to these comments?? ”
I’ve been at work 6.5hrs, and spent less about 15 on this site today writing comments. Yet another stupid assertion from stupid people that I must spend “all day” on here and do no work. Christ.
Observer,
Most of the comments from ‘Henry’ on other people’s articles are other people purporting to be me, the original Henry..
Charlotte,
Would these Americans who would cheer Henrys money making schemes be the same ones who took out mortgages they couldnt pay back?!
The absolute easiest money I ever made was through university textbooks. You get the course list during the summer, ring the professors and ask for the reading list then scoop up the textbooks on ebay and sell them to friends in September with a little profit.
You can probably making a career selling only 2nd hand copies of Hull’s Options, Futures and Derivatives.
Damien,
Yes I made an enormous profit at university doing 2nd hand books arbitrage! Blackwells in Cambridge would pay 40% the RRP for your 2nd hand books. I found plenty on Amazon & eBay that were cheaper than that, so bought them up and sold them on. Made almost 1k/wk for a bit with some of the more pricey textbooks :-)
ARBITRAGE WINS PRIZES.
As a Cambridge graduate, it makes me sad to think my alma mater could produce such a pathetic specimen as this man, who is using his world class education in such a menial job as trading FX, and who spends his free time on ebay and in Ladbrokes. What a waste.
I do love the way you call anyone who doesn’t agree with you ‘stupid’, Henry
is this the only way you can justify anyone disagreeing with you? that, and your constant need to reassure yourself about the size of your wallet, suggests a very emotionally fragile, weak person
look up ‘narcissistic personality disorder’, it describes you very well
Henry, finally you’ve said a lot of things quite right. Now if only you could grow up, respect the people around you (including the elderly) and not be so arrogant, maybe the rest of the community might respect you.
I know a guy who’s in his late 20s, a billionaire entrepreneur in Karachi of all places, the most modest and helpful guy you’ll meet. Is that too much for your childish brain?
“Blackwells in Cambridge would pay 40% the RRP for your 2nd hand books”. Oh no, you’ve been caught out. There is no Blackwells in Cambridge, Henry. This is a relief to me as it means you must have gone to one of the lesser universities. Which is a relief to me.
I quite like this article…..it is strangely inspirational….I honestly thought from Henrys comments that he pretty much got everything handed to him because of his background….but I think he has shown he has hustled and stretched his skills to earn what he earns…..
Tony,
you hit the nail right on the head. What makes Oxford and Cambridge really world class is that the education received, no matter what subject, empowers and encourages you to open your mind to possibilities. Henry’s mind, I suspect, was already closed before he got there and Cambridge was just a box to be ticked. Yes indeed what a waste.
Tony,
Ha! I see what you did there! Completely miss out the tutoring, interview coaching, artwork, music, photography, entrepreneurship I mentioned, and focus on the three things you deem to be ‘unclassy’.
What, Tony, should I be doing with my life, instead of my “menial” job where I analyze / interpret macroeconomics (yes, that’s what FX trading is a proxy for)? What do you do with your life that’s so much less a “waste”? Does it contribute to the economy / society what I do? (Even with the lesser taxes I pay via loopholes, its still 6 figures that help pay for Goodwin’s pension).
I think Henry is spot on in what he does. If you live under a capitalist economy, this is the way. All of you moaning about knows the guy is a winner ..
“Oh no, you’ve been caught out. There is no Blackwells in Cambridge, Henry. This is a relief to me as it means you must have gone to one of the lesser universities. Which is a relief to me.”
Yes there is Tony. In fact 8 or 9 of them. In Cambridge they’re known as Heffers, part of the Blackwells group.
“look up ‘narcissistic personality disorder’, it describes you very well” – it does entirely JC, and what’s your point?
Being a narcissist means I feel very happy, euphoric, nearly all the time. Its also helped monumentally in getting ahead.
I don’t see why being a narcissist is a problem. You lot can all call me a ‘loser’, ‘sad’, a ‘waste’, whatever you want, its irrelevant because I’m so euphoric. I walk to and from work with a big grin / bit of a smug laugh. Because life is so awesome. Better to have it this way than self-deprecating, down and moping like half this idiot nation.
Henry, I obviously have no need to justify myself to you, but I work for a fund in Asia. I do apologise for neglecting to praise these various other Delboy scams you have going on, they all sound most excellent. I’m also sorry for saying your job is menial, all the lengthy conversations I had had about macroeconomics with the plucky barrow bows at my previous investment bank employer had temporarily escaped my mind. I think we all know that spot fx trading (I presume that’s what you do) has about as much to do with macroeconomics as predicting heads and tails.
How much do you expect to earn in 5 years that you will retire.
Can you give me a general breakdown of what one can earn as a analyst, associate and VP. Base + Bonus
Idea 11
be an opportunistic litigant
or fund R&D AND importantly hold patent patent rights
Henry
Yes Henry, I am aware that Heffers is owned by Blackwells. You would never call them them “Blackwells” if you had been there, that’s like saying I drive a Volkswagen, when in fact I own a Seat. It’s quite clear you are a moron and you didn’t go to Cambridge. Please pipe down.
Tony,
You sound absolutely pathetic. That someone went to a “lesser” university because it wasn’t Cambridge???? That someone is a “waste” if they get a job at a prestigious multinational blue-chip? What an idiotic snob.
Why is this clown given any space here at all?
Utter drivle.
a trademark of the narcissistic disorder is a deep-seated emotional weakness underlying the overcompensating hubris
so, Henry, at least you’ll be able to afford some top-class psychiatric treatment when your little narcissistic fantasy bubble bursts
Henry, what college did you go to at cambridge?
Tony,
True – I said Blackwells because when writing I was thinking a name everyone would be familiar with + Blackwells/Heffers interchangeable for book trading etc.
Exotics trader, btw. And no, you can’t be a successful spot trader especially in this market if you’re a coin-flipper.
Bob,
No I won’t provide base+bonus figures. Because I will, as usual, be laughed at being told I’m delusional and making things up, when I give actual numbers by this forum of back-office and 2nd-tier cretins.
@ Daljit Singh – you wish you could post your comp details on facebook so that you could find a good wife??
Nice one mate. Let us know how that one works out for you!
@ Daljit Singh
Yep I agree with Paul. Im sure she wouldnt be with you for your money!
I just spent 5 minutes reading all these comments. Commical stuff. Both sides (The crowd and Henry) coming out with some very ackward points of view.
We should all have a beverage in the tipperary and discuss this in further detail.
One big source of ‘income’ henry missed out on is referrals. I made over 20k simply by knowing people who were capable for numerous years.
I laughed reading the article. I wonder if this “Henry” guy has even left university yet! But it was entertaining to read…
Oxblue
‘but I think he has shown he has hustled and stretched his skills to earn what he earns…..’
No I think Henry was bullied at school, had his dinner money taken off him every day by bigger boys/girls and now feels he has to prove that hes not really pathetic by boasting about his salary and spending his spare time in ladbrokes with his ‘friends’
Of course Paul. Perhaps you do not know my culture – the ‘biodata’ which will determine the quality of your wife are your caste, educational background, occupation etc. They can only guess my pay from my job title and always underestimate because of the secrecy of bonuses. If they knew the truth the quality would be considerably higher.
There is no good reason why salary is kept so secretive.
‘I walk to and from work with a big grin / bit of a smug laugh. Because life is so awesome. Better to have it this way than self-deprecating, down and moping like half this idiot nation’
Only half this nation are idiots Henry? I thought it you have have come up with a much higher figure based on all your worldly experience
Daljit Singh
Are you trying to be more pathetic than Henry? You are making a good job of it so far
“And I couldn’t care less if its a societal norm that its apparantly crass to talk about money. That means you’re just following herd mentality instead of having your own mind”
I don’t think conforming to ‘societal norms’ such as class and good manners is following a herd mentatlity – conventions exist for the reason that they have been developed over time to reflect the wisdom of the ages. But clearly given that the sun shines out of your preverbial Henry, you ultimately know best
…yes, some of Henry’s 10 points are a bit more outlandish than others…however,overall he makes a good point: there is no sensible reason why one should rely only on 1 source of revenue stream. its just most people don’t think beyond there 4 walls and brand someone else as purely money-driven if he thinks beyond conventional boundaries. Yes,Henry is proud of his achievement, and he has every reason to be. Rather than taking a cheap shot, go out and make a constructive contribution…the thread is excellent opportunity for exchanging and brain storming on feasible opportunities. Then again I forgot most people are driven by jealous…and forget that not everyone is in here to win the “nicest guy in town” trophy
Thx for the effort Henry…
Henry, I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of spare time for socialising with friends, spending time with your family or trying to pursue a meaningful relationship given you spend every waking moment trying to increase your bank balance 20 at a time through the most menial of tasks. Or could it be that you are emotionally retarded and relentlessly pursue wealth as a distraction.
If Henry was the bigshot he thinks he is surely he wouldnt need to supplement his income by spending his spare time in Ladbrokes?
“Henry, I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of spare time for socialising with friends, spending time with your family or trying to pursue a meaningful relationship given you spend every waking moment trying to increase your bank balance 20 at a time through the most menial of tasks. ”
I spend as much time socialising as any other Londoner. Probably more than average.
I increase my bank balance 20 a time during working hours. I do lots of the things in the article during my working hours. Pretty efficient and productive multi-tasking, no?
The most pathetic thing I’ve seen from all the idiocy on this site is people who seem to assume that I must have no life / too much time on my hands / can’t be a banker because of things I do which take very little time, and at zero detriment to fulfilling other responsibilities.
Equityspirit: Henry in a recent posting told the world how proud he was of sending out fraudulent emails & making false phone calls to ensure his rival interviewees would miss the boat for his graduate class.
Do you really think such behaviour is something to be proud of?
“quickly pop into the nearby Ladbrokes during your lunch break” = “spending his spare time in Ladbrokes”….??
Scumshouldknowitsplacenomatterhowrich,
I didn’t. There are a dozen people pretending to be ‘Henry’. Indeed someone on that page picked up that the tone/wit was completely different from the original Henry.
Yes, silly me Henry you must be outrageously good company on a night out.
@scumshouldknowetc.
I did not read that…its possible he did that, which demonstrates lack of character and maturity but also lot of drive & ambition.
Anyway I only judge this article which makes an interesting contribution. I challenge any of the flamers to write their own article on eFC for the benefit of others before putting someonelse down…
Clearly those people questioning Henry’s social life, time, etc. have NO IDEA about Trading or the world of Finance in general.
Depending on the type of trader you are…you can sit a whole week(s) in the office and not execute a single trade! i.e. have massive amounts of time on your hands which is normally spend studying macro economic trends, etc….that can get a bit one-sided over time, so its only natural that one also looks for other challenges (maybe even making money on the side during work hours)….no big deal!
Well, I am a recent Cambridge graduate also working in the City, and It’s disappointing to see someone who went to the same university as me behaving in such an ostentatious and arrogant way; not everyone in the world is as capable as Oxbridge students, and since they abolished grammar schools for in most parts of the country your chances in life are determined more by your parents than ever before.
Some of what Henry says is valid, but there is no need for the ‘in your face’ attitude of ‘look at me, I’m 25 and have earnt so much money’. You may well have, Henry, but arguably a nurse or a teacher makes a much more valuable contribution to society. And yes, ok, so you pay lots of money in tax which can be spent on schools and hospitals, but just be a bit less arrogant and a bit more humble.
I agree with Henry on this one, he is truly inspiring. This is the American way finding oppurtunities to make money. It sounds like a drop in the ocean but cummulatively will get you there. The liverpool property advice is real as I am making enough money from the rent to pay the mortgage. We need more business advice from the likes of him. No one gets very rich from 9 to 5.
Henry… get a life!
what college did you go to Henry?
Daniel San,
What does “get a life” even mean? People use that insult to people who have lives. I’m sure from what I read that Henry has an excellent life. A job he loves and surely a fun lifestyle as a young rich banker. I’m sure his life is “got” better than yours.
Henry, are you few and far between or are there many other guys of your calibre around in the banks?
I don’t see anything wrong with the starting bragging about his wealth.
Take a look at http://www.TheRichJerk.com
Just saying the facts like that gives you credibility and inspires people to follow suit.
Except oh I forgot, this forum is full of sad, jealous people that epitomize the United Kingdom rather than where I am people would be inspired. No wonder my country is much more advanced than the UK.
“just be a bit less arrogant and a bit more humble.”
Arrogance means having an inflated opinion of oneself. Mine is not inflated or delusional, it is the real deal – I’m as good as I say I am. How many 25yos have earnt over 1m? Barely any, even with my background / cards in life. Therefore in person I’m widely considered confident but never arrogant.
And being ‘humble’ is pointless, it never gets anyone anywhere. My extreme confidence is has what’s got me places both in business and personal life.
Henry I applaud u buddy. I`m 28 and in rates sales .. I`ve only managed to buy 1 property to date in w.london .. All what u say above is spot on
I was at Selwyn. Too many losers who’ve achieved nothing with their lives, with hindsight would’ve picked somewhere else.
Henry, the majority of what you’ve written is complete rubbish, why don’t you just admit that you’re really a recruitment consultant, who never went to Cambridge (for God’s sake you won’t even name the college/or what you studied), and that you are some sort of perverse fantasist. If you retire at 30 mate, I would eat my hat. Let’s hope the men in white coats come and take you away real soon…Liar, liar.
My plan is to set up a mortgage brokerage that targets those that are economically disadvantaged.
It is outrageous that, in a modern democrarcy, people earning an average salary (35k) cannot affford proper homes. It is their RIGHT to have a home
Liverpool resi at a 20% yield is enticing but not a complete bargin.
The tenant default risk is much higher than prime London, and unlike prime commercial, resi is exposed via short leases to deflation.
If you can acquire development sites at a good price, you would see a better risk adjusted return. Though always remember that the intrinsic value of land is ofter zero. Something that many bankers forgot.
Your often far better off dealing with banks in an off market manor rather than trying to buy assets at auctions. There’s still money to be made in providing banks with Basel II effecient structures. You can easily look to warehouse assets on your balance sheet and carve out a free option for yourself.
Don’t fancy Ladbrokes, though I once had a very pleasing run of investing in a friend who arbitraged the bookies with betfair. However, as Betfair became more popular the opportunities dwindled
DCB, what are you on about?!?
Denisha,
I did not mean to sound mocking, in fact it’s not my style, if u’ve read my other comments.
It’s just this guy attitude of “oh, I earn THIS much money and you are all so stupid because it is THIS easy”. Instead, if Henry would be happy, mature and satisfied enough with what he’s done, he would never write like this.
This is what I meant by getting a life. Get some travel to emerging countries, meet some people from outside Banking, get a girlfriend, and let failures and experience bring you some maturity, modesty and respect for others.
lol @ daniel san!
Dude, this doesnt apply to people like us ..!!! We dont have to travel to emerging countries or meet with ‘people’ outside of banking, or get a girlfriend,. We dont have failures either!!!
Come on man, get a life!
“This is what I meant by getting a life. Get some travel to emerging countries, meet some people from outside Banking, get a girlfriend”
I’ve done/have all of that.
“let failures and experience bring you some maturity, modesty and respect for others.”
I haven’t had failures. An amazing win rate as a trader. Hence my modesty and respect for others deteriorates as time goes by.
If you need a friend, get a dog ..
I can see that, dude. Quite sad
Henry did that, he travelled to Thailand to get a girlfriend.
You think you have achieved Henry but alot of us think you are a failure, in common decency if nothing else
This thread has been brought to my attention my public relations officer
Quite frankly Henry, all you are doing is giving us a bad name!
As we speak I have IT trawling through our users to see who is posting on EFC – and I will find out who you are and aim to put a stop to this ludicrous behaviour
Henry’s Boss, shut up
Henry, you remind me of myself.
We may even have crossed paths as I am friends with the Man Make guys. Good work. Keep it up.
There’s not many people who can make a million before 30 and if you can then well done !
Rehman at Marshall Wace was a partner purely for tax reasons and certainly would not have had substantial shares in the company.
He was retiring from finance not from work, and I doubt he made a huge amount this year anyway. I would suggest the reason for his retirement would be the 19% draw down on the flag ship fund or the fact that the firms assets under management has halfed in a single year.
I love the way journalists make a story want they want, this guy has made so much money he never has to work again, if you look at the facts this is probably not the case.
If Henry does work for GS in FX , he must be trading prop and every prop trader I know barely has time for lunch let alone posting on EFC. The volatility in FX at the moment is astonishing so god knows how you manage to trade and post on EFC !
A few years ago GS only employed 60 odd prop traders worldwide out of 20,000 staff, Henry must be one of those few ?????
I just looked at my Gmail inbox (address given above) which is flooded with emails.
I have emails from some very successful CEOs, a couple of millionaires most of you will have heard from, all saying they loved the article, I’m exactly spot on. Meanwhile I have losers in 30k jobs voicing their contempt.
Speaks volumes, I think.
Ha. Selwyn? It all becomes so very, very clear.
As entertaining it is to read everybody’s 5cents – I don’t see what is so horrific about the idea of finding other ways to make money outside of primary employment. All those Cambridge grads in their ivory towers – did you all never have a tutor, or pay the 20quid for help in your entry applications??
I may find Henry as obnoxious at times as anyone else, and I wonder what he plans to do with the rest of his life if retires at 30. You remind me of my ex, who whilst a real IB VP at 25, and then hedge funder having graduated Ivy League magma cum-lade despite coming from a family with nothing, still remained un-satisfied and insecure, completely intolerant of ‘regular people’ or anyone who chose a different path.
But thats no reason to not be entrepreneurial and follow your own dream – and hey, if you are liable to be canned in the next year (and who really can say they might not), the extra income will come in handy. Then again if every trader in town was up late playing online poker – there wouldn’t be so many “morons” as henry puts it to win money from……no, hang on….!
I had a cat called Hennnnrrrryyyyy!
So you are friends with the ManMakMusic DJ’s….are you really friends because they are nice, down to earth, humble guys despite being extremely bright….
You on the other hand are a complete tool…..clearly lying when you say 6 friends have discovered who you are as I cant imagine you have a single one. Friend that is, with your obnoxious and patronizing manner that seems to make you think that you are superior to all othwers because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and are earning a nice wage.
I am friends with guys that are your age, earning way more than you at top HF’s and banks but retain a sense of humility and class that TRULY talented people have that means others are happy for their success. I honestly cannot imagine anyone would feel the same about you.
Apart from the idea of investing in financial markets yourself….which should be obvious to anyone in a markets related role, a bonus earning 0% in the bank and any sort of passion for what they do, there is nothing that really jumps out in your article as a way of retiring by 30 rather than earning some pocket money!
F*** OXBRIGDE its all about LSE