F.I.A.S.C.O.

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In F.I.A.S.C.O.: Blood in the Water on Wall Street, a former derivatives salesman offers a candid exposé of the trading floor at a major investment bank, revealing the harsh realities of complex financial products and the culture surrounding them. With a narrative style reminiscent of Michael Lewis, Frank Partnoy illustrates how the investment banking world has devolved into a ruthless environment where the mantra is "There’s blood in the water. Let’s go kill someone." Landing his dream job in Morgan Stanley’s Derivatives Products Group, Partnoy shares vivid character sketches and unsettling anecdotes from his fifteen months there. He describes how derivatives became a war-like business, driven by upper management and aggressive salesmen who reveled in exploiting clients. He demystifies derivatives, explaining how they were engineered to evade regulations, entice risky investments, and mask real dangers with misleading ratings. Partnoy recounts the record-breaking deal that netted Morgan Stanley $74.5 million by creating a derivative that erased significant losses for a Japanese firm. He highlights the bank's tactics to sell these products, often to unsuspecting investors. Through humor and moral outrage, Partnoy critiques the largely unregulated derivatives market, making this an essential read for anyone involved with pensions or mutual funds.