Dinner with Jim Simons (well, along with 20 others)

Due to some incredibly good luck (cant delve details :)), I was invited to the post IAFE dinner/cocktails (and now why don't I carry a camera when I need it?). I had the good fortune of meeting some incredible folks - first off, of course, Jim Simons (who absolutely blew me away with his humorous and candid speech which he gave during the conference - oh, and what a refreshing personality - for some one who netted close to 1.6Billion (yes ..you read that correct) last year as part of his hedge fund!!), Mr. Richard Bookstaber (no pun on his last name), author of a new book on perils of financial innovation (which I had ordered a week ago on amazon), and other interesting hedge fund managers and IAFE directors. It was a great evening - especially, for a newbie like me!! Jim is definitely an inspiration for all aspiring FEs - in a way, he is like a modern day Buffet - someone who challenges the old paradigms and ushers in a new way of doing things. One bad thing - he doesn't believe in hiring anyone from Wall Street, just Scientists. Oh well :(

Earlier, the IAFE conference also featured interesting talks by Andrew Lo (MIT) on the psychology of trading (really interesting stuff) and some more talks on hedge funds. I had attended this conference last year as well , but I thought it was more well attended this year. I also ran into a bunch of MFEs, both from my class and previous batches.

Earlier (around 7.00 A.M.), I was struggling to find a suit for this conference (my movers have not yet brought my stuff). I was about to show up in my jeans..but with another stoke of good luck - a friend from the bay area who was traveling to NY told me he could lend me his formal clothes and shoes. I made a quick detour and presto - I was not embarrassed!!

and ...

I finally made the move - from sunny california to New York. I begin work in a few weeks - so right now have some time to settle in and get used to the new york - jersey accents.

WSJ had an interesting article on the whole subprime mess (subprime now sounds like a cuss-word, is it really that - or have investors simply over-reacted? Where is the value now..)
Subprime Business Now

Also, Monday features an interesting IAFE conference (yay!! I can actually attend those seminars now that I am in the city) - featuring the true giant of the field - Jim Simmons. I am looking forward to lecture..