Charlie Gasparino: The Gallantly Raucous Wall Street Cop

I had the pleasure of attending Take Stock Texas where the irascible Charlie Gasparino was the featured speaker during the the day-long event. Ok, maybe irascible is a little strong. It’s just that everytime I watch him on CNBC, and especially after hearing him speak today, I get the feeling he’s like a short-tempered mob boss ready to whack somebody at a moment’s notice. I think maybe I watch too many movies. I might mention that Mr. Gasparino was tame compared to last year’s speaker, Jim Cramer. Either way, I thought it was entertaining to watch the ultra-conservative San Antonio assembly cringe as Charlie delivered his irreverent views of the type of people he investigates…and repeated use of the word “Jesus!” in a largely Catholic city.

Now that I’ve made CG seem like a completely insensitive hard-ass, I must say that I really enjoyed listening to him. You can understand the root of his exasperation toward Wall Street’s bad guys. His mother was convinced by a “motivated” broker to buy a stake in the NetNet Fund, which ended up hitting rock bottom in the wake of the 90s dot-com debacle.

His intention today wasn’t to exploit the past performance of mutual funds gone awry, but to inform investors - from unsophisticated to educated - of how brokers make money, and to understand the culture of The Street and how it motivates those brokers. He analogized the stock market to watching porno…a guilty pleasure of sorts (I wish I could have seen the look on the MC’s face). He went on to give examples of how an average investor could misinterpret one’s personality. One example was of a former sheetmetal broker that likes to light cigars with a blowtorch and refer to his compitition as “Goldman Sucks”. He is referring to Bear Stearns CEO, Jim Cayne. Of course, he mentioned Dick Grasso, who is the subject of his upcoming book King of the Club: Richard Grasso and the Survival of the New York Stock Exchange. Dick Grasso was at one time hailed a hero for his efforts in reopening the New York Stock Excahnge (NYSE) shortly after 9/11. Grosso later became the poster child for deceit when they found he had stashed away a pay package worth $187.5 million. Gasparino maintains a level of esteem for Grosso and contends that he’s a good person that happened to “screw up”. While Grosso didn’t steal the money, most would probably agree that he didn’t deserve that much either.

Those of you that have seen him on CNBC and have followed him closely would have appreciated the speech. If you’re still unfamiliar with CG, consider his first book, Blood on the Street: The Sensational Inside Story of How Wall Street Analysts Duped a Generation of Investors.

Other recommendations:

• The Informant: A True Story, by Kurt Eichenwald.
• Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
• Serpent on the Rock, by Kurt Eichenwald
• Does Your Broker Owe You Money, by Daniel R. Solin

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