How bad is it on Wall Street? Like no more third home in Hawaii bad
Wall Street used to be brazen about its spending. Traders would spend large amounts of money to attain or maintain a certain social status. It was like “Keeping up with the Paul Tudor Joneses.”
But there’s been a shift happening over the last decade. I did an informal poll of 50 Wall Street professionals and the collective response was that spending habits have changed.
“There’s a lot less peacocking going on these days,” said Rick, a hedge-fund trader. (Peacocking, as in strutting your stuff like a peacock.)
There are several reasons for the change: 1) The average Wall Street bonus fell 9 percent in 2015 to the lowest level in three years, according to an annual report by the New York State Comptroller, 2) Fear of job security, 3) Fear of a downshift in the economy and 4) “Street shame”—the idea that, in an economic downturn when people are suffering, it’s shameful to be openly extravagant.
