Shoot-out at Wall and Broad: a Wall Street Fable

"Shoot-Out at Wall And Broad" is a fable, but more fact than fiction, about a veteran activist money manger. An activist doesn't just take a position in a stock and passively wait until an anticipated scenario plays out and changes the value of his investment but instead writes the scenario and has a complete understanding of the realities of the business he is investing in. He is initially triggered into action on the short side by the follies, greeted enthusiastically by the herd on Wall Street, of an entrenched hereditary and incompetent management and then switches strategy completely when the stock collapses. His focus is on changing the strategy of a chastened management and, most importantly, of the market's perception of the stock. En route, he employs some old fashioned tape painting, option maneuvers, news "management," perception manipulation, and ingenious financial engineering. There is always someone on the other side of the trade, and the protagonist matches wits with other money mangers, hedge funds, market manipulators and underwriters. A story not for those who believe in the tooth fairy but for the pragmatist who believes that investing is sometimes a zero sum game.