“...who in many cases were frankly pretty average...”

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman tells it like it really is:

“There are a fair number of the senior folks who actually believe they are uniquely qualified on all issues relating to finance,” Gorman said [Monday] at a conference in New York. “As we saw, it’s just not true.”

Gorman, speaking at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conference, said some individuals “who in many cases were frankly pretty average” made as much as 10 times that of people in other industries during the financial crisis.

It is sad but so true that not only were individuals in these positions making that much more than peers in other industries, they accounted for a large percentage of the salaries at their own firms as well. Adding insult to injury, when the market nearly collapsed, the ensuing layoffs were not people at these levels but rather the lower level clerks and assistants that made a fraction of these "heroes" (as Gorman called them.) That is the greatest shame of all.



Personal Disclaimer: I am currently employed in a consulting assignment at Morgan Stanley. The opinions expressed above and on this blog overall are solely my own, unless I explicitly state that it is someone else's opinion, such as when I quote a columnist or another blog.