From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 23, 2011 at 5:20 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Sixteen
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Mr. Cohen,
A happy holidays to you from Dixie! I must say, the only drawback to coming down to Charleston is the necessity to switch planes in Philadelphia. For the birthplace of the Republic, that airport and city in general have truly fallen from grace. That said, I was seated next to a particularly attractive girl who happened to have gone to Dartmouth. Small world, isn’t it? She did not happen to know you (being a graduate of the Class of 2008), but she said she may have known some of your teammates on the lacrosse team. I was a little disappointed when she revealed that she was currently in Teach for America and had little good to say about the financial world. I would have thought that someone with her pedigree would have been a little more open-minded, but I could have swapped her out with any of the talking heads on MSNBC without noticing a difference. It only reminded me that minds like yours and mine are rare. It would be a true shame if we were not able to connect at some point to exchange ideas and insights in a mutually beneficial manner.
I realize that I am now at the halfway mark of my month-long journey to convince you that I will provide sufficient value as to merit an interview with ——- Financial LLC. I imagine that my messages have become something like an advent calendar. In the Christian tradition, an advent calendar is a calendar in which each day in December up until Christmas is represented by a small container. Every morning until Christmas Day the corresponding day is opened, revealing a candy, chocolate, or a trinket such as a Christmas ornament that can be used to be hung on a Christmas tree. The opening of each day’s miniature present brings delight and joy to the children or family opening it. We are now on day 15 and already you have opened 15 days worth of valuable insights, hilarious anecdotes, and thought-provoking original dialogue. Just imagine what an ongoing work relationship could bring. Every day would bring value like this. I hope that you are enjoying reading these emails as much as I enjoy composing them. I often find myself having to cut myself off, rather than overburden you with prose. I hope a conversation would allow us to delve into these topics deeper. Let’s meet for a drink following Christmas to discuss.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 21, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Fourteen - Happy Hannukah
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Mr. Cohen,
I hope the first night of Hannukah was a pleasant one. While I, personally, am not Jewish, I sincerely respect those who are. Indeed, some of my brightest colleagues at The Ohio State University were in fact Jewish. Not only that, but I count myself as a staunch supporter of the State of Israel, one of our proudest and truest allies. As a nation, we are indisputably better for our commitment to diversity. By openly embracing tolerance, the best and brightest compete on an even playing field, thus propelling all forward at greater speeds much like a team of Olympic rowers sculling towards a better future. Few other countries could make a similar claim with a straight face. Here in America, the promise of social mobility is unimpeded by artificial barriers such as race and religion. I think we all can, and should, be thankful for that.
I know that this is historically a slow week in the markets. However, I expect that the absence of high volatility due to the holiday season is a good time to strategize for the coming year. For example, what will be the driving factors of volatility in 2012? Can we recognize opportunities before they materialize and, thus, be in a position to reap the rewards of a first-mover? I say that we can. As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If I had 5 hours to cut down a tree, I would spend the first 4 hours sharpening the axe.” That saying applies equally to the financial markets as it does to felling timber. Major market movers I see in 2012 are, in no particular order, the consideration and acceptance of the fabled QE3, the fallout from a disappointing post-holiday season sales report, the final negotiations that either save or doom the Euro, and the obvious implications of the 2012 Congressional and Presidential elections. As you can see, I stand ready, sharpened axe in hand, to exploit movements in the market as they happen, rather than in a reactive posture. A man of your position can surely appreciate this level of effort. Indeed, having a trading team that accounts for these contingencies is a value in and of itself. If you are so kind as to grant me fifteen minutes of your time perhaps you would realize the value that I may bring to you and your team at ——- Financial LLC. I hope that these slower times in the market will allow you to consider my modest request. As I have said more artfully elsewhere, what do you really have to lose? Fifteen short minutes could very well change the course of the rest of our lives.
I hope all is well with you and I look forward to your response.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 2:01 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Thirteen
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Mr. Cohen,
I trust that you are well. Apologies for being a bit long-winded yesterday. I was simply floored by the government’s continued efforts to unduly interfere with the free operation of the markets. I did feel a bit vindicated when I saw that, in the Wall Street Journal this morning, AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson expressed his belief that the government “should allow the free markets to work.” While I share his disappointment in the failure of the potentially lucrative deal, and about the general direction of financial engineering exhibited by the government generally, I feel some satisfaction that my independently-derived thoughts and theories are shared by elite executives such as Mr. Stephenson. I am sure similar thoughts crossed your mind. Perhaps the rational elite will finally succeed at turning back the tide of over-regulation that has been pervasive in the Obama Administration. We all have our dreams, don’t we?
I hope that we can discuss these topics and more over coffee in the near future.
Happy holidays,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 4:44 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Eleven
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Mr. Cohen,
Thus closes the first ten days of my quest to obtain a meeting with you. As you can see, I am dedicated to this cause. If, as expected, you consider my approach genuinely unorthodox then I believe I have accomplished at least some portion of my objective. However, I will continue to make good on my initial promise to you that I will objectively demonstrate my worth through the use of regular and insightful communications.
While jogging along the lakefront earlier this afternoon, I found myself musing on the efficient market hypothesis that we have all been taught is the bedrock of the academic understanding of financial markets. Obviously I need not tell a successful and experienced trader such as yourself that such a theory is laughable on its face. Efficiency is not magically created by some mythical efficiency fairy, it is manufactured by entrepreneurial individuals like you and I, who risk capital to profit upon the divergent values various parties assign to the same underlying instrument. That much, I believe, is fairly obvious. What I find especially interesting (and potentially lucrative to traders like us) is the fact that much of the world still subscribes to this primitive worldview, thereby creating opportunities for practitioners to profit from a better understanding of the markets’ true dynamics. Perhaps it is the tidiness of the theory that makes it so facially appealing to those possessing a gullible intellect. Alternatively, perhaps it is the orthodoxy itself that garners adherents among the sheepish. That is, because it enjoys a position as the dominant expression of market theory, ignorant participants welcomingly accept the party line as incontrovertible truth. Either way, it exposes an intellectual laziness that would be troubling if not for the fact that sharper wits like us might use a little intellectual jiu-jitsu to allow their assumptions to create profitable opportunities for the so-called “non-believers”.
As you can see, I am always thinking. And like Steve Jobs once said, if you are going to be thinking anyways, why not think big. And what could be bigger than thinking about which sacred cows appear ripest for the slaughter? It is my firm belief that questioning existing assumptions leads to the development of profitable trading strategies. I fully expect that you share my belief. As a result, I think it would be mutually beneficial to have a conversation where we can further develop these concepts into alpha-producing strategies at ——- Financial LLC. What do you think of these ideas? Does this outlook align with your worldview? We can discuss these questions and more over coffee this week if you have availability.
I look forward to your response.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 16, 2011 at 4:58 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Nine
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Mr. Cohen,
Happy Friday to you. I sincerely hope that this week was indeed a lucrative one. I cannot imagine that, given the volatility within the markets that it could have been anything but. Allow me to err on the side of presumptuousness and offer you a hearty and heartfelt congratulations. In either event, I hope that you have a good weekend as well.
You must pardon the brevity of this message as I am preparing to go out on a date with a girl I recently met and need to hustle to the flower shop before it closes up for the evening. We will be dining at the Publican restaurant, west of the Loop, which I must take the time to recommend here. If there is one favor that I may do for you, it is to spend an evening at this establishment. I fully anticipate that you will thank me later. I think it fairly obvious to you by now that I enjoy the finer things in life, much as I expect that you do. It is also apparent that I am an excellent finder of value. Discovering new and exciting restaurants such as the Publican allows me to combine these two gifts in a manner that allows not only for great dining experiences, but as a great way to impress a date! Not to belabor an obvious analogy, but a combination for a passion for discovering hidden value and an appreciation for that underlying value is a trait that would serve us both well in our shared quest for alpha-level returns. Perhaps a meeting over drinks at the Publican could further convince you that I truly possess these valuable traits. We will be there from 7 until 8 for drinks before our 8:15 PM reservation. If you are so inclined, I hope to see you there.
Until tomorrow.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Eight
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Mr. Cohen,
Every day I awake and, like a child on Christmas morning, rush to my computer to see if you have chosen to respond to my thoughtful and heartfelt messages. Despite my sincere disappointment that I have not yet received a response from you, I tell myself that I have made a personal commitment to you and to myself that I would contact you for at least thirty straight days in order to demonstrate my valuable inner qualities of desire, perseverance, and ambition. I commit to you once again, here and now, that I will not cease my efforts until I have convinced you to engage me in a conversation concerning a potential position in your trading group at ——- Financial LLC. As you can see, my word is my bond, and just like a bond it has value.
As I sit here, watching CNBC covering yet again the supposedly nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”) economic equality study, I cannot help growing increasingly frustrated at the portrayal of the so-called 1% as somehow undeserving of their position at the top of economic pyramid. These are individuals who have through their own efforts, and yes, perhaps some inherent advantage, nonetheless thrived in an economy where global scale allows economic advantage to accrue to those with the best ideas and those who accept the challenge of constant innovation. And the argument is that the reward for their excellence is additional taxation as well as the tag of social pariah? While I am no member of the so-called 1%, I am striving to crack into that elite company. I am sure that you do not receive emails from hundreds of individuals on a daily basis striving to join you in your profitable enterprise. No, only those with the drive to succeed shall succeed. In that sense, I am the 1%, the 1% willing to work hard enough to inhabit that rarefied air. By now you can surely see my sincere desire to put in the hard work necessary to accomplish these objectives. If I am this passionate about merely securing an interview, please allow yourself to imagine how fervently I would attack the job of finding value in this volatile market. I hope that you will take the opportunity to meet with me so that we might discuss how I might assist in your endeavors in a mutually-beneficial manner.
I look forward to your reply.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: December 14, 2011 6:59:21 PM CST
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Seven
Mr. Cohen,
I hope that you are well. Knowing how volatile the markets have been lately, I can’t imagine that you have been doing anything but taking profits! I must admit, this is a problem that I one day wish to have. Given the opportunity, I hope that one day I will be able to share wild and potentially lucrative days like this with you.
Ours is a strange profession, indeed, in that we manage to make money both in bear markets as well as in bullish times as long as we are able to remain agile and ready to turn on a trade in an instant. I believe that my intellect is well suited for this profession. There is nothing I enjoy more than slaying the sacred cows of established wisdom. Whereas the bulk of market participants are wed to ideological orthodoxies, I believe that attacking conventional assumptions yields superior returns than simply following the herd. If you have not had the chance to read Michael Lewis’ masterful work of non-fiction, The Big Short, I highly recommend that you heed my advice and allow Mr. Lewis to explain this philosophy in action. While not every trade is worthy of a book, in and of itself, I believe that a trader should always question the collective judgment of the masses and align himself with those truly thinking hard about the underlying assumptions inherent in established positions.
As you can see, I am no mere parrot of the established orthodoxy. Far too often in business school at The Ohio State University I witnessed what can only be called a blind adherence to the myth of the efficient market hypothesis. At first I was a willing adherent to this pseudo-religious dogma, only to reject it fully when my once robust stock portfolio withered like an autumn leaf in September of 2008. I now know that the tidiness of academic theory is a poor substitute for the ordered chaos of the world’s markets. I stand ready to demonstrate my unconventional approach to finance if you would be so kind as to have coffee with me in the near future. I am confident that you will find an equally ambitious partner to help you write what may well be the next The Big Short.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: December 13, 2011 5:10:21 PM CST
To: xxxxx@gmail.com, acohen@——-.com
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Six
Mr. Cohen,
I trust that you received a welcome holiday gift from Mr. Bernanke earlier this afternoon. ‘Tis the season, after all! At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I cannot imagine that the Fed’s decision to temporarily withhold any major pronouncements was not patently obvious to any thoughtful financial enthusiast (and it appears that the markets were not caught entirely unawares, either). As you can see, in anticipation of a future career as a trader at a prestigious financial institution such as ——- Financial LLC I carefully follow all of the events that may move markets. My firm belief is that those who prepare to succeed, even when not embroiled in the day-to-day rigors of the trading pits, will be ready to seize the opportunities that emerge when such opportunities are presented.
While I, like many, were not surprised that Mr. Bernanke chose the course that he did, I remain convinced that the new year will see the issuance of the fabled QE3. Indeed, I have already taken on a number of positions in my personal account that should benefit greatly from another round of monetary magic from Helicopter Ben. It is my sincere hope that both you and I will be able to handsomely profit from this development as partners in the New Year. Perhaps we could arrange a mutually-convenient conversation to discuss the wide-ranging and potentially lucrative implications of my investment thesis and how a mutually beneficial partnership between us may be arranged in time to take advantage of these impending events.
Please inform me if you would like to arrange a meeting in order to develop these ideas further. I look forward to your reply.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 9:48 PM
To: xxxxx@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Five
Mr. Cohen,
My sincere apologies for the late hour of this message. I have been cooped up with what I suspect is a nasty virus. It has always been quite frustrating to me when a common bug derails my productivity. I suppose that is the price we pay for living in a city in which great opportunity must coexist with such a sheer mass of humanity! Despite my condition, I was simply unwilling to let a minor setback deter me from my quest to engage you in a meaningful dialogue concerning our shared future at the firm of ——- Financial LLC.
Despite having attended The Ohio State University, with its excellent athletic programs, I have never considered myself much of a sports fan. I personally prefer to actively engage in athletic pursuits myself than derive vicarious satisfaction from the excellence of others. That being said, I don’t think anyone can doubt that the efforts of Tim Tebow over the past several weeks have been nothing short of phenomenal. I find it amusing, however, when the self-proclaimed pundits ascribe his successes to divine intervention. It is telling that most laypeople cannot fathom that excellence can be obtained by any other means other than the Almighty. Those who have experience excellence firsthand know that so-called “miracles” are actually the product of years, if not decades, of hard work. Add a healthy dose of passion to the untold hours spent in preparation and you realize that impossibility is simply a word invented by those who lack the determination to strive for more. When a team of self-selected individuals share these rare traits, there is no limit to what they may accomplish together.
This is my promise to you, Mr. Cohen: if given the opportunity to be a part of your team, I will be the hardest working member of your organization. It is not often that the value that I am offering is freely available and I urge you to thoughtfully consider my outstanding offer. I believe that great teams are built during moments like these and I ask that you simply give me a chance to step onto the playing field. Please let me know if we can arrange a meeting in the near future to discuss my candidacy.
I hope you had a great Monday, I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm regards,
Liam
From: Liam Prescott <liam.j.prescott88@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Introduction: Liam - Day Four
To: “xxxxx@gmail.com” <xxxxx@gmail.com>
Mr. Cohen,
I trust that you had a wonderful Saturday. Mine was both relaxing and productive. Perhaps the best part about the cold weather this time of year is that the lakefront running trails in Chicago are virtually deserted. Only the true fitness enthusiasts can be found. That is the type of crowd I prefer to surround myself with, those self-motivated enough to be elite. That self-selection of motivated individuals, I believe, is what people just don’t get about our chosen profession. Those with the drive and passion to succeed will benefit monetarily, while those unwilling to put in all the early mornings and late nights simply will not.
How anyone could find this amazingly efficient system to be “unfair” simply astounds me. I mention this fact not to make an obvious political point, but to convincingly demonstrate to you that I know what it takes to be elite. I harbor no allusions that my success will come from anything other than my own sweat equity. Given the opportunity, I am confident that I will provide this value to you. I trust that these messages are beginning to persuade just how mutually beneficial a potential partnership between us could be. Perhaps we could discuss this further over coffee this week? Please provide me with a convenient time and place to meet and I will be sure to be there.
All my best for a successful week ahead. I hope to hear from you.
Warm regards,
Liam
