In These Times is at a crossroads and we urgently need your support. Will you help us raise $50,000 by the end of the week?
I'm not quite sure why Conde Nast Portfolio would publish Michael Lewis' profile of Dimensional Fund Advisors -- Wall Street's biggest nightmare -- and the transformation of ex-trader Blaine Lourd, but I'm sure glad they did. The fascinating analysis of DFA, and their rather intuitive efficient-market theory, eviscerates the very concept of money managers. At least if you buy into, you know, capitalism.
Ellis, who had spent 30 years advising Wall Street firms, went on with charts, graphs, and more evidence than he needed to convince Blaine of the truth of that statement. The problem wasn't Blaine; the problem wasn't even the firms he worked for. The problem was the entire edifice of modern Wall Street, in which some people—brokers, analysts, mutual fund managers, hedge fund managers—presented themselves as experts and were paid fantastic sums of money for their expertise. But essentially, Ellis argued, there was no such thing as financial expertise. "I read this book," Blaine says, "and I thought, My whole life is a lie, and everyone around me is facilitating this lie."
A must read, as they say in the trade.
In These Times is only able to publish the fierce, deeply-reported articles we do because of readers like you who contribute a few dollars each month to keep us independent.
If you donate just $5/month or more right now, you'll get a free annual subscription and your support will be felt throughout the newsroom.
Will you support us now? Our goal is to raise $50,000 by the end of the week.
Adam Doster, a contributing editor at In These Times, is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former reporter-blogger for Progress Illinois.
