The Invisible Hand

Congrats on your new job! Welcome to the first-person world of a mid-level stockbroker, as you begin your very first day at the trading firm FERIOS. You’ve probably wanted this job since you were six, right? Well, so have a lot of people… so you'll have to fight for it and prove that you're the top dog for the job! Just remember: profit is all that matters, the rules don’t apply if you’re a winner, and only losers feel guilty for the pain, loss and poverty that are the unfortunate but unavoidable by-product of the critical and important work we do here. It’s simple: your job is to make money for FERIOS. Buy the stocks going up, sell before they go down. Short the ones that are going to fall (or the ones you’re going to make fall). The more money you make, the bigger your commission. And you want that commission, don't you? Well don’t worry, the rewards are limitless, if you’re hungry enough. If you’re really smart, you’ll find ways to influence the market to your advantage. Think you can lobby an influential group to affect the market? Do it. Get an opportunity to acquire majority shares to move the needle? Take it. Drive down the currency of a foreign country to improve the margins of the companies that import their products? Why not? The only consequences that matter are the ones that impact our bottom line. Every Joe Schmo has access to the regular news. If you want to get ahead of the spikes and crashes you’ll need to find the inside line from more, shall we say, “exclusive” sources. And definitely don’t let those rumors of a financial investigation get you down. No one employed by FERIOS has ever been found guilty! We’re one big happy team here at Ferios and nothing brings the team together like competition. So in the spirit of togetherness you better meet your daily profit targets and beat your coworkers’ results if you want to keep your job. We won’t hesitate to fire anyone who can’t or won’t do what it takes to succeed... The fruits of success are yours for the taking. Fast cars, lavish parties, fancy apartments filled with beautiful furniture and artworks. Of course, for any truly successful trader, work is its own reward and their true home is the office so it’s a good thing you can decorate your desk with photos of all your wonderful things to remind you they exist.