Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street by Jonathan A. Knee

From the Publisher

Jonathan A. Knee had a ringside seat during the go-go, boom-and-bust decade and into the 21st century, at the two most prestigious investment banks on Wall Street--Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In this candid and irreverent insider's account of an industry in free fall, Knee captures an exhilarating era of fabulous deal-making in a free-wheeling Internet economy--and the catastrophe that followed when the bubble burst.
Populated with power players, back stabbers, celebrity bankers, and godzillionaires, here is a vivid account of the dramatic upheaval that took place in investment banking. Indeed, Knee entered an industry that was typified by the motto "first-class business in a first-class way" and saw it transformed in a decade to a free-for-all typified by the acronym IBG, YBG ("I'll be gone, you'll be gone"). Increasingly mercenary bankers signed off on weak deals, knowing they would leave them in the rear-view mirror. Once, investment bankers prospered largely on their success in serving the client, preserving the firm, and protecting the public interest. Now, in the "financial supermarket" era, bankers felt not only that each day might be their last, but that their worth was tied exclusively to how much revenue they generated for the firm on that day--regardless of the source. Today, most young executives feel no loyalty to their firms, and among their clients, Knee finds an unprecedented but understandable level of cynicism and distrust of investment banks.
Brimming with insight into what investment bankers actually do, and told with biting humor and unflinching honesty, The Accidental Investment Banker offers a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of the mostpowerful companies on Wall Street.

Fortune

Reveals a world that rivals '24' in intrigue and drama.

The Wall Street Journal

Captures the glories and agonies of his profession. General readers will marvel at his discussion of banker pay, which, despite being slightly out-of-date, still seems glaringly huge. MBA students will linger over Mr. Knee's sardonic description of a 'sell side,' a mandate to auction a company. In step-by-step fashion, he shows how bankers give their clients the impression of running a 'secretive,' selective auction but in fact do quite the opposite.

Fast Company

This insider's chronicle brims with humor and insight as it depicts a civilized world driven mad by money.

The New York Times - Andrew Ross Sorkin

A rare, ringside seat inside the madcap and often egomaniacal world of Wall Street's Masters of the Universe.... For would-be bankers, the book is an excellent primer on what it's really like; for current bankers it will be a guilty pleasure.

The Financial Times - John Gapper

Entertainingly indiscreet.... Knee's talent for wicked pen portraits is put to good use because he worked in the vicinity of some of the most colorful and intriguing investment bankers of the 1990s.

MarketWatch.com

Articulate and funny.... One of the street's top media bankers, Knee has written what is at once an homage to old school investment banking and an insider's reflection on how the boom era reshaped his industry.... A very good picture of work life on Wall Street through the turn of the century.

The Washington Post - Steve Pearlstein

Knee has great fun cutting some of Wall Street's biggest egos down to size while exposing how little there really is to all that high-priced financial wizardry. He's written a wonderful primer for anyone who has wondered how Wall Street really works, and a wonderful reminder for those who already know how far professional standards have fallen.

What People Are Saying

"In his new book, Jonathan Knee takes a sharp look at the fundamental changes that have taken place in the investment banking business. It's an important story, and thanks to the skillful way Knee mixes in the tale of his own experience as a banker, it reads like a novel. The book is hard to put down."
—Bethany McLean, author of The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron and Senior Writer, Fortune

"What Liars' Poker did for the trading room, Jonathan Knee does for the investment banking floor, with one big difference—The Accidental Investment Banker also sets a colorful and highly readable story into the broader strategic context of the transformation of financial services over the past twenty years."
—Thomas Glocer, CEO, Reuters Group PLC

"The Accidental Investment Banker is a must-read for anyone in business who is impacted by Wall Street—and that is just about everyone. Knee's book is a humorous and very clever insider's look at the ever-seismically-changing financial services industry—but without the bias of an insider, rather just with incredible knowledge and insight. I learned things I didn't expect to learn but realized I needed to. A truly exceptional book and a powerful, powerful read."
—Leo Hindery Jr. , Managing Partner, InterMedia Partners, former CEO of TCI and author of It Takes a CEO: It's Time to Lead With Integrity

"Investment bankers play a crucial, if little understood, role in our economy. In this engaging and insightful book, Jonathan Knee describes the work that investment bankers do and the ways in which the business of investment banking has been transformed-not altogether for the better-in the past two decades. Knee combines a depth of personal experience with sharp-eyed observation. For anyone interested in the history of investment banking, and its present state, The Accidental Investment Banker is must reading."
—Anthony Kronman, Sterling Professor of Law and Former Dean, Yale Law School

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