Tuesday, August 12, 2008

More on "lessons from sub-prime crisis"

Philip Purcell, former chairman of Morgan Stanley, lists five lessons, all of which are familiar enough by now but are worth repeating:

First, profits matter more than revenues.....

Second, compensation should be based on profits, margins and return on equity over time, not current year revenues....

Third, leverage works not just on the upside but on the downside as well...

Fourth, diversified and recurring revenue streams not based on trading or principal investing have immense value in a down cycle....

Finally, risk management should become a board-level responsibility, with appropriate committees meeting regularly with management....

Perhaps, it's worth asking: how many of these were practised in Mr Purcell's own firm?

2 comments:

Achilles's Heel said...

practice what you preach..!
i think most preach what we don't practice or can't practice

Achilles's Heel said...

practice what you preach..!
i think most preach what we don't practice or can't practice