Yet another fascinating read, this time recommended by my blog editor Jude Stewart (and fellow ex-New Yorker, although she’s still close in Connecticut). This New York Times Magazine cover story asks the question: is New York on its way to being unseated as the world’s financial capital? It’s a question with some pretty interesting implications, not just for New Yorkers. While it’s great from a free-trade perspective to see capital markets opening up across the globe (most notably in places like Dubai and China), New York’s lifeblood has always been the financial sector, and as the epitome of American finance, NYC’s relative decline also symbolizes America’s waning influence in this all-important sector.
I also dug the article for personal reasons. As a brokerage firm run out of Boca Raton, FL and Charlotte, NC, we’re definitely part of the trend the article describes: financial firms seeking homes outside of NYC and doing just fine, thank you. Technology and more affordable, high-quality labor has made it possible for us to pass big savings along to our clients in the form of lower commissions. We love living and working where we do – and we love that our locations support a very square deal for all our clients.
At the same time, I spent a lot of time around Wall and Broad Streets, what author Daniel Gross refers to as the “Corner”, and I have a soft spot for that part of New York. There’s something incredibly exciting about working in the epicenter of finance, knowing that the next big wave of innovation in our industry could be not just metaphorically around the corner – but literally. Living and working in close proximity to a lot of world-class financial thinkers really jump-starts your creative juices. So personally, I’d hate to see New York decline too far as a financial center – not that I think that’s really likely. As our online trader community proves, people like to learn from other people; we all get charged up creatively by good interactions in ways that reading a book or article alone just can’t duplicate.
So, all in all I’m an optimist on NYC – rather, I believe that concentrations of smart, like-minded people like living and working together enough that new ideas will emerge to transform the city into a new capital of something. At the same time, I’m rooting for all the Boca Ratons out there, too. It’s even more exciting to think that innovation can come from all corners of the globe – and we hope to be one of those as we keep striding forward!
[image: the New York Times Magazine cover]
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