The self-serving financial 'services' industry

The £160m pay-off to failed Merrill Lynch chief Stan O'Neal (left) has higlighted the obscene sums pocketed by individuals working at investment banks.

I could devote this whole article to the obscenity that is the pay-off of $160m to failed Merrill Lynch chief Stan O'Neill. This will no doubt be mirrored by something equally disgusting for Chuck Prince as he leaves the scene of Citigroup's multi-billion dollar loses. But I will not insult your intelligence.

These people have not founded the business. They are not entrepreneurs who have been prepared to work for years without reward in pursuit of a dream. They have not invented something that has made the world a better place. Had they not been in their posts others would have led their organisations with no more nor less success.

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Tom worked as a fund manager in the City of London and in Hong Kong for over 20 years. As a director with Schroder Investment Management International he was responsible for £2 billion of foreign clients' money, and launched what became Argentina's largest mutual fund. Now working from his home in Oxfordshire, Tom Bulford helps private investors with his premium tipping newsletter, Red Hot Biotech Alert.