“I Am Not A Crook”
Another lifetime ago, I was Head of Research at a Hong Leong controlled stockbroking company , Dao Heng Securities,
My long day had started early at 430 am when I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out to the CNA broadcasting studio for the BreaKfast Market Round Up.
When I was sitting in the CNA make up chair being powdered up for my 5 minutes of fame the somewhat cheery host dropped by. She told me she was going to ask me about where the Hang Seng Index would go ( I had already flipped a coin), where the Hong Kong property market would go (Always Up, of course ! ) and my 3 stock tips for viewers. No problems there. I wrote a regular weekly column for Ming Pao offering stock tips, Well my name in Chinese Zhang Xxx xxx was in the byline, but the column was actually ghost written by my analysts. The stock tips taken from our daily tip sheet for Dao Heng Securities, “MarketWatch” TM
I did my spiel before the cameras and headed to work in CBD. My boss S said I did OK on TV but why was there a scrolling line at the bottom of the screen, “ Raymond Chong and/ or Dao Heng Securities may or may not have a position in the listed stocks mentioned “.
Of course my boss who was a GM knew why. She had approved the hire of a ex DBS investment analyst I recommended who fancied a try at being a proprietary trader for the firm. Over the next few hours, some of institutional sales team dropped by my tiny office to congratulate me on my maiden TV performance as a market commentator. But they kept asking the same Question.
Over dinner that night my Tai Tai aka Better Half mischievously asked me if she had married a crook? She brought up the same Question also.
You see in those days, there was an Internet craze. People were making tons of money listing internet stocks, Even Mr Li KaShing. Hong Kong’s richest tycoon, got a listing for Tom com.
But some US investment analysts had been caught on emails trashing internet stocks they had just put Buy recommendations on TV. Ordinary investors who had bought and lost $$$ were of course outraged. Payback was quick. Some of the analysts involved in the emails lost their jobs, and TV stations required rolling disclaimers whenever analysts were on TV talking about Stock recommendations .
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bswzzwy2s9zuvvhth43k/culture/henry-blodget-was-banned-from-the-financial-industry-so-he-built-a-financial-media-empire
I told my Better Half then more than 25 years ago , “I Am Not A Crook”. The rolling disclaimer under my face was just the media playing it safe by putting in a disclaimer.
Post Script
Of course you might have guessed by now I was never asked again to appear on the CNA Breakfast RoundUp. You PROBABLY also figured it out CNA’s regular #1 pick had a scheduling conflict and the #2 pick suddenly called in sick. So CNA probably had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for their #3 pick aka Yours Truly.
