Zak Mir Interviews Special Feature
Zak Mir Interviews
Alpesh PatelThe Mind of a Trader Zak: Alpesh, at the beginning of the 2000’s you were somewhat the “People’s Champion” in terms of being a commentator / educational force and, most importantly, an objective figure in the financial markets as compared to the banks / fund managers and their legion salesmen. In those days, most of us could probably not even guess the number of sharp practices and scandals that were waiting to be uncovered... 10 years later, the retail customer / investor seems to be in no better a position than back then even with your efforts, the media and the role of the internet to inform us. Being cynical, has your influence for good made any difference whatsoever?
Alpesh Patel is, to my mind, one of a kind. An independent and somewhat maverick figure in both the City and the business world. His list of activities over the past decade is breathtaking simply by virtue of the sheer variety of roles — trader, author, trained barrister, asset manager and adviser to companies and Governments. In this article, it is his “Mind of A Trader” that we explore...
26 | www.financial-spread-betting.com | September 2012
Alpesh: I am sorry to say that it has probably made no difference to the vast majority of people even though I was writing for the FT or being a guest presenter on Bloomberg. My position put me somewhere between being an investigative journalist and a Member of Parliament, rather than a trader. Individuals were helped on a case by case basis, but in a broad sense, no, my crusade probably fell on deaf ears. The big institutions seem to have more and more resources at their disposal and have become ever more adept at hiding and, in some instances, cheating. Perhaps this has been a symptom of our times where City individuals are solely focused on cash based incentives, or perhaps it is indicative of a more general moral decline. Either ways, it would appear that individuals are tempted to cheat to get their hands on money.