As it stands today, there surely would not be many of you out there who wouldn’t be willing to pay good money for such a coin – and to suddenly call out heads.
Despite murmurs of a market bottom, with the months of dire straits gone by, if there was even a glimmer of hope for a return to a bear market, would the industry cope?
I’m not talking about long-term recovery; I’m talking about coping on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month basis.
There has been an incredible amount of change and movement in the global financial landscape in the past 12 months.
Businesses that were once considered impenetrable crumbled to the ground and others fell with them.
In the past month alone, Australia’s financial services industry has experienced substantial cutbacks at various levels.
While many at the big end of town are facing greater scrutiny over executive bonuses and others are being shown the door, many smaller firms are faced with fewer cuts to jobs but greater cuts to pay.
In some instances, staff are being asked to cut back their pay by up to 20 per cent as an interim measure to help the business stay afloat, while others are given longer holidays at less pay.
It’s important to not always dwell on the negative – besides, many of you have experienced a time on par or worse.
It was heartening to hear that within the recruitment world, at a small level, consultants are back on the books and back on many payrolls.
For the funds management industry, the boost in the market will offer more than just a glimmer of hope of stronger times to come.
So what can be done with this hope?
There has been a lot of talk that clients are the key and that a relationship built well with a client can withstand anything.
Is it that simple though? Perhaps if we turned the notion of the financial collapse into an analogy of a collapsed house?
How do you rebuild? Where do you start?
Do you salvage your keepsakes? Pick through the wreckage and think of the good times?
Or do you solider on, allow the tough times to help you grow stronger, realise it’s okay to ask for help and work with others to build a stronger tomorrow?
For many this may sound great on paper, and others may chuckle at the suggestion, though in all seriousness, when the coast is clear, what will you do?
Flip the coin, it’s your call.
