Running with the Bulls

An excellent article on the contribution of Indians in the Wall Street (and directly to the American Economy)

Running With The Bulls
A street where money talks and Indians trot.
By: Lavina Melwani

It's a place that Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, would certainly approve of, devoted as it is to the creation of wealth and prosperity. When Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wanted to showcase his new economic policy, he made a pilgrimage to the altar of high finance, the New York Stock Exchange. Over the years, one of the highest honors in the financial world is to be called to ring the opening bell on the trading floor, and high-flying ministers, finance gurus and CEOs of companies like Satyam and Tata Group have done just that.

No wonder then that for ordinary Indian immigrants, who have migrated to America in search of financial success, Wall Street is the golden Holy Grail, the Street of Dreams. Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, American Express - these names have been chanted in immigrant homes almost like a holy incantation and for a son or daughter to be hired by one of these major financial corporations is to see the crystallization of the American Dream.

What started out as a tentative foray into Wall Street more than two decades ago has now become a full-fledged flood and Indian Americans are major players in almost every major financial house, from Citi Group to Lehman Brothers to UBS. No longer delegated to the backroom, several Indian Americans have emerged in leadership positions at leading firms.

There's Ravi Akhoury, chairman and chief executive officer of MacKay Shields, a multi-product investment management firm, affiliated with New York Life, with approximately $ 40 billion of assets under management.

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Running With The Bulls - A street where money talks and Indians trot.