Dark Pools: the Background – What Inspired the Book?

By Urs Waechli, ex-senior partner of Banque Gaumet et cie and Owner of Villa Traxler.

It was at the celebrations for our fifth anniversary at Villa Traxler when I last met Alexander. I had invited several old colleagues and acquaintances from the banking world. My transition from private banker to hotel owner had gone rather smoothly and the Traxler had established itself as the most exemplary high-end boutique hotel between Zurich and the mountains; naturally I was keen to publicise as much. Modestly, I should perhaps not have been surprised at the Traxler’s success – both private banking and hotel servicing require us to understand our client’s needs and excel in delivering them, whatever they may be. And, of course, I have always been most passionate to deliver.

I had said as much at my pre-dinner speech. We cater for all visitors – some come to relax, some to wander, others to discover themselves, some to seek solace from some ailment, and finally, some arrive just looking to escape.

Alexander and I were able to catch up on the terrace after dinner. He had started to write a book during Covid. His wife had been onto him to write since they first met, and he had enjoyed doing some recent blogs. His children had just started in their careers, and he had been reflecting on how to share some of his experiences about corporate politics – he mentioned his own naivety when he entered the world post-university, talking about underestimating people’s egos, levels of ambition, greed and their capacity for deceit, their lack of integrity, and frankly, their blatant lies. Perhaps he suggested if we can better understand people motivations, however malign, we can better manage our relationships with them.

Indeed, I said. But some people, in my experience, will do whatever they have to, or whatever they can get away with to fulfil their goals. It’s not surprising, then, that things can get out of control, even beyond the office.

And that’s when the conversation moved onto Marcus Flint.

Marcus had stayed with us at the Traxler. His bank, TDT Capital, was being investigated by the regulators and Marcus, it seemed, had been central to their inquiry. His angst, however, was more focused on other, darker episodes, beyond the regulatory remit, that the review might expose. One could argue that, in some ways, he was most unfortunate – the regulators were looking at the world in hindsight and, no doubt, he was doing what he was told at the time, driven by ambition and a passion to succeed. Certainly, there was a whiff of hypocrisy on the part of his management, the clients, and the regulators themselves. But the darkest aspects of his behaviours – well, I couldn’t say too much…

Alexander seemed to have picked up on something. He was looking across at the mountain peaks as he spoke. “I’m sure plenty of others other than Marcus have their own dark secrets – the investment banking world is certainly not angelic and, you’re right, the bosses don’t care when they get their bonuses, or the investors their returns, or the government their taxes. As for ambition and passion, many great industrialists, leaders, rulers have crossed the lines of ethics and integrity.”

Exactly, I said, and I hoped he would provide a more realistic view of the trading floor rather than most of the populist muck out there.

“That’s certainly my intention,” Alexander continued, “not to go too easy, but certainly, be realistic.”

“Now, you mentioned things getting out of control beyond the office – does Marcus have family, a wife, how is he handling things personally?” he asked.

Look, I said, I’m a single guy, but I see love come in many flavours – passion, perfection but also convenience, to name a few. Our conversation got cut short at that point with Muttu calling me inside, perhaps deliberately, but for some reason I left by toasting our drink with a quote from Rumi.

‘What is your life about, anyway?

Nothing but a struggle to be someone,

Nothing but a running from your own silence.’

And he returned the toast with a line from the Gita.

‘There are three gates to self-destruction hell – Lust, anger and greed.’

I didn’t hear from Alexander again until last week. It seems our conversation had inspired him, as that’s when I received a copy of his novel, Dark Pools.