Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Psychology is Strategy: Understanding the Mind of Bill Gross, The Bond King

(updated at 1:11 pm)

Bond king' Bill Gross donates old Bloomberg keyboard, Beanie Babies to Smithsonian
Once the centerpiece of his legendary bond managing days, Bill Gross' old Bloomberg terminal keyboard is getting a new home at the Smithsonian Institution.

The co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. also donated several other items from his trading desk -- a Monroe Trader bond calculator, two Beanie Babies (one red bull and one black bear) and a pair of fuzzy dice always set to lucky number 11.

"I'll want to adjust the dice to 11 if they're not to 11," he said. "And make sure the bull and the bear are appropriately placed so that if I'm bearish on the market, the bear is a little more forward than the bull."

The Question of The Day 
So, do you know why Bill Gross possessed a pair of fuzzy dice that was always set to the number 11?

The Conceptual Meaning of The Number "11"
In the game of craps (shooting dices), there are 36 possible end results from throwing two "cube-shaped" dices.  With those 36, there are only two combinations of the number 11 (6 and 5, 5 and 6) that enable the bettor to win on the first throw (the pass line bet).  It also offers the payoff of 16 to 1 odds.   

Mr. Gross realizes that the achievement of the high end rewards are usually risky, due to the uncertain probability of a certain situation occurring. 

While hitting the idealistic "11" on the first attempt is difficult and uncertain, the achievement is possible with the right research and strategic execution.   Regardless of the projected rewards in the competitive bond business, he must identify the high end rewards through long sessions of intensive research before determining whether it is possible to achieve that specific reward. 


The Compass Principle
It is better to be strategically good than it is to be strategically depended on chance.


Side Notes
  • The "winning lucky numbers" concept rarely prevails in the business of personal investments and "serious" table gaming.   

#  Portions From the Original Article

Bill Gross donated his old Bloomberg terminal keyboard to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. 
By SAMANTHA MASUNAGA

The item is part of the American Enterprise exhibit, opening July 1, which also boasts Eli Whitney's cotton gin.  (National Museum of American History, American Enterprise exhibition)

Bond king' Bill Gross donates old Bloomberg keyboard, Beanie Babies to Smithsonian
Once the centerpiece of his legendary bond managing days, Bill Gross' old Bloomberg terminal keyboard is getting a new home at the Smithsonian Institution.

The co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. also donated several other items from his trading desk -- a Monroe Trader bond calculator, two Beanie Babies (one red bull and one black bear) and a pair of fuzzy dice always set to lucky number 11.

"I think it'll be pretty cool," Gross said of his items' inclusion in the exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. "It'll be like visiting your old home where you grew up."

... When considering items for this section, he said the staff decided that they needed a Bloomberg terminal as the "icon of the modern financial world."

"I'll want to adjust the dice to 11 if they're not to 11," he said. "And make sure the bull and the bear are appropriately placed so that if I'm bearish on the market, the bear is a little more forward than the bull."

The keyboard also has a signature Gross touch. At the top is a piece of white sticker tape with his old password on it.   ...

After years of refusing to abandon his 25-year-old keyboard, the "bond king" said he now has a new one in his new role as portfolio manager at Janus Capital Group.

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Click here for more information on this news item regarding Bill Gross

Source: www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bill-gross-keyboard-20150602-story.html

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