Against the Rules: The Big Short Companion

The FrontPoint Boys

31 snips
Oct 28, 2025
Join former FrontPoint traders Porter Collins, Danny Moses, and Vincent Daniel, who gained notoriety by betting against subprime mortgage bonds during the financial crisis. They dive into their pivotal decisions, revealing how they identified cracks in the housing market. The trio shares personal reflections on the fallout and moral complexities of profiting from others' misfortunes, while also addressing why most Wall Street traders overlooked crucial data. Their insights offer a fascinating glimpse into the chaotic world of finance during a historic collapse.
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ANECDOTE

Flashy Salesman Who Sparked Skepticism

  • Greg Lipman presented as a flashy, overly confident Deutsche Bank salesman who pitched credit default swaps to FrontPoint.
  • Porter Collins and the team found his pitch entertaining but too good to be true, which made them skeptical and combative.
INSIGHT

Crash Rooted In Bad Loans And Rising Delinquencies

  • The crash happened because many risky loans were made to unaffordable borrowers and delinquencies rose sharply.
  • FrontPoint used data-driven homework to identify these bad loans and structured trades to profit when housing prices fell.
ADVICE

Do Homework To Find Mispriced Risk

  • Do your homework and analyze raw data rather than relying on consensus narratives or surface metrics.
  • Use clear comparisons of delinquency and loss curves to spot when assets are mispriced and act accordingly.
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