Why I’m Leaving Offshore Hedge Funds for Social Impact
TL;DR — I am leaving offshore finance and law. No more bystanding, it’s time to collaborate with those trying to make everyone better off.
Don’t Put Away Childish Things
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” — Mary Oliver
As a kid, I couldn’t stand any perceived injustice. Adults seemed so unsympathetic, always telling me that things didn’t matter when they mattered a lot. To me.
I decided never to be an adult like that. And when I figured out that lawyers help prevent global injustice, I decided to become a lawyer. (I was about eight, I think.)
That got me through the first week of law school but beyond that I just wanted to get through my degree and get a job.
I’ve spent the last 3 years rekindling that sense of justice and revisiting what sort of dent I want to make in the world.
There are seismic shifts underway right now and opportunities to be a part of that process. (More on that in another post)
When my daughter grows up, I’d like to be able to look her in the eye knowing we did our part to ensure the future was bright for everyone.
Time for a Change
And so, as of last week, my 14 years in offshore hedge funds have come to an end. I have resigned from my board positions. I’ve sold the company. As of this summer my family and I are leaving the wonderful island of Curacao for beautiful Vancouver.
That’s a lot of change, and I wanted to take some time to explain why, for those who are curious.
This is not a big deal (if you’re not me)
Let me warn you that I’m not going to bash hedge funds here, or the offshore financial industry. I don’t have any juicy tales of corruption and tax cheats. That’s not why I’m leaving.
Most people on the service side of this industry are like you, trying to find a way to get by and do their jobs.
And most clients are eager entrepreneurs looking to make their mark in the world of finance. (And just like in the tech startup world, most of them fail — to launch, to raise money, to make money…).
And I should be candid and confess that this isn’t big news in the industry. I consider my career and business a success and I’ve loved it all, but most people in hedge funds don’t know me.
Should and Must
“There are two paths in life: Should and Must. We arrive at this crossroads over and over again. And each time, we get to choose.” Elle Luna in The Crossroads of Should and Must
Everybody is doing what they think is the right thing. Either for themselves, their families, or society. Most people are, however, doing that thing for the wrong reasons.
It’s hard to discover or admit that, and even harder to do anything about it once you do.
We all have our reasons for being where we are and I will not dare to judge.
I don’t think that each person has a vocation or specific purpose in life. But if we were all working with passion and purpose, our global trajectory would improve immediately. (Irrespective of whether that work was for a social cause or not.) Elle Luna and Scott Dinsmore have put it so well.
No more Bystanding
“Perpetrators, Collaborators, Bystanders, Victims. We can be clear about three of these categories. The bystander, however, is the fulcrum.” — Edmunde Burke
The be-all and end-all is that in order for me to follow my heart and work on problems that matter to me, the focus must be on social impact.
Inspired initially by people such as Jessica Jackley at Kiva, Yvon Chouinard at Patagonia and 1% for the Planet. And then by the work that’s happening at places like Report It Girl, Thought Collective, Dad is A Verb and Rhymes With Reason, how could I not seek out more?
Something that generates intrinsic benefits to a larger part of society. And because I love technology, something that can be leveraged through tech for the greatest impact.
“Our power comes from our compassion, not our technology.” — David Roberts
In other words, I won’t be a bystander any longer. I want to extricate myself from anything that is not positive. And have direct involvement in the exciting positive changes that are happening now. (The specifics are evolving and a bit long-winded, so I’m going to write about it later.)
As Anand Giridharadas put it, I’m no longer happy to “make money in all the usual ways, and then give back through a foundation”. My own well-being will be dependent on the extent to which I am helping to create a better world for everyone.
Not Alone
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” D. L. Moody
One of the fun take-aways from the past year has been the breadth of people that are on similar journeys. The insanely inspiring young people I met at StartingBloc. The leaders I spent a week with at Singularity University.
But most interesting are my peers in financial services. People who tell me that they would love to do something similar. People who are, I suspect, at the same place I was about 2 years ago.
So I’m optimistic. I’m hopeful that we might yet move towards a world without bystanders.
A world filled with normal people (like me) trying to ensure that no matter how small their dent is, it moves us all towards justice.
I don’t think it matters whether we embrace Just Capitalism, Platform Cooperativism, or just more sweet social innovation. As long as an increasing number of us start allowing our own moral compass to direct us, the world is winning.
It’s not about which charity to donate to when a disaster strikes, it’s about what we’re doing and saying with our lives.
