Trading Places
TP
When Garrett was working at Weiss, Peck & Greer, he met Ken Robinson. Ken had worked in residential real estate in New York but was now with Garrett at Weiss, Peck & Green. Garrett and Ken became fast friends. Soon one of Ken’s friends, Matthew Kluger, joined the group, and an insider trader trio was born.
After attending and graduating law school, Matthew landed a job at Cravath Swaine & Moore in 1995. Cravath Swaine & Moore was one of the world’s most prestigious law firms, and their client list included some of America’s top corporations. He was assigned to work in the mergers and acquisitions practice area, and that’s when the plan was born.
Matthew, through his position and work associates, was privy to sensitive information on potential corporate mergers and takeovers. After doing some thinking, he decided to reconnect with Ken. According to published reports, the two met for lunch and after telling Ken about his unique situation, Ken had an idea.
According to published reports, Matthew was sold on Ken’s idea, but Matthew knew they needed a third party unconnected to him to make it work. Matthew couldn’t just buy stocks himself based on his information. If Ken purchased the stocks, eventually the SEC would find the connection between Matthew’s position at the law firm and Ken’s timely and profitable stock purchases; that’s where Garrett came in.
With Ken’s help, Matthew would be completely unconnected to the person buying the stocks that he tipped with his inside information. Ken just had to convince Garrett, who had recently become a full-time stock trader. He met Garrett for a few drinks and began his sales pitch.
Caption: Garrett discusses his friendship with Ken