Opening Bell: 5.16.17

Amazon’s IPO at 20: That Amazing Return You Didn’t Earn (WSJ)
Amazon has suffered at least 20% pullbacks in 16 of its 20 years on the public markets. The drawdowns were more than 40% apiece in nearly half of those instances, including a 64% plunge in 2008 during the depths of the financial crisis. Worst of all, shares lost 95% of their value when the tech bubble burst from December 1999 through October 2001. Most investors just couldn’t ride that out.

Hedge fund manager who lost Buffett bet feels like a winner (FT)
Mr Tarrant said he feels like a winner because of the access he has gained to Mr Buffett, perhaps the world’s most successful investor and coveted lunch companion. “I’ve had lunches and dinners with Buffett over 10 years, so I feel like I’ve won,” Mr Tarrant said. Plus, he added, the amount they have raised for charity is nearly twice the $1m originally wagered.

Ex-BofA Vice President, Husband Charged in Embezzlement Scam (BBG)
Prosecutors claim Pam Ace from 2010 to 2015 approved 75 donations to basketball and educational programs and other organizations providing support to children with HIV/AIDS before insisting that about half of the money "be returned in order to ensure that Bank of America would continue to fund the organization," according to the statement. Ace’s husband then allegedly threatened the recipients with "public humiliation" to extract the return of as much of the money as possible.

Jim Simons, Ray Dalio Top Alpha's Rich List (Institutional Investor)
1. Jim Simons (Renaissance) - $1.6 billion
2. Ray Dalio (Bridgewater) - $1.4 billion
3. John Overdeck (Two Sigma) - $750 million
4. David Siegel (Two Sigma) - $750 million
5. David Tepper (Appaloosa) - $700 million

To Woo Millennials, Financial Advisers Dress the Part (WSJ)
Advisers who work with millennials say dress isn’t the only way they may differ from older generations. Millennials want their adviser to act more like a life coach and aren’t usually interested in hearing advisers’ predictions on how much they need to save now so they can retire later. They also want advisers to be tech-savvy and to host exclusive events, such as parties with famous artists, so they can be treated like VIPs.

Wall Street Thinks Trump’s All Talk When It Comes to Breaking Up Banks (BBG)
“Break up the banks? That ain’t going to happen,” said Rick Hohlt, who has advised and lobbied for lenders including Citigroup Inc. for three decades. “You need legislation to do that. And the chance of that is about zero.”

Walmart and Banking: It's Time to Reconsider (Money And Banking)
One question to ask might be, “Why should Walmart be allowed to enter banking?” But a more relevant question would be, “Why shouldn’t Walmart be allowed to enter banking?”

A few notes about the Spotify stock-market listing (Felix Salmon)
It’s true that most IPOs have a “pop” from the IPO price to the first trade, a/k/a the amount by which the IPO was underpriced. But it’s not clear why that pop should be “particularly crucial for high-profile listings of consumer tech brands”. No one’s going to buy a Spotify subscription because a bunch of institutional investors got rich on their IPO allocation. And while there is a tendency to conflate companies with their share price (see: Twitter), the important thing there is the performance of the shares over time, not the amount of the IPO pop.

New Kickstarter Aims to Introduce Men to the Agony and Ecstasy of Wearing a Romper (NYMag)
We welcome men to this brave new world of rompers, which we trust they will find comfortable, cute, and much more tolerable than we do when it comes to urination purposes, thanks to the built-in zip fly.