May 2007 Archives

Prenuptials agreements make sense. However, postnuptials are a whole other matter even when done to protect a company's assets.

Postnuptial agreements
Financial Times, Published: May 30 2007 23:35 | Last updated: May 30 2007 23:35

It now seems so genteel. In the old days, the spouses of new Goldman Sachs partners were brought in for an orientation day about the firm. That included the odd quiet word about how to avoid the financial pitfalls of their new status – with the obvious temptation of ostentatious binge spending in the good years.

Today’s financial masters of the universe appear to take a somewhat blunter approach to spouse control. A growing number of hedge fund managers who hit the big time are going straight to their lawyers to try to secure protection in the form of a “postnup” agreement. They have an obvious propensity towards hedging out massive downside risks. They also have a few vaguely reasonable excuses for trying to do a postnup deal.

One is the need to avoid dislocation in the tightly held shareholder base of a small partnership in case a marriage breakdown forces the sale – or, at least, change of ownership – of a big stake in the company. That said, it is not obvious why that should be different from any other fast-growing business that ends up making its owners rich. The other is disclosure. The last thing that secretive hedge funds want is an angry spouse trying to get as much inside information as possible aired in court to make life uncomfortable.

For those reasons, some funds are making postnup deals a precondition for being accepted as a partner. That gives the soon-to-be-vastly-rich hedge fund managers a defensible excuse for broaching the subject of a postnup in the first place – and a credible negotiating position with their spouse. It also provides the convenient fringe benefit of flexibility, should their newfound wealth make them suddenly irresistible to arm candy that was once beyond their wildest dreams.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

After my housing situation is completely sorted, I'm going to pamper Choo-Choo extensively. He has been my constant companion and has been extremely loyal in his own sort of way.

Two weekends ago I did something I hadn't done in almost a year. I went to the movies. I went because I felt like the house search was taking over my life and I really just need some escape time. However, I was too lazy to go to one of the major cinemas and ended up at the local artsy theatre in Kilburn. They were showing Into Great Silence. Now based on the reviews, it’s seemed like a really good choice as it’s a documentary about the everyday "lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in a remote corner of the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains)." But 15 minutes into the movie, I was ready to walk out. Mainly because there was no dialogue, narration or musical score to help the documentary along. It was complete silence and it you have a lot on your mind, this is not the sort of movie you should go see. In the end, I stuck it out but I was one of the few. I mean, it went on for almost 3 hours and while beautifully shot, it was a bit painful to watch as the monks not only take a vow of poverty but they also speak very rarely. They do speak out loud for prayer and chanting but regular chatter is confined to their Monday walks. That my friend seems like too great a sacrifice.

I saw a house on Saturday that I really liked so I put in an offer. It was accepted today. Yeah me! Now the real work begins to make sure that we exchange in a timely manner. I can't wait to have my own place again. The people that I'm staying with are really nice, but I miss having a home of my own. Hopefully we can exchange before my birthday in August.

Since I am getting ready to purchase a house/flat in London, guess I'll have lots of time to do some of the more fun items on this list recently published by TimeOut London.

When we offered up our first hit list of 101 essential London experiences last year, the feedback we got from you was immense. So here’s the next instalment of things everyone in the capital should try at least once – from soothing health treatments to hedonistic indulgence, breathtaking landmarks to hidden gems

1 Visit the Shree Swaminarayan temple
The gleaming pinnacles and pillars of the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir would be an extraordinary sight anywhere – but rising out of Neasden, they are particularly special. This Hindu temple is the biggest in the Western hemisphere. Some 2,820 tonnes of Bulgarian limestone and 2,000 tonnes of marble from Italy were carved in India by hundreds of craftsmen before being shipped to London and assembled over three years. Dress respectfully to enter.
Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, 105-119 Brentfield Rd, NW10 (020 8965 2651/www.mandir.org).

2 Try on a bearskin at the Guards Museum
Learn about the glorious history of the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards. At 10.50am every day (from April to August), the Guards line up outside the Museum in preparations for Changing the Guard.
Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, SW1 (020 7414 3271/ www.theguardsmuseum.com).

3 Learn swordplay
Beginners are welcome at the Saturday afternoon session at Marcello Zizzari’s Japanese sword class at the Islington Arts Factory (2 Parkhurst Road, N7; 020 7704 6796/www.battodo-fudokan.co.uk). Classes cost £5 for an introduction, then £40 for six weeks.

4 Learn to mix a martini
Dirty, naked, smoky, muddy – no, not a hike through a Laotian jungle, but the range of martinis you’ll learn how to mix at masterclasses held at Christopher’s.
Christopher’s American Bar & Grill, 18 Wellington St, WC2 (020 7240 4222/ www.christophersgrill.com). Hour-long session £12.

5 Spend a penny in the loos at Sketch
A pair of sweeping staircases leading up from the circular bar take you to an entire floor devoted to toilets, in the form of 11 pods.
Sketch, 9 Conduit St, W1 (0870 777 4488).

6 Watch the Peter Pan cup
Every Christmas morning members of the Serpentine Swimming Club (www.serpentineswimmingclub.com) bravely plunge into the frosty waters of Hyde Park’s pond.

7-11 Have a literary night out
Run by Time Out favourite Robin Ince, the Book Club is probably the most innovative comedy show in town. It takes place monthly, sometimes fortnightly, at the Albany (20 Great Portland Street, W1; 020 7387 0221). Fantastically weird.

‘A bi-monthly bonding of brains and beautiful people over books, bands and bellinis’ is how the organisers of B Club describe this free soirée at the Great Eastern Hotel (40 Liverpool Street, EC2; 020 7618 5000/www.thebclub.co.uk).

Getting into monthly musical-literary club Book Slam used to be a case of camping out for hours or organising your tickets far in advance. Until, that is, the organisers – author Patrick Neate and Everything But the Girl’s Ben Watt – relocated from poky club Cherry Jam to the more spacious Neighbourhood (12 Acklam Road, W10; 020 8960 9331/www.bookslam.com).

The First Tuesday Poetry Club, now at Clerkenwell’s Three Kings (7 Clerkenwell Close, EC1; 020 7253 0483), celebrated its first anniversary at the end of last year.

If you wind your way to the back of the Vibe Bar on a Saturday night, you’ll find bohemian night Poejazzi (91-95 Brick Lane, E1; 020 7247 3479/www.myspace.com/poejazzi).

I won't speak ill of the dead, but in reading Jerry Falwell's obituary, I was quite surprised to learn that we were born on the same day, August 11th. Thankfully, not the same year!

Airport Guy isn't going to make the cut. Disappointed, but hey -- c’est la vie! Truth be told I'm too distracted by the flat/house search to be really focus on my heartache. As for the house search, well let's just say I've continued to go on viewings, but nothing has moved me yet to make another offer. I'm sure some would say I'm being really picky but in that this will be the largest purchase I've made so far in my life, it needs to be just right. That said, I'm optimistic that I'll have something in place by the end of the month.

Anyone who rents this property on Worple Road in Wimbledon is liable to face a simliar situation as I did in March. In the last year I lived in the property, the mortage company sent at least 4 letters indicating that they were contemplating taking repossession of the property as mortage payments were outstanding. Thus, I am baffled as to why Foxton's would knowingly agree to continue managing this property. Like me, they need to just walk away. Sure its a great property in a fantastic location, but the hassle of dealing with a deadbeat owner is just not worth it. By the way, I was not paying the amount listed. As estate agents like to tell me, the market has moved on A LOT since I moved over here two years ago. And on that note, back to house hunting I go.

Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Things have just been rather hectic on the home and work front these past 30 days or so.

On the home front, my landlord waited until the 11th hour to make mortgage payments that were in the rears. To be exact, repossession of property was to take place on 17th April and mortgage company only received confirmation of payment from bank on morning on 16th April. Most annoyed that he allowed things to spiral out of control as I had been paying my rent on time to Foxtons the property management company who in turn had been forwarding in a timely fashion.

In any event, by the time the payment went through, my things were being taken to storage and I had already made arrangements to temporarily move in with a family friend. I ultimately deferred the move until this past Sunday. The situation is not ideal (I haven't lived with anyone in over 10 years), but it provides great flexibility for Choo-Choo and I to move after I've found a suitable flat/house for purchase.

So how is the search going? Well it’s threatening to take over my life. I mean, my budget when translated into US dollars would buy a posh 2 bedroom place in Chicago's Gold Coast/Boston's Back Bay Area, but here in London I am being relegated to looking in more up and coming neighborhoods. So far, I've seen about 30 flats and put in an offer on 3 places. The offer for the first place was quite cheeky and so the vendor, declined. With the second place I had my heart broken. It was the first place I had seen that kept me up at night and in the end, I just couldn't match the offer from a competing buyer. With the third place, loved the size, but wasn't too crazy about the location. So when I realized that I was once again bidding against another buyer, I just walked away.

So I am still looking and desperately trying not to be exhausted by it all. Budget is driving the search, which means I've been spending a lot of time running around the city trying to explore new areas based on advice from family, friends, co-workers, etc. It gets a bit confusing because one person will praise an area, while another will slag it off. So a bit frustrating, but I am finally starting to hone in on certain areas. Now just need to be persistent. Goal is to be in new place by middle of the summer.