Thinking about a career on Wall Street? Do you want to understand how every day billions of dollars move from one pocket to another one? Do you want to know how some of the richest men in the history made their money?
Well, that’s Wall Street.
Before leaving from Italy to head to New York I was very interested in visiting Wall Street and the Financial District. But I was looking for something different from the normal touristic tours, organized by travel agencies, in which you have only some quick stops near the Wall Street Bull and the New York Stock Exchange Main Entrance. I wanted to get an insider view of this fascinating place, I wanted to talk to someone with a real knowledge of its history. Because Wall Street is not just a street in Downtown Manhattan! It’s a symbol of the U.S. financial industry with a long history stretching back over 200 years.
So I did my own research online and it came up the possibility to join a tour called “The Wall Street Walk”. They offered you the guide of real finance experts and the chance to get into a real main trading room in the NYSE and stand there for some minutes just to take some pictures and look around. The problem is that this tour is only available few days per month and it is always overbooked, but planning it in advance can be really helpful.
This experience offers a unique angle on the buzz behind the biz, with tour guides who have all worked for such industry titans as Goldman Sachs, Deutsch Bank, and J.P. Morgan. Tours include the “Wall Street Insider” tour, the “Wall Street Movie” tour, and the “Financial Crisis” tour.
My guide was Anneline Dinkelmann, a former Morgan Stanley employee, specialized in the retelling and recreation of financial history. Before becoming a guide she spent many hours digging through the NYSE archives, so don’t be surprised if she shows you a copy of the legendary Buttonwood Agreement or photos of the original building where Alexander Hamilton used to live.
This walking tour takes you to parts of the city which you’d never normally see. You will have the opportunity to:
- Get into a real trading room, to experience the fast-paced and vibrant environment
- Learn the history of the largest, most watched financial exchange in the world
- Learn how a group of businessmen working under a Buttonwood tree grew to become the most-watched and important component of the US and global economy
- Discover the origins of Wall Street when shipping and rail companies ruled the day
- See where financial icons like J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller made history
- See Delmonico’s, Stone Street and the other fine dining restaurants in the financial district where Wall Street power brokers go to lunch
- Understand the importance of the Dow Jones Index so that you understand what Maria Bartiromo is talking about next time you watch Closing Bell.
I have a wonderful memory of this tour and I strongly recommend it to everyone interested in. So just keep your mind open and suck in the experience!!
