Craig Coben
@thekrazykobra.bsky.social
Retired investment banker. Fulham FC fan. 2 Legit 2 Quit. “Allergic to the counterfeit, impartial to the politics”
https://www.ft.com/craig-coben
https://www.globalcapital.com/author/craig-coben
https://www.ft.com/craig-coben
https://www.globalcapital.com/author/craig-coben
Reposted by Craig Coben
It’s that time of year again: investment banks are announcing their latest slate of managing directors. Here is @thekrazykobra.bsky.social on how that unfolds and what the MD title means www.ft.com/content/e8eb...
The MD moment in an investment banking career
It’s a fraught and familiar time as banks select their new managing directors
www.ft.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:37 PM
It’s that time of year again: investment banks are announcing their latest slate of managing directors. Here is @thekrazykobra.bsky.social on how that unfolds and what the MD title means www.ft.com/content/e8eb...
Around this time of year, investment banks announce who has been promoted to the ranks of managing director.
My @financialtimes.com column looks at the committees, politics, rankings, and the occasional tears of joy and asks what this milestone really means
www.ft.com/content/e8eb...
My @financialtimes.com column looks at the committees, politics, rankings, and the occasional tears of joy and asks what this milestone really means
www.ft.com/content/e8eb...
November 28, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Around this time of year, investment banks announce who has been promoted to the ranks of managing director.
My @financialtimes.com column looks at the committees, politics, rankings, and the occasional tears of joy and asks what this milestone really means
www.ft.com/content/e8eb...
My @financialtimes.com column looks at the committees, politics, rankings, and the occasional tears of joy and asks what this milestone really means
www.ft.com/content/e8eb...
Reposted by Craig Coben
‘Infinite money glitch’; meet arithmetic
[FREE TO READ] Micro Strategy, major strife
on.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) was knocking on the door of the S&P 500 barely two months ago. Now the conversation has flipped to whether it can survive. My take in $MSTR in @alphaville.ft.com www.ft.com/content/1f63...
November 26, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) was knocking on the door of the S&P 500 barely two months ago. Now the conversation has flipped to whether it can survive. My take in $MSTR in @alphaville.ft.com www.ft.com/content/1f63...
Column I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com - have financiers been captured by an industry whose greatest strength is the financial freedom that working in it purports to offer?
On the magic number for bankers - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social on the industry obsession for the amount they need to retire on. It has always been one of the justifications for going into and staying in banking www.ft.com/content/6d2b...
The absurdity of bankers’ retirement fund targets
Caution around the savings needed to stop work reflects an insecurity that is hard to shift
www.ft.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Column I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com - have financiers been captured by an industry whose greatest strength is the financial freedom that working in it purports to offer?
Reposted by Craig Coben
another nice piece on MSTR from @thekrazykobra.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 1:29 PM
another nice piece on MSTR from @thekrazykobra.bsky.social
My take on the largest London IPO since 2021 — the flotation of Princes Group. Free to read at @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/4141...
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My take on the largest London IPO since 2021 — the flotation of Princes Group. Free to read at @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/4141...
Saylor’s Strategy (née MicroStrategy) is hailing a “historic” credit rating from S&P.
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
October 31, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Saylor’s Strategy (née MicroStrategy) is hailing a “historic” credit rating from S&P.
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
Reposted by Craig Coben
Revenge against the banking nerds is near - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social's column on AI replacing a lot of the modelling grunt work is drawing a lot of debate... www.ft.com/content/0b7f...
October 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Revenge against the banking nerds is near - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social's column on AI replacing a lot of the modelling grunt work is drawing a lot of debate... www.ft.com/content/0b7f...
Column I wrote today in @financialtimes.com about OpenAI hiring over a hundred investment bankers under “Project Mercury” to program AI to build financial models and automate junior banker grunt work.
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
Revenge against the banking nerds is near
With progress in AI, the showhorses may yet eclipse the more technically skilled workhorses
on.ft.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Column I wrote today in @financialtimes.com about OpenAI hiring over a hundred investment bankers under “Project Mercury” to program AI to build financial models and automate junior banker grunt work.
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
Article I published today in @financialtimes.com on reunion I attended last month for my old investment bank. www.ft.com/content/5504...
October 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Article I published today in @financialtimes.com on reunion I attended last month for my old investment bank. www.ft.com/content/5504...
I’m mentioned briefly in this Daily Telegraph article on my brother Harlan!
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
October 19, 2025 at 12:23 AM
I’m mentioned briefly in this Daily Telegraph article on my brother Harlan!
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
(Micro)Strategy raised $128 million last week but only bought $22 million of bitcoin. What’s going on? My take and what it says about $MSTR business model
September 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
(Micro)Strategy raised $128 million last week but only bought $22 million of bitcoin. What’s going on? My take and what it says about $MSTR business model
Robert De Niro in “Heat” had a rule: be ready to walk away in 30 seconds. Is that the ultimate career goal?
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
Career variety can be fulfilling — but don’t let it get too spicy on.ft.com/48sWTKO | opinion
Career variety can be fulfilling — but don’t let it get too spicy
A portfolio working life can offer freedom and purpose if you can stomach the trade-offs
on.ft.com
September 22, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Robert De Niro in “Heat” had a rule: be ready to walk away in 30 seconds. Is that the ultimate career goal?
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
Reposted by Craig Coben
The jury is still out on S&P’s rejection of Strategy - column here @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on the bitcoin investor that is now one of the largest companies outside the S&P 500 with a market cap of $93bn www.ft.com/content/57c4...
The jury is still out on S&P’s rejection of Strategy
Beyond its small software division, the company’s entire model relies on constantly selling new shares
www.ft.com
September 12, 2025 at 6:16 AM
The jury is still out on S&P’s rejection of Strategy - column here @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on the bitcoin investor that is now one of the largest companies outside the S&P 500 with a market cap of $93bn www.ft.com/content/57c4...
The S&P 500 just left Strategy (fka MicroStrategy) outside the index after most recent rebalancing. My latest for the @financialtimes.com on why it wasn't invited: it acts like a bitcoin fund, not an operating company. The rejection is a blow to its business model. www.ft.com/content/57c4...
September 12, 2025 at 6:01 AM
The S&P 500 just left Strategy (fka MicroStrategy) outside the index after most recent rebalancing. My latest for the @financialtimes.com on why it wasn't invited: it acts like a bitcoin fund, not an operating company. The rejection is a blow to its business model. www.ft.com/content/57c4...
Reposted by Craig Coben
"The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding."
on.ft.com/3JR070i
on.ft.com/3JR070i
Strategy’s sagging bitcoin strategy
[FREE TO READ] Ahoi Saylor
on.ft.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
"The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding."
on.ft.com/3JR070i
on.ft.com/3JR070i
“The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding. In fact, the rush of stock sales by Strategy insiders in November 2024 appears to have been well-timed.” My take in @alphaville.ft.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:58 PM
“The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding. In fact, the rush of stock sales by Strategy insiders in November 2024 appears to have been well-timed.” My take in @alphaville.ft.com
Reposted by Craig Coben
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough on.ft.com/4lJVUsG | opinion
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough
Hiring star bankers and letting them bring their own posse has had mixed results
on.ft.com
August 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough on.ft.com/4lJVUsG | opinion
Reposted by Craig Coben
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on Citi’s hiring spree and why such move rarely deliver sustainable gains. A great look at what goes on inside a bank - and it cites The Blues Brothers www.ft.com/content/0719...
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough
Hiring star bankers and letting them bring their own posse has had mixed results
www.ft.com
August 22, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on Citi’s hiring spree and why such move rarely deliver sustainable gains. A great look at what goes on inside a bank - and it cites The Blues Brothers www.ft.com/content/0719...
In this “On Wall Street” column in @financialtimes.com, I look at Citigroup’s bid to “get the band back together” under Viswas Raghavan — and why star hires alone rarely change an investment bank’s trajectory. www.ft.com/content/0719...
August 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
In this “On Wall Street” column in @financialtimes.com, I look at Citigroup’s bid to “get the band back together” under Viswas Raghavan — and why star hires alone rarely change an investment bank’s trajectory. www.ft.com/content/0719...
Ex-bankers often think angel investing is the natural next step. It can be stimulating, but it’s no road to quick riches. My column in the @financialtimes.com on the seductions & realities of backing start-ups
Being an angel is tougher than it looks on.ft.com/4oGYG4K | opinion
Being an angel is tougher than it looks
Former financiers might assume a knack for picking winners, but investing alone requires a different set of capabilities
on.ft.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Ex-bankers often think angel investing is the natural next step. It can be stimulating, but it’s no road to quick riches. My column in the @financialtimes.com on the seductions & realities of backing start-ups
Figma’s IPO soared 250% — cue outrage. $3bn left on the table? A rigged game? Not so fast. In @alphaville.ft.com, I argue that the “broken” IPO process may just be the least-worst option. $FIG
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
August 4, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Figma’s IPO soared 250% — cue outrage. $3bn left on the table? A rigged game? Not so fast. In @alphaville.ft.com, I argue that the “broken” IPO process may just be the least-worst option. $FIG
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Interviewed in Die Welt newspaper about financial markets, investment banking, and leadership. When I was asked who was my role model leader in Europe, I was unequivocal: Marco Silva, the Portuguese manager of Fulham FC www.welt.de/wirtschaft/p...
August 1, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Interviewed in Die Welt newspaper about financial markets, investment banking, and leadership. When I was asked who was my role model leader in Europe, I was unequivocal: Marco Silva, the Portuguese manager of Fulham FC www.welt.de/wirtschaft/p...
Reposted by Craig Coben
Why giving up finance to go back to school can fail https://on.ft.com/4fj0Hjm | opinion
Why giving up finance to go back to school can fail
Trading the conference room for seminars may be tempting but won’t provide a second youth in retirement
on.ft.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Why giving up finance to go back to school can fail https://on.ft.com/4fj0Hjm | opinion