4 Seasons Podcast

Inside the NYSE: A Financial Advisor's Journey

• Jeff Bingham • Episode 12

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B&H On the Road - Jeff Tells us about your recent visit to the New York Stock Exchange

What does the beating heart of American capitalism really look like in 2024? Forget the frenzied trading floor scenes you've seen in movies – the reality is both more subdued and more fascinating.

Jeff Bingham of B&H Wealth Strategies takes us along on his exclusive journey to the New York Stock Exchange, pulling back the curtain on an American institution that few ever get to experience firsthand. This wasn't a tourist excursion but rather a closely guarded opportunity requiring special invitation and thorough background checks. The contrast between expectation and reality proves enlightening as Jeff describes a trading floor where billions change hands daily with surprisingly little fanfare – traders quietly working at computer terminals rather than shouting across a chaotic room.

Beyond the modern trading activities, the NYSE building itself emerges as a character in this story. Constructed in 1903 as New York's most modern building (and one of the first in North America with air conditioning), its magnificent architecture endures despite the technological revolution that has transformed trading. Perhaps most poignant is Jeff's observation about Holy Trinity Church, established in 1790, standing watch directly across from the exchange – a juxtaposition of spiritual and financial powers that have coexisted for generations. The visit culminates with witnessing the closing bell ceremony and meeting 83-year-old financial legend Roger Iveson, whose analytical frameworks have shaped investment strategies for decades.

Whether you're interested in market mechanics, American financial history, or simply curious about places few get to see, this episode offers rare insights from someone who's walked the hallowed trading floor. Join us to discover what Wall Street really looks like behind the symbols and numbers that influence our financial lives. Curious about how market perspectives from the heart of trading might benefit your portfolio? Schedule your free consultation today to discuss your financial future.

To learn more about B&H Wealth Strategies visit:
https://www.BHRetire.com
B&H Wealth Strategies
423- 247-1152

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Four Seasons Podcast brought to you by B&H Wealth Strategies, serving Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia since 1966. Here we guide you through the ever-changing seasons of your financial journey, offering insights to help you grow, protect and enjoy your wealth. Ready to turn your financial dreams into reality, dare to dream. And now here's your host. President of B&H Wealth Strategies, jeff Bingham.

Speaker 2:

Ever wondered what it's like inside one of the most influential financial hubs in the world. Jeff shares insights from his visit to the New York Stock Exchange, including what he's learned, who he met and what this experience means for investors. Welcome back everyone. Skip Monty, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with president of B&H Wealth Strategies, jeff Bingham. Jeff, how you been this week? I've been great, skip. How are you doing? Doing just fine. Doing just fine. We're getting ready for the big holiday and hope you are as well.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, absolutely yeah. The 4th of July coming up, as we were here a couple of days before that in the studio recording, yeah, I think it really is a very special holiday. You know, in my opinion, the 249th birthday of this country. Yeah, it's quite remarkable what was built 249 years ago and what still exists today pretty incredible, Absolutely. So good time to salute and be proud to be in America.

Speaker 2:

Amen, brother, amen. Visiting the New York Stock Exchange, which you just did recently, jeff, it's a really big deal. I'm excited to hear about what you saw and how it shapes your perspective on the market. So, jeff, tell us about your recent visit to the New York Stock Exchange.

Speaker 3:

Jeff, tell us about your recent visit to the New York Stock Exchange. Yeah, speaking of American iconic institutions and things right, it's kind of appropriate to be talking about that, I think, at this point in time. Yeah, as I think we might have alluded to I can't remember if it was off air or last time we recorded, anyway I was I was fortunate enough to be invited to, and this was back, I think my my visit to the exchange was actually on June 9th, so let's say the first half of June was able to go to New York. Let's say fortunate enough to be invited to go on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and also backstage, if you will. You know kind of behind the scenes a little bit at the exchange as well, and it's not something that a lot of people ever get to do. I mean it is it's you've got to have an invitation, you've got to be. It's not not necessarily being connected. I've just been in this business a long time and I know some people and so it kind of occurred as a result of that. But you know it's, you know it's not a, it's not a tourist attraction, you can't just walk in. I mean it's you've got to be, you know they do background checks and everything and I didn't really realize that or think about that until it was going up there. But they, you know it's quite a vetting process to to not only get an invitation but then you also have to be vetted out to see if you, if you, qualify. So fortunately I was able to pass the background check and and go in and I would say my experience, I mean it was a bucket list thing for me something I've, you know, I've always wanted to do, and I wouldn't say that it was that it was disappointing in any way, but but it was.

Speaker 3:

It was different than in some instances in the way that I would have thought about it. There's, you know, there's little offices or kiosks. Almost where there's, you know, everything is computerized and it's with algorithms. So there's a lot of, there's still a lot of human beings that are in there and traders that are conducting things, but they're sitting with telephone, you know, hooked up to telephone lines, and they're sitting in front of computers doing it, you know, all day long, and like, when you're in there you wouldn't know whether it was a, you know whether there was a thousand point sell-off going on or a thousand. We were there towards the latter part of the day, you know the closing bell, but again, whether it was a thousand point sell-off, a thousand point gain or just a flatline kind of day and we were kind of a flatline kind of day, we were in there, but it'd be the same, you know, kind of, and to experience it that way was interesting.

Speaker 3:

But with that being said, the building itself is beautiful. I mean, it was built in 1903. And at the time it was the. I don't know, I'm still not sure about this, I don't know that, I don't know if it's the tallest building, because it's not a real tall building, but it's a big, it's an expansive space that it is, and so it was the biggest building. It was the most modern building in New York when it was built in 1903. Therefore it received all of the technology of the day was put into the building. I think it was the first building in, maybe in the world, but certainly in North America and the United States, with air conditioning as an example, because of what it was and what it symbolized.

Speaker 3:

So again, the architecture is quite extraordinary. You know there's a lot of where they're holding a lot of the computer screens and all the. You know you've got the tapes are running. You know kind of the digital tapes that are running around that you'll see in the exchange. But when you look up through the ceiling, through kind of the that's not scaffolding, but I don't know what the right word is.

Speaker 3:

I'm not a, I'm not much of a construction guy or whatever, but to see the architecture in the ceiling which you can still see up through there, it's quite remarkable. I mean, I've got a picture, a couple of pictures here in the office of the exchange from years and years ago and you can still see that. You know that architecture that comes through that is really quite beautiful, you know, and also enduring over generations. You know, now it's got all the modern things, which I think are all kind of throw away things, but it still has that, that old architecture that still exists. As you go through the building, as you look at it from the outside, and even as you're inside on the stock exchange floor, if you look through all the modern technology, you can still see the enduring architecture that's in there and I think that's really cool. See the enduring architecture that's in there and I think that's really cool.

Speaker 3:

And I and I'd say one of the one of the really neat things, skip uh that when we pulled up on the bus to go into the exchange and walk over to it to go through the process of doing it, you pull up in front of uh, we pulled up in front of a church it's the holy trinity church that has been there.

Speaker 3:

That's right across the street from the stock exchange and also also there is a cemetery, for the Holy Trinity Church is there. It's probably the only patch of grass in Manhattan, but that may be true. But also that that church has been there since 1790. And that's you know. That's quite remarkable as well when you see, you know the church there and the exchange and all of the extraordinary wealth that is created in there, and that church still sits there and enduring through all of that. So I don't know, that just made quite a mark on me. I felt like, in some ways, I felt like when I was there I wanted to go into that church as much or more than I wanted to go into the exchange, and maybe that's where I am in my walk in life. But I think it's appropriately placed there and, like you said, it has endured since 1790 and the exchange has been there since in movies as loud and people screaming and buy, sell, yelling shaking their hands.

Speaker 2:

So that's not anything else that was surprising to you.

Speaker 3:

No, I mean, you know, like I said, I mean I hadn't really thought about it.

Speaker 3:

I think one of the things was in kind of just to allude into the vetting process, that the background checks that have to take place, is that there was a cancellation for one of the guys that was in our group that was going to go there. And, as most listeners and watchers of the pod know that I have very limited vision, you know, I'm legally blind and so I need someone to kind of guide me along and my wife Alita had gone, need someone to kind of guide me along and my wife Alita had gone up there to New York with me and so we thought when someone had canceled that you know that she would be able to go with me. She just kind of probably filled that role in because there was a space available, but she hadn't gone through the background check. And that's where we found out about the background check. Even the people that were sponsoring me and the young lady that ended up helping me kind of traverse the the New York landscape and the exchange landscape, you know, didn't even realize that, but we checked on it and they're like, no, you gotta be, you gotta be vetted.

Speaker 3:

And I think and I guess what I would say about that. I don't actually know if that's a surprising thing about it necessarily, but it shows the world where we are now, that we have to be that cautious and careful about all those kinds of things, you know. But it's like I mean we had to empty our pockets, we had to go through. It's like going through an airport. It's like went to the top of the World Trade Center or I guess it's called the Freedom Tower. Now we did that, you know, on the weekend that we had gone up and also you have to go through the same process. It's just I don't know those things in the world just always kind of I don't know if they still surprise me or not or no. I'm not shocked by it, but it's just. It's kind of sad that we've gotten to that point, to be quite honest. But it's like I said, I mean the exchange itself 15 to 20 years ago. If I'd have gone in there it would have been the most amazing thing that I could have ever done, you know now, and it still was to an extent, you know. I mean it's like if you're in our business, it's like going to be invited to go to the Super Bowl. So, being invited to go to the Super Bowls, seeing an iconic landmark and something that represents what we do with money and where the money that we invest our clients with. The Big Shock Exchange is the biggest exchange in the world. I mean, I think it's I can't remember what the number is, but it's billions of dollars every day. The volume on the exchange is well in excess and up into billions of dollars. The wealth that exchanges hands and takes place in New York in general but in the New York Stock Exchange is quite something.

Speaker 3:

And I got to meet another very iconic. It was part of the group that I was with, a fellow by the name of Roger Iveson who is a legend. He's 83 years old, he's been around, he's a he's. You know he's, he's a legend, he's 83 years old, he's been around. He's an academic. He's also a money manager. He's quoted in everything You'll see Iverson charts and lots of data that comes that we use in our business to evaluate and benchmark things with.

Speaker 3:

Roger Iverson is one of those guys that has been around for that long and he was there and spoke to us in the backstage thing before we went and at 83 years old man, he's still vibrant, he's still rocking. He was there, talked to us for about 15, 20 minutes, hung around with the group for a little bit and kind of did a meet and greet and then he was off to I guess he was off to somewhere in South Carolina, maybe towards the Hilton area. There was a CF what we call a CFA, a charter financial analyst meeting that he was flying to and doing some presenting down there. So you know, it's you know longevity kind of an iconic legend in the business. That was really cool for me to meet and see someone like that. That kind of heft in the business. That was really cool for me to meet and see someone like that. That kind of heft in the business. Let's say Very, very very cool.

Speaker 2:

Well, jeff, what an incredible firsthand look at the heart of the financial world. Really appreciate you sharing your insights and I don't know if maybe in a future can. Did you take any pictures? Were you allowed to take pictures?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I do. I have a number of pictures actually that Matt, as everybody knows, when we're doing these things, matt's kind of the guy that makes sure that I get on here and at least I look as good as I can with what I've got to work with when I come on these pods. So we've got some pictures. I think we're putting them up on Facebook and the website and maybe we can get them on here and we can kind of run through them.

Speaker 3:

I got a picture taken in front of the closing bell, so we've got that with the bell in the background and that is the loudest part of the day At least when I was in there was when the bell rings and then the CNBC, the financial network CNBC. They have what's known as the bubble that's in there and so we were able to and it's a glassed in thing and so you can see they. You know they televised from there all day long but they do their closing bell show from there. So we were able to see that happen and got some pictures that it was in and that was really, you know, that's that's neat to be to kind of touch that kind of thing.

Speaker 2:

You know that's cool, absolutely Well, like I said, maybe in a future episode we can share some of your photos with with our listeners. I'd love to do it All right, man, let's do it. Let's do it All right, and to our listeners New York stock exchange. You heard it from Jeff directly. We'll see you next time for more expert discussions on investing and wealth strategies. Jeff, have a great rest of the day on investing and wealth strategies.

Speaker 3:

Jeff, have a great rest of the day. Thanks Skip you too. Happy 4th, everybody. Happy 4th.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to the Four Seasons Podcast brought to you by B&H Wealth Strategies, where your financial success is our priority. Schedule your free 20-minute consultation today by calling 423-247-1152 or by visiting bhretirecom. Take the first step toward making your financial dreams come true. Until next time, remember every season is the right season to plan for your future. Securities and registered investment advisory services offered through Silver Oak Securities Inc. Member FINRA, sipc. B&h Wealth Strategies and Silver Oak Securities Inc are not affiliated.