This is good news. I recently moved to the East Bay from Brooklyn, and before that was going to school in Philly. Philly always had that low-key feel that I enjoyed, and was less than 100 miles from NYC. Public transit sucks though.
What's sad is that a majority of the local economy is outside of Center City Philadelphia, and Philadelphia proper mostly due to the city wage tax which takes out almost 4% on top all other deductions in your paycheck. And young people want to live in the city, so it's a tough sell.
It reminds of pg's essay on Cities and Ambition. This kind of thing will give people more options on where to set-up shop, in an area they're comfortable with. It will also help prevent groupthink, and promote a diverse startup ecosystem.
I moved to the Bay area to feel the pulse, and get a feel for the startup scene. Hopefully, I'll have the chance to attend startup school next month.
Renaissance over Citadel. If I'm not mistaken, Renaissance is purely automated trading. No traders or trading floor in the conventional sense. Plus they weathered the fallout of 08 much better than Citadel.
What's sad is that these smart people, including ones I've met while working as a SysAdmin for a Prop Trading firm often don't have access to the capital to start their own shops. This is due to the incestuous nature of the Finance world, where it's a lot more about who you know than what you know.
Sadly, they're often in the employ of third-rate CEOs, who always get a cut off the top, and pay the producers a mere fraction of what they made for the firm and their clients.
The Medallion Fund has its own internal trading desk, staffed by approximately 20 traders, and trades from Monday opening bell in Australia through Friday closing bell in the US.
