Business •
NYC Sidewalk Nomads Run Hedge Funds From Folding Chairs
By Syed John
Pop-up trading desks with Starlink dishes are the latest Wall Street rebellion.
On a sunny Manhattan afternoon I saw traders unfolding camping chairs, setting up Starlink dishes, and running hedge strategies from sidewalk hotspots. They call themselves "open-air funds." Compliance teams hate it; passersby love the free financial gossip.
The stunt is part protest, part marketing. They argue offices are obsolete, so they day-trade under the sun to prove it. Sometimes they livestream trades and donate profits to street vendors. It's absurd and yet weirdly charming.
Will regulators crack down? Probably. But for now, Wall Street has a bohemian splinter group with better vitamin D levels than anyone inside a glass tower.