[Chapter 49: Shania Twain]
"Amgen, Applied Materials, Best Buy, Bio-Techne, Charles Schwab, Cisco Systems, Dell Computers, Electronic Arts, Home Depot, Jack Henry & Associates, Johnson Controls International, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Oracle, Paychex, SEI Investments, Semtech..."
Sometimes, Wall Street private investment managers were a lot like five-star hotel concierges. Their goal was to fulfill their clients' requests and keep them happy, so they could get as much money out of their pockets as possible.
Basically, every successful investment manager was also a top-notch service industry professional. Brand was exactly that kind of pro. Though in his 15 years in the business, this was the first time he encountered such a bizarre client who needed him to be a Wall Street tour guide.
Brand felt pretty annoyed inside but didn't show it at all. Instead, he tried his best to meet the client's demands and played the role of Wall Street tour guide for half the day.
He did try to steer the client toward his suggested portfolio combos using all sorts of clever sales pitches to gain their trust and get them to buy his recommendations. But after half a day, when he took the client to a famous steakhouse near Wall Street for lunch, the promising new star from the entertainment world surprised him.
The client asked the waiter for paper and a pen and, like playing a game, quickly wrote down the names of twenty stocks.
"I'm planning to invest $30 million, buying stocks in these twenty companies," the client said, "The top two stocks must represent 40% of the investment, the next eight stocks another 40%, and the remaining ten stocks just 20%.
Mr. Peterson, I intend to hold these stocks long term. When my funds free up, I'll keep adding according to this list and allocation. I'm a long-term investor; I'm not after quick profits."
His words still echoed in Brand's ears as he returned to the firm to execute the orders, sighing. Damn, the small opportunity slipped away.
No, this wasn't some small fish -- this was a brat wasting his own time! Brand had spent the entire morning guiding this bastard like some dumb community college-level idiot on the Wall Street tour, and in the end, all he got was a tiny commission and almost no fees.
If it weren't for the fact that this client was referred by Daisy Cuomo -- and on top of that, a celebrity -- Brand might've blown his top right then and there.
Now all Brand could do was wait bitterly for the funds to arrive before starting to buy the stocks per the client's wishes.
---
Compared with Brand's mood back at Goldman Sachs, Orlando felt much better returning to the record company.
Because now it was clear -- The Awakening would make its mark on Wall Street too!
He had asked Brand, his private investment manager, to buy those twenty stocks for him. They were copied from a chart Orlando got during The Awakening, titled "20 Top Performing U.S. Stocks of the 1990s."
The chart showed that if someone invested $10,000 in these stocks back in 1990, by the end of 1999, even the lowest-performing stock, Paychex -- a company which provides human resources, payroll, and employee benefits outsourcing services -- would have turned into $368,000.
A 36.8 times return in ten years!
Cisco's stock was crazier. That same $10,000 investment in Cisco in 1990 would be worth around $6.9 million by the end of 1999!
An 690 times increase!
Orlando thought if that were true, it would be even crazier than robbing a bank -- and completely legal.
If the news got out, he might even earn the reputation of a stock market genius.
As for The Awakening, Orlando trusted it without reservation. No need to question it.
So, while maintaining his lifestyle and the record company's operations, he went all in!
At that moment, Orlando truly believed that "all in" was the smartest move.
Like he told Brand, once he started making money, he planned to keep investing in those stocks! Unless The Awakening suddenly failed, he wasn't planning to pull back.
---
Just after a Wall Street tour, back at the company, Seymour came looking for him.
He said there was a promising young Canadian singer and asked if Orlando wanted to meet her; if she fit the bill, maybe sign her to the label.
His luck seemed to keep rolling.
"Seymour, you're definitely the king of new talent scouting," Orlando said, complimenting him. "It's just been a few days, and you already found someone?"
A while back, thanks to Titanic's soundtrack revelation, Orlando had "composed" every main song and score from the movie, even recording demos and registering copyrights.
The scores could just sit there for now. He'd cash in when the truck driver started pushing Titanic-themed project.
But the main song, My Heart Will Go On, was high quality enough to chart as a single even without Titanic.
The problem was singing it well was pretty tough.
And Orlando wasn't about to let someone else get a cheap shot at it. He wanted to see if his record company could find a fresh face to perform it.
If that failed, they could always sell the rights to Warner or another company.
He thought with his high standards, Seymour might take months to find someone. But just a few days in, Seymour said he'd found a great female singer.
"Honestly, it's luck," Seymour admitted.
When Seymour started working for Orlando, it was partly because of Daisy Cuomo's recommendation.
But now, with Orlando's potential looking far beyond Madonna's -- maybe even rivaling MJ -- and working happily alongside Frank, who had given him equity in the label, Seymour, retired for two years, had come out of retirement and was enjoying his work.
"She's named Eilleen Regina Twain, a Canadian. Kurt introduced her to me," Seymour said.
"Kurt introduced her?"
Orlando was surprised. "Since when did Kurt moonlight as a talent scout?"
"No idea. You'll have to ask Kurt. But this girl he brought me is really pretty good."
Seymour was a unique guy. Though he didn't compose, write songs, or understand instruments well, he had launched many stars -- most notably Madonna.
Now, many thought the brightest star he created was him.
"She and her manager are in New York now. Want to meet them?"
"If Kurt and you say it's good, then let's meet."
"Alright, I'll have them come to my office."
"By the way, Eilleen Regina Twain is her real name. She started singing to support her family when she was a teenager, so she took on the stage name Shania Twain. In Ojibwe, it means 'to walk your own path.'"
"Shania Twain? That's a nice name."
*****
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