So many stories.
Working late one night. Phone rings. An elderly lady was on the phone.
"Is Mr. XXXXXX there?"
"No. Can I help you?
"Why yes. You see. I'm in the Puts and Calls program. And, I just got my statement. What does "e - x - p" mean?"
When options first hit retail accounts, Wall St. wiped out more people than smallpox.
One guy at Hutton, an ex cop if you can believe that, opened an IRA with 2000.00 for a woman, and convinced her to trade it with options. Really. And you wonder why Hutton closed????? When he got down to no equity, he sold some puts - naked. Made a hit, traded till zero. He did $2000 in commissions in an account that had 2000 in it. I can't remember why, but she called in, wasn't even really mad. But told the broker who answered, "you know, he didn't even kiss me. But I know I got screwed."
I was a rookie way back then. And pretty straight laced. I can't even remember if we had a compliance dept. That's how obscure it was. I think complaints went straight to legal.