Erin Collins understood that there were two major reasons she needed the LTCM crisis as part of her plan.

One was that by acquiring LTCM, Alpha Fund would gain a reputation for deep expertise in derivatives.

And the other... was to incite moral hazard among Wall Street banks.

‘So that’s why the Glass–Steagall Act was repealed, huh.’

She had always wondered what was behind J.P. Morgan’s merger with Chase to form a corporate behemoth, but now the logic behind it clicked into place.

In any case, here’s what mattered: once you identified the core purpose behind both elements, it wasn’t necessary to replicate them exactly.

And in Collins’ view, there was a master key to achieving that.

— Market fundamentalism.

That old, dusty theory that had triggered the Great Depression and was still roaming freely under the banner of neoliberalism.

How sweet the phrase “invisible hand” sounded, even though it had appeared only once in The Wealth of Nations. Even though a very visible hand—the Federal Reserve—existed on Wall Street, everyone tried their best to ignore it.

Even the Fed itself had come to believe that delusion, absentmindedly.

“Goldman Sachs seems to be suffering from the dotcom bubble these days—does the acquisition proposal still stand?”

“Of course it does. In my view, the LTCM situation can still be handled privately. Wouldn’t you agree, Vice Chairman? Admittedly, the Russian moratorium was an unprecedented variable, but as you can see, Alpha Fund has actually benefited from it.”

His tongue moved smoothly, without hesitation.

Thanks to her brilliance, the profits Alpha Fund had reaped were neatly framed as a natural reaction to a collapsing market. After all, whenever someone loses money, people assume someone else must have made it.

“...I don’t quite see how that relates to the LTCM acquisition.”

Vice Chairman Peter Fisher voiced his skepticism, though he looked slightly tempted. After all, when you believe you’re on the edge of a financial crisis, someone saying “we’re not there yet” is exactly the kind of thing you want to believe.

And the entity that most hated Federal Reserve intervention... was always the Fed itself.

So Collins gave him what he wanted to hear.

“What I mean is, Alpha Fund acquiring LTCM right now is the natural course of events. Money is extremely, extremely seductive, but there’s simply too much of it right now. With so much liquidity concentrating in Alpha Fund, of course there are going to be leaks and stress points. I didn’t expect it to get this far either... but looking back, I started thinking—maybe it’s our fault.”

“Alpha Fund is... the cause of this market? Hmm. Wait a moment... huh. I suppose you could look at it that way.”

Of course not.

Alpha Fund’s $100 billion profit and LTCM’s $100 billion loss were entirely different matters. But... if you only skimmed the surface, they looked suspiciously similar.

They had both occurred in essentially the same market. Even before the moratorium, LTCM had already been hemorrhaging funds due to the East Asian Financial Crisis. It had been teetering on the edge.

‘Maybe five billion of the money we made actually came from LTCM’s pocket. If you look at it that way, our gains really do feel like they came from their losses...’

Even Collins, who knew the full story, found herself thinking that. How much easier would it be for others to believe?

“Making a lot of money in a capitalist market isn’t a crime. Still, I understand what you’re getting at, Mr. Collins.”

Vice Chairman Fisher nodded.

Alpha Fund had become an unprecedented hedge fund in scale, but if you dug through American history, there were precedents.

The robber barons of the Gilded Age.

Take Rockefeller, for instance—when he died in 1937, his personal wealth was a staggering $1.4 billion. That was 1.5% of America’s GDP at the time, or 2.3% at its peak.

Considering today’s U.S. GDP is around $10 trillion, that would be equivalent to about $200 billion in today’s terms—which happened to match Alpha Fund’s current size.

Think about the damage monopolies do to markets, and how Alpha Fund hadn’t earned its wealth gradually, but like a lightning strike. What else would Fisher be thinking?

Like a full-blown Standard Oil, Alpha Fund had sucked up the entire market. Of course it would have a negative impact... or so he’d conclude.

Collins looked him straight in the eye and spoke seriously.

“I believe Alpha Fund must support the market—even if it means spending a great deal of money. If the market collapses, that money would disappear anyway.”

“Still... hmm. That’s unexpected. I can’t imagine others would accept that line of thinking.”

The Vice Chairman looked doubtful. As someone who trusted in Wall Street’s greed, he didn’t take Collins at his word.

‘Of course not. I wouldn’t believe it either if someone else said it.’

Collins sighed quietly and shook his head, as if venting frustration.

“You’re right. As you know, I may be CEO of Alpha Fund, but we operate on a relatively horizontal structure. I still have to be mindful of the other directors. If I brought up the idea of what’s essentially a donation... they’d accuse me of breach of fiduciary duty.”

“....”

Hearing that, Vice Chairman Fisher paused, then reflected.

‘It... does make sense...’

Ordinarily, no one would think of Alpha Fund’s acquisition of LTCM as patriotic. Taking on a weakened company while assuming massive risk was simply business.

But... the past few days had changed everything.

The dotcom bubble had finally burst.

Now, Alpha Fund buying LTCM no longer looked like a “strategy,” but an act of “benevolence.” Declaring they would shoulder the burden of this financial bomb alone? That could be framed as a heroic act of economic salvation.

It wasn’t even strange. Mega-corporations of a certain size do begin to care about honor. Once they’ve made enough money, reputation becomes the next currency—and carrying a ruthless image can be a serious liability.

Even Wall Street tries to act gentlemanly when no money is involved. Once money enters the picture, they stop caring. It’s all about numbers then.

“Standard Oil was broken up by antitrust laws, and only when Rockefeller let go of his greed did his value rise. Today’s ‘Shale Revolution’ wouldn’t have been possible back then. And what about J.P. Morgan? He was a compulsive control freak who couldn’t bear not being in charge, but if he hadn’t stepped in to stop Wall Street’s collapse, modern finance wouldn’t exist.”

“...But didn’t Morgan end up dying a sick man after being hit hard by antitrust laws?”

“Yes. Morgan lived to 75—but Rockefeller lived to 97. Because he embraced it. And me... well, I’m someone who wants to live a long, long time. Ha ha. I’ve got more than enough money, after all.”

Back then, most robber barons lived long lives... so this was a metaphor.

He was saying: if there’s some compensation, he’s willing to “sacrifice” for the sake of a stable market—and take whatever happens in stride.

He subtly placed himself alongside Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan—but considering Alpha Fund had now entered that same echelon, it wasn’t entirely untrue.

—Tap.

Vice Chairman Fisher glanced at his watch, then smiled gently.

“Hmm... then I’ll be direct. What do you want?”

“Appoint the investment bank we’re founding as a primary dealer immediately. And... give it a little push until it finds its footing. That’s all I ask.”

As the CEO of Alpha Fund, and the soon-to-be board member of her investment bank, Erin Collins smiled amiably and extended his hand.

Vice Chairman Fisher took it—his mind made up.

Indeed, this was the real one calling the shots.

***

.

.

.

Erin Collins’ plan was as follows:

Alpha Fund acquires LTCM, while subtly implying the Fed was deeply involved. And in that process, persuade everyone that although the acquisition happened out of necessity to prevent market collapse—it was also an inevitable, natural consequence.

Taken as a whole, the plan was complex, but when broken down, it was quite simple.

First, Alpha Fund’s acquisition of LTCM would implant the idea that the private sector—without the Fed—was capable of resolving crises. That Wall Street could save itself. It would breathe new life into the market fundamentalism that permeated the Street.

However, thanks to the conversation with the Vice Chairman, a second narrative would also take root: that this was not just a routine business expansion by Alpha Fund, but something catalyzed by the Fed’s mediation and LTCM’s overwhelming size.

That LTCM didn’t survive because of its brilliance, but because of a simple, brutal truth: “too big to fail.”

Triggering multiple interpretations from a single intervention, then weaponizing them later... wasn’t that someone’s favorite move?

“The biggest problem is that Alpha Fund has no real reason to take this /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ loss...”

But even that had precedent. Why had the banks—including Lehman Brothers—gathered around in the first place? Because if LTCM went under, they’d go under too. So Alpha Fund had every reason to take the reins.

Even the infamously ruthless J.P. Morgan had stepped forward when the U.S. economy was on the brink. Because he was the U.S. financial system at the time.

And now, this marked Alpha Fund’s ascent as the new financial leader of the U.S. Everyone would believe it. The existing primary dealers would grumble and say Alpha Fund had overreached in trying to cover for its thin institutional record with a burst of glory.

And then... as she had wanted, the gold-chasing lunatics of Wall Street would begin to run wild—believing that if they ever grew big enough, someone would have to come save them, just like LTCM.

“Perfect,”

he said with a radiant smile, congratulating himself.

It was a deeply satisfying result.