Howard Diamond Quoted
By Trevor Hunnicutt
On Oct. 16, 2008, the six-column subheading that crowned the Wall Street Journal cried, “Stocks Post Biggest Drop Since 1987 Crash.”
Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch & Co. was reporting its fifth straight quarter in the red — a loss of more than $5 billion for the period — underscoring the deteriorating conditions that preceded its takeover by Bank of America Corp.
“They did it the day after the world collapsed,” said Howard Diamond, managing director at Diamond Consultants, a recruiter used by a primary LLBH backer, Focus Financial Partners. “My God, that’s just an amazing thing, to have faith in yourself to do that at that particular time. Not too many other people did that.”