Meet Buzz Gould

Since mid-April, I've been conducting a series of mock interviews with a fictional portfolio manager at a typical go-go mutual fund.

This fund manager has been in the business for four years, was up 100% last year and has consistently pushed the market's pedal to the metal. He is single, lives in Manhattan and hadn't a care in the world until the Nasdaq took a dive in April. His name is Ben Gould, but everybody calls him Buzz because, well, Buzz does! Along the way, I also introduce you to "Batch" Hammer, Buzz Gould's sidekick and head trader. From their machinations on the desk to their three-martini Fridays, I track these jokers' every move.

The goal of these mock interviews is to show you the underside of an increasingly dirty business, in which fund managers will go to any lengths to outperform so they can get more money in. As long as managers are paid by the pound -- meaning they get paid by how much they bring in -- we're going to see the kinds of shenanigans I parody in the following pieces. ...