Talk:Willett Advisors

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E for rattner (talk · contribs) has been paid by Steven Rattner on their behalf.

Updates to the article

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered.

Hello, I work for Steve Rattner and would like to suggest a few changes to make this new article more accurate.

To start, Willett is no longer located at the Stuyvesant Fish House, as is written in the infobox and the 2nd paragraph of the Background section. Since 2014, the location is 650 Madison Avenue.^[1]^[2] In light of this, please update the address in both the Background section and the infobox, and remove the picture from the infobox.
Secondly, please remove the following sentences from the second paragraph of the Background section, which are irrelevant to Willett and do not belong on this page, per WP:COATRACK. (The topic is already covered – appropriately – at Steven Rattner.):

Rattner was accused of being involved with Quadrangle's pension fund scandal and in December 2010, agreed to a settlement with Andrew Cuomo by paying $10 million and also accepting a five-year ban on appearing before state pension boards. He also agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by paying $6.2 million and accepting a 2-year ban on any investment adviser or broker-dealer activities. Bloomberg nonetheless decided to stick with Rattner.

Finally, please remove this clause from the first sentence of that same paragraph: "after Quadrangle embroiled in a scandal involving a New York pension fund in 2009..." This clause suggests a causal link between the scandal at Quadrangle and Bloomberg's decision to form his own investment firm, but this suggestion is not supported by the sources.

References

^ Hughes, C.J. (June 12, 2023). "Plaza District shaken by the downgrade of debt behind Vornado tower". Crain's New York.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Willett Advisors LLC Securities and Exchange Commission Filing" (PDF). SEC Database. July 16, 2014.

Thank you for your help! E at rattner (talk) 14:21, 9 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Reply 16-JAN-2024

Clarification requested Adequate reasons for why the information should not appear in the article need to be provided with your request.^[1] Specifically — as to the sources provided with the information in the article — reasons why these sources are biased/insufficient should be provided. When ready to proceed with the requested information, kindly change the {{Edit COI}} template's answer parameter to read from |ans=y to |ans=n. Thank you!

References

^ "Template:Edit COI". Wikipedia. 30 August 2023. Instructions for Submitters: If the rationale for a change is not obvious (particularly for proposed deletions), explain.

Regards, Spintendo 17:55, 16 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your input, User:Spintendo. I will try to clarify my reasoning as you requested.

The second paragraph of the Background section begins and ends by talking about the origins of Willett Advisors. But the two sentences in the middle of the paragraph go off on a long tangent describing events that are related only to Steve Rattner, and are not related to Willett Advisors. These events are appropriately addressed on Steven Rattner's own page, and they do not belong here as per WP:COATRACK.
In addition, the bolded clause in this sentence is problematic: In February 2010, after Quadrangle embroiled in a scandal involving a New York pension fund in 2009, Bloomberg decided to form his own investment firm, Willett Advisors which would be devoted solely to his interest and that of his charitable foundation.

The clause implies that the reason Bloomberg decided to form his own investment firm is because of the pension fund scandal, but this idea is not stated in the sources, and thus fails verification and should therefore be removed from the otherwise factual paragraph.

Thank you, E at rattner (talk) 19:24, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Doing... Snowmanonahoe (talk · contribs · typos) 17:53, 21 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@E at rattner:

New headquarters location: Already done
Pension fund scandal: Not done It's relevant because one would expect someone who takes their fortune out of a firm due to a scandal to not then proceed to make the CEO of their own, new investment firm the owner of the previous one. These sentences provide the full context of Bloomberg's decision.
Embroiled in a scandal: Not done "Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York has decided to remove his fortune from a private equity firm founded by his longtime friend, 10 months after that firm became embroiled in a scandal involving the state pension fund." [1]

Snowmanonahoe (talk · contribs · typos) 18:35, 21 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Snowmanonahoe, thanks for taking a look at this. Allow me to clarify further. The suggestion that Bloomberg left Quadrangle due to a scandal is unsourced, speculative and belied by the fact that he then hired Rattner, the very subject of the scandal. That's not my conclusion, but that of the New York Times, which stated in an April 2010 article:

Earlier this year, when the mayor decided to move his money and create a new investment company using Quadrangle's staff, some political consultants and Wall Street executives believed that Mr. Bloomberg was doing so to steer clear of the scandal surrounding Mr. Rattner.

But now, it appears the mayor is sticking with his old friend, despite the allegations against him.

So, in the Times' conclusion, the purported connection of Rattner's scandal to Bloomberg leaving Quadrangle was never more than speculation on the part of "some political consultants and Wall Street executives" which later turned out to be false. Beyond those initial rumors, the information currently included does not directly relate to the topic of this Wikipedia entry, and should be removed in adherence with WP:UNDUE and WP:COATRACK.

The same applies for the removal of the "embroiled in a scandal" line. That phrase was used in the source you cited because at the time (February 2010) Bloomberg had not yet hired Rattner. That hiring made it clear after the fact, as the later Times article reports, that the scandal had been irrelevant to Willett's formation.

I hope you will reconsider your position; I intend to seek additional voices for the discussion in any case. Thank you again for your time, E at rattner (talk) 15:49, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, you're right, he did not (provably) leave due to a scandal. That was me misspeaking. He left after the scandal, which is verifiably true, and what the article says. The NYT makes no direct claim that Bloomberg did not leave because of the scandal either. They just say "Bloomberg left after a scandal, and then he made a new firm and appointed Rattner". Snowmanonahoe (talk · contribs · typos) 16:51, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Forgot to ping you, E at rattner. If you want more people to evaluate this, might I suggest the third opinion process? Snowmanonahoe (talk · contribs · typos) 16:52, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, Snowmanonahoe. I just posted at WP:3O. I appreciate your help. E at rattner (talk) 17:58, 1 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I just posted at WP:3O, thank you. E at rattner (talk) 17:58, 1 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Response to third opinion request:

Because the 2010 NYT article admittedly reports speculation rather than fact, I find that both the sentences referring to the pension fund scandal, and also the "embroiled in a scandal" line should be removed. — Grand'mere Eugene (talk) 02:46, 2 April 2024 (UTC) — Grand'mere Eugene (talk) 02:46, 2 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Snowmanonahoe (talk · contribs · typos) 02:51, 2 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

[1] Hughes, C.J. (June 12, 2023). "Plaza District shaken by the downgrade of debt behind Vornado tower". Crain's New York.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[2] "Willett Advisors LLC Securities and Exchange Commission Filing" (PDF). SEC Database. July 16, 2014.

[3] "Template:Edit COI". Wikipedia. 30 August 2023. Instructions for Submitters: If the rationale for a change is not obvious (particularly for proposed deletions), explain.

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