[gumby]

It's been years since I had any connection to the conventional financial sector but I remain shocked by how many participants are involved in the flow of money, most of them fleeting and tangental yet each getting paid for the privilege.

I remember looking at the flow of cash from putting $100 into a 401(k) (US employer retirement plan) to the money actually getting invested. That drawing took up two whiteboards and as a result a few percent never made it into the market.