Moglia: Learn from errors on Wall Street

LINCOLN — The chairman of TD Ameritrade said he’s made mistakes in his career, but he’s thankful for one he avoided.

Joe Moglia said Friday he didn’t listen to Wall Street executives who pushed mortgage-backed securities as a way for his company to make fast profits.

As a result, TD Ameritrade avoided the fate of such companies as Lehman Brothers and AIG.

Moglia, speaking at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said he hoped students would learn from the mistakes that led to the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

He said he believes that the worst is over and that the federal government was correct to intervene to try to lessen the impact of the crisis.

“You can argue about whether or not the government’s done a good job,’’ Moglia said, “but the option was, there was no option. Our country was going bankrupt.”

Moglia spoke to students, faculty members and others at the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management.

He advised students to begin watching their own finances.

“Students need to understand their spending habits and debt. They need to save,” Moglia said. He suggested opening an IRA after graduation.

Moglia, formerly CEO of TD Ameritrade, the online brokerage firm, devoted part of his talk to leadership.

He said everyone pats a leader on the back during the good times, but great leaders stand out in hard times. They need to be on the top of their game.

“You need to provide value and a return that shows. You need to take care of people,” he said. “Sometimes business executives lose sight of this. Wall Street lost sight of this.”

For the students to be successful in any career, he said, they must lose any sense of entitlement. They must have a good understanding of who they are and what their aptitudes are and be able to stand out in a crowd.

He also offered a practical piece of advice: Take down any inappropriate photographs they posted on Facebook.

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