There aren't many people in the financial markets who don't occasionally gaze with envy at Macquarie Bank, aka the millionaires' factory. It's home-grown, dominates sectors such as infrastructure finance and mergers and acquisitions, has a global outlook, and pays its employees very, very well. So it should come as no surprise that in early 2001 I was extremely flattered when a divisional director (DD) of the bank contacted me to see if I would be interested in Macquarie's private-equity group.

I had been toying with the idea of setting up my own investment fund, but this would be a far riskier option than accepting a salaried position with a house like Macquarie. In any case, there could be no harm in pursuing the Macquarie offer while keeping my other options open.