“The Finest Boys in Finance” may have transcended the rules of their storied industry.
Their cases are extreme, but other young Wall Streeters say social media itself is like a gamble.
Still, Wall Street is well aware of its limitations, and insiders say it’s the price you pay to get your foot in the door.
When four “finance boys” went viral last week for their photos of Loro Piana and Hermés, they broke more than just the sacred rule of not dressing more than your boss. They brought Wall Street banks into popular circles, attracting public attention that clashed with the secretive world of high finance.
Demarre Johnson, a financial services data and artificial intelligence consultant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the only good kid in finance who speaks publicly, understands this.
“If I built a multibillion-dollar banking business, I would hate it when one of my colleagues used a video to shape my company’s image,” he told Business Insider. That’s why he started posting regular TikTok videos about his work before Interview magazine went viral, and he’s been very cautious about it. Sometimes he even asks the company’s senior mentors for their opinions.
Johnson was the only respondent who did not work at a bank. The others – Tommy Doherty, Mason Clarke and Clay Nelson – all work at Barclays and Goldman Sachs, two industry giants that, like their peers, have long prioritized hierarchy and restraint. The street credibility of these banks was earned over years or even decades.
This long-standing culture is clashing with many young professionals who grew up in a different era where the norm was appearance that shaped public identity and success. Current and former Wall Streeters told Business Insider they understand the rules, which can make publishing anything feel like a gamble.
Allison Sheehan, a former Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Advisors analyst, took a gamble in 2023 when she started posting her elaborate cake creations under the name “investment__baker.” Although she said she was careful not to mention the company or her job, she ended up being criticized by the compliance department because her username alluded to her employer too clearly. She recalled that it could reflect poorly on the company if she appeared in the media or if clients found out she was baking cakes instead of working.
“I felt like the rules were holding me back,” Sheehan, who left the bank last summer and is now starting a small baking business, told Business Insider.
“On one hand, people want them to appear successful and interesting online,” Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist in New York City, told Business Insider. “On the other hand, their employers expect caution and strict compliance rules. This tension can create anxiety, especially for young professionals trying to juggle both worlds.”
For Gen Z, whose motto has long been “instagram it or it won’t happen,” social media platforms have turned lifestyle into performance art. Finding a “day in the life” video for almost any career is as easy as stumbling across a post showing off candid footage of a four-figure dinner or a luxurious vacation.
Pew Research reported last year that about 80% of Americans ages 18 to 29 use Instagram, and about half use TikTok every day. Even in finance, social media saturation is high: Morgan Stanley said 83% of interns used Instagram last year.
Alpert describes this divide as a generational divide. Previous groups had clearer lines between professional and personal identities. Now, he says, “devices used for work are also used to broadcast one’s identity to the world—through social media and dating apps, you can find people posting where they work. The idea that a prestigious job should remain private feels unnatural.”
Sheehan decided to leave Goldman Sachs.Alison Sheehan
However, this logic conflicts with Wall Street’s internal culture. Alpert calls finance “one of the most legalistic professional cultures in America,” where status is hierarchical and visibility is tightly managed.
“Online, visibility is currency,” he said. “You should develop your identity, attract attention, and be successful.”
In this sense, the interview photo is counterproductive because it seems to be aimed at the wrong audience: a group of online viewers rather than those overseeing the financial institutions where these individuals work.
Dr. Greg Kushnick, a psychologist who has offices near Wall Street and works with young professionals, said the incident “had to happen at some point when these two worlds collide.”
The four young men featured in the now-viral article have dominated financial social media accounts over the past week, although Johnson told Business Insider he thought the article would “fly under the radar.”
A person familiar with the compliance policies of Wall Street’s largest banks said the organization has been criticized for not having the currency to build a reputation — or, more simply, the right to make such egregious mistakes.
“If you have been there for 10 years and are a successful banker, you have accumulated institutional capital,” they say. By seeking digital approval, these young people are compromising their professional standing before they have had many opportunities to prove their skills at the firm, they add. “It’s a shot in the arm in your career. These guys are early in their careers, so they don’t have accrued equity with anybody.”
Meridith Dennes, a Wall Street recruiter who runs Prospect Rock Partners, says that when you join a financial institution, “you’re not ‘me’ anymore.”
“You are ‘us,'” she said. “It’s important to understand, ‘What impact do I have on Goldman Sachs’ global brand reputation?’” If Goldman is courting clients who value caution, an analyst who presents in “stylish New York fashion” may actually become a liability or a source of friction.
For a generation who grew up online, what they may consider to be innocuous self-expression or personal branding may register as a brand risk with their employer. One private equity analyst told Business Insider that she used to post free office lunches for her meager TikTok followers, making sure to omit any identifying details about the company until a colleague recognized a tiny detail on her desk and mentioned the videos.
She deleted the content from the account, which listed only her first name, and said she was “afraid” the company would see any of the content. Both Sheehan and analysts said they also worry that peers or random followers could get them into trouble. “People are going to do crazy things,” the analyst said. “They can email your company. They can ruin things for you.”
Whatever happens to finance’s best boys now, this knowledgeable banking source predicts that those who violate company policies will likely suffer consequences in team culture and performance reviews for following the rules. This in turn could lead to lower year-end bonuses, sources said.
“This is not a small thing. All of these things spill over into other areas,” he said. “There’s a program where you get graded for upholding the company’s values. They get a zero for that.”
Paul Argenti, a Dartmouth College corporate communications professor who has consulted for Goldman Sachs, said young professionals may feel different pressures than previous generations.
“I would say the younger generation wants a different perspective on work today than it did in the past,” he said. “Times have changed. Values have changed.” But that’s no excuse — financial institutions have made their expectations clear and enforced “very, very clear” regulation around the use of social media, Argenti said. Junior employees understand the culture they are entering.
“It’s just one of the costs of wanting to work in an industry like this,” Argenti said. “In the battle between culture and your values versus the organization’s values, you’re always going to lose to the organization—unless you’re managing it.”
