Financial institutions spend all day packaging financial products—are they really selling profit?

They sell risk.

A bunch of actuaries, a bunch of analysts, and what they really do is figure out how to keep the profits for themselves and package risk into products that someone else has to bear.

That's how they ensure their risk-free profits in the end.

That's professionalism.

Passing the buck, digging pits, and planting landmines—that's what being a professional looks like.

The so-called expert is someone who knows there's a landmine there but refuses to defuse it. Because he knows he can't, so what can he do instead?

He stays closely watchful of the mine's movements, and right before it detonates, he does what Xu Shu did before the Battle of Red Cliffs: he crafts himself a perfect alibi.