The acronym WILT is an abbreviation for "What Is Lars Thinking."
The term WILT came into use back in the mid 1980s when Lars Toomre was the head of the Collateralized Mortgage Obligation ("CMO") and Asset-Backed Securities ("ABS") Trading group for Lehman Brothers. At that time, Lehman Brothers was a dominant force in the CMO trading business and many large institutional accounts (like CalPERS, Texas Teachers, TIAA-CREF, Equitable, MetLife, Mass Mutual, etc.) felt like they had a fiduciary obligation to check with Kevin McDermott and/or Lars Toomre before engaging in significant transactions. As a result, portfolio managers at these and other large institutional accounts regularly called the CMO trading desk or their sales contact with the simple question, "What Is Lars Thinking" about this or that.
The term WILT continued as Lars:
- Was the head of the entire mortgage trading business at Smith Barney,
- Mixed derivatives and mortgages for commercial banks at UBS (the large SIFI Swiss bank),
- Ran long duration immunized portfolios and Enterprise Risk Management ("ERM") functions at MetLife Investment Management Co. ("MIMCO"), and
- Created the Weather Derivatives business for American Re Capital Markets ("ARCM"), an American subsidiary of Germany's and the world's largest reinsurer, Munich Re.
Today clients of Brass Rat Capital LLC ("BRC") continue to inquire whether Lars can give them a WILT. The reader can request a current WILT as well by sending an email request to Lars with WILT in the subject line.