Getting Religion

In his dark blue suit, pressed white shirt and sleek gray tie, Rabbi David Clyman looks more like a savvy Wall Street dealmaker than an unassuming man of God. That's probably a good thing, given the exclusive company he keeps.

Clyman pays weekly calls on some of the most accomplished professionals on Wall Street--people such as hedge fund manager Mark Kingdon of Kingdon Capital Management and investment banker Salem Shuchman of Patricof & Co.--counseling them on everything from family life to Jewish scripture.

Can it be that the Masters of the Universe are actually recognizing a higher power?

"This is an opportunity to examine what's important in life," says Kingdon, who has earned tens of millions of dollars managing a $1.7 billion offshore fund. "I have two small children, and I've got to think about what lessons I'm going to pass on."

The new spiritual quest on Wall Street is becoming a broad ecumenical movement.

Officials at Trinity Church, the Episcopalian landmark a stone's throw from the New York Stock Exchange, say the number of Wall Streeters attending services is on the rise. Faith Exchange Fellowship, a downtown church founded by a former commodities trader, has seen its membership swell to 225 people since opening its doors a year and a half ago. And the number of business leaders participating in the Executive Jewish Enrichment Group--the program run by Mr. Clyman--has more than doubled, to 50, since 1997.

In addition to its Wall Street congregation, Clyman's group has quietly recruited such high-level corporate executives as apparel honcho Kenneth Cole and Toys "R" Us Chairman Michael Goldstein.

"I think a lot of it has to do with the end of the millennium and concerns that the bull market is ending," says Dan Stratton, the trader-turned-preacher at Faith Exchange Fellowship.

To be sure, Kingdon and the others are accepting God into their lives on their own terms and schedules. Rarely do they have time for Friday-night services, and Clyman--who likes to describe himself as a personal trainer for the soul--knows better than to try to schedule a session between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Making the time

"I can't compete with the market," the rabbi says.

Still, despite their intense schedules, more and more Wall Streeters are making time to develop their spiritual side. Working in the securities industry requires long hours and means being constantly judged by your last trade. The pressure is intense and often contributes to broken marriages and substance abuse problems. The ultimate payoff, of course, is the bonus check. But when financial executives finally reach their seven-figure promised land, many of them find themselves feeling strangely unfulfilled.

"At some point," says Clyman, "people realize that just having more money doesn't improve their family life or enhance the quality of their life in any meaningful or spiritual way."

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