Occupy Wall Street protester finds occupation on Wall Street — thanks to indie B-D

An independent broker-dealer has taken a flyer on an Occupy Wall Street protester. John Thomas Financial hired Tracy Postert, an unemployed Ph.D. in biomedical science, as an assistant to its chief market analyst, Wayne Kaufman. Ms. Postert, who specializes in pharmacology, got the job after Mr. Kaufman spotted her in October in front of the ragtag throng in the now famous Zuccotti Park in Manhattan's financial district. At the time, Ms. Postert was holding a handwritten sign that read: “Ph.D. Biomedical Scientist seeking full-time employment.” The back of the sign read: “Ask me for my resume.” On Oct. 22, Mr. Kaufman did exactly that, and followed up the next day with an e-mail asking Ms. Postert to come in for an interview at John Thomas, an independent broker-dealer with more than 200 brokers. The B-D focuses on raising cash for startups and private deals. Ms. Postert had joined the anti-Wall Street movement in October, and spent two weeks washing sidewalks and making sandwiches at Zuccotti Park, just two blocks from John Thomas' offices at 14 Wall St., according to the New York Post, which first reported the story on Monday. Mr. Kauffman said he was “fascinated” by the Occupy Wall Street movement, and had been making quick visits two or three times a week since the protest began in September to see what was happening at the park. The move to hire Ms. Postert is an effort to build up John Thomas' biotech business, he said. “I typically hire people out of business school,” Mr. Kaufman told InvestmentNews today. “They have MBAs and all that stuff.” Ms. Postert, who is studying for her Series 7 exam, is a markedly different type of candidate, he noted. While she lacks experience in reading financial statements, Ms. Postert has the scientific expertise that can help uncover companies producing potentially winning drugs, Mr. Kaufman said. “We've bought a [biotech] stock at $3 per share, it went to $5 per share, and then we sold it. But the stock [eventually] went to $15 per share, and we didn't fully understand it,” he said. “She will help us understand what's going on at early stage companies and ride them to big winners.” Ms. Postert started at the firm Nov. 15. She says that she has been consistently underemployed since 1999 when she earned her Ph.D. in biomedical science with a specialization in pharmacology. Her last job was in the spring, said Ms. Postert, who declined to give her specific age but said she was in her thirties. “I really like my [new] job, and that's not a BS statement,” said Ms. Postert in an interview this afternoon. “I'm learning to evaluate companies on a financial basis, but I'm not there yet." She is focusing on stocks of biotech companies that create drugs for disease such as hepatitis C and cancer, as well as the extra-cellular matrix, which she describes as the connective “goo” outside of animal cells. “Where I have an edge is with these up-and-coming biotech stocks,” Ms. Postert said. “If a company gets the science right, I'm going to like that company.”