What risk managers have learned since the shock of 1998?

Michael Gordon, Chief Investment Officer at Fidelity International, writes in a recent FT article: “Market insight: What risk managers have learnt since the shock of 1998” 

Some questions: Does the collapse of confidence in the US subprime market have any similarities to the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management in September 1998? Have product innovation and industry consolidation helped create greater resilience across the financial system? 

Part of the answer: “The subprime woes look a good candidate for the party-pooper, but if history teaches us anything it is that the biggest threats to markets are rarely the obvious ones.”