While looking into the market data, Daniel discovers that no one is disclosing the delinquency rate of home loans, as they are supposed to. But Eisman chooses him to investigate the subprime mortgage market as his personal assistant. Daniel is hired at Eisman’s firm, Oppenheimer, thanks to a personal connection when he is only 26. However, he and Eisman both share an intense suspicion of other people.
Vincent Daniel is introduced as the opposite of Steve Eisman in many ways: he grew up in Queens, in a lower class family, and went on to dress and behave very seriously and carefully in his professional life. He also decides that the consumer finance industry exists to “rip people off,” and becomes determined to stand up for the rights of lower and middle class Americans whom this industry takes advantage of. After the accidental death of his infant son, however, he develops a more pessimistic outlook and comes to believe that nothing and no one is too good to fail. In his youth, he also identifies as a Republican and believes that finance benefits everyone through its trickle-down effects.
He enters the industry believing that he is blessed by good luck. He is described as an eccentric character: he dresses half-fastidiously, with a haircut he seems to have done himself, and has “the opposite of a poker face.” Those who work for him tend to love him because he stands up for the underdog and has a strong sense of justice, but many people are off put by his lack of manners. He established himself as one of few analysts whose opinions could change the markets, and found genuine joy in learning about the industry. There, he rose quickly through the ranks thanks to his bold demeanor and talent for predicting when a company would fail. He originally worked as a corporate lawyer, until quitting to join his parents at Oppenheimer securities in 1991. Eisman is one of the central characters in The Big Short.