One thing I'd like to point out that not all "financial engineering" involves complex mathematics. For example one of the most widespread instances of "financial engineering" across many if not most large corporations is the issuance of corporate bonds. While some corporations do this because they truly need the cash, most do so as a financial calculation based on their growth projections, the rates of returns on government bonds and other investments. The huge influx of cash raised by this sale of corporate bonds can then be used to buy back stock (inflating the stock price), paying a dividend or even taking straight cash payouts for executives. This all looks good on paper until growth projections turn out lower than expected, there is a disruption in the bond markets, currency markets or anything else that threatens to reduce the ability of the corporatation to make bond payments. This can lead to defaults, liquidation of company assets to pay bond holders or even bankruptcy. However, those executives and stock holders who made massive amounts of cash from the bond issuance, either directly or indirectly (through buybacks which artificially raised the price of the stock) walk away with all that money while the corporation itself (and the workers) are SOL.