Art Cashin, Renowned Market Pundit, Passes Away at 83

By Manya Saini and Suzanne McGee

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Art Cashin, a renowned market pundit and the UBS director of floor operations at the New York Stock Exchange, has died at the age of 83, UBS said.

Cashin, once dubbed "Wall Street's version of Walter Cronkite" by The Washington Post, was a regular on CNBC, delivering stock market commentary and analysis to the business news channel's viewers for more than 25 years. His Wall Street career spanned over six decades.

> "It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of Arthur Cashin, Jr., a true giant in our industry," Bill Carroll, head of sales and development at UBS Wealth Management USA, said in a memo sent to employees on Monday.

The memo did not state when he had died or provide details about the circumstances.

In addition to his role at UBS, Cashin was famous for his daily newsletter, Cashin's Comments, which was published for over 25 years with a daily circulation of more than 100,000 readers. He was also a regular on CNBC's "Art Cashin on the Markets," a segment airing several times a week for more than two decades.

> "It's fair to say that over this time, Art Cashin became a household name for investors across the country, who benefited from his savvy insight on the markets, good humor, and wit," the memo noted.

Arthur D. Cashin was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1941, according to CNBC. He began his business career at Thomson McKinnon in 1959 and, in 1964, at age 23, he became a member of the NYSE and a partner of P.R. Herzig & Co.
In 1980, Cashin joined investment bank PaineWebber and managed their floor operation, which was acquired by UBS in 2000. At that time, the NYSE floor was the hub for the vast majority of trading activity in the United States.

His newsletter, which combined market analysis with trivia, historical tidbits, and even recipes, often generated buzz in Wall Street's trading rooms and on the NYSE floor.
> "The day Cashin's Commentary was released was always a landmark on the Street," said Art Hogan, market strategist at Baird Wealth Management, who got to know Cashin over the decades they worked on Wall Street together.

One recipe regularly featured was for "White Castle burger stuffing," which he usually sent ahead of Thanksgiving, Hogan recalled. Its ingredients included buns and patties from White Castle.

Cashin was also a regular at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Manhattan, where he and a group of friends would gather for decades to tell stories and discuss markets. His usual drink was a Dewar's on ice, and the restaurant would have it ready for him within five minutes after the market closed.

> "Every time I'd be in New York, I'd be sure to be at Bobby Van's right when the markets closed," said Julie Werner, an individual investor in the Atlanta area, who first met Cashin in the mid-1990s while taking classes at the NYSE. "They'd have his drink ready and waiting for him at his own seat."

Cashin was one of three senior executive floor governors and also served as a member of the Bond Club of New York. He chaired the NYSE Fallen Heroes Fund, which assists families of first responders killed in the line of duty.

CNBC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Cashin's family could not be reached for comment.