New York is dangerously close to losing its leadership status as the financial hub of the United States, new research shows.Julia Demaree Nikhinson/The Associated Press

Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.

It’s been more than three decades since fictional characters like Tom Wolfe’s Sherman McCoy and Oliver Stone’s Gordon Gekko defined an era of excess on Wall Street and fueled a stampede of young Turks eager to make their fortunes in the fabled canyons of lower Manhattan.

Now, real-life masters of the universe are fleeing New York in record numbers for unlikely but increasingly popular financial services hotbeds such as Texas, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina.

That shift is “scary” for New York’s economy and its competitiveness in the market for top talent, according to Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, the high-profile financial services advocacy organization.

The group released new research last week that shows New York is dangerously close to losing its leadership status as the financial hub of the United States.

The reasons: High taxes and an increasingly onerous regulatory environment are driving companies to low-tax, business-friendly southern states, particularly Texas and Florida.

And fears are rising that the situation could get worse. The report........

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