Ah yes, the famous case of the Beardstown Ladies.
Fame and fortune can disappear when you "forget" to account for the monies you added to your portfolio during the year, when you calculate your balances at year end.
At the time, I never could figure out how their % gains were possibly as great as they suggested, given the typical stocks they were buying/recommending. Further, I understand the power of compound wisdom and group knowledge, etc., but how a bunch of old lady amateurs could consistently - consistently - beat (reported as percentage gains), professionals - professionals who are among the brainiest people around, working min. 40 hours/wk at it, with their contacts and their group knowledge -- well, that was too hard to believe. And that they could outdo me too by such a great percentage, that was tough too!
online.wsj.com
You may need a subscription to WSJ to read the above. It's a "where are they now" column dated May 1, 2006. Apparently the group (with new members entering, older leaving/dying) is still buying and holding stocks for the long term (WMT, CAKE, BBBY, types). Maybe doing very well at it. Because when they were properly audited, the results did show that they did produce pretty darn good results (well, imo): "... while a shocked and disappointed public turned its back on the Beardstown Ladies, nobody really paid much attention to another number the outside auditor had discovered: that the club's average annual return from 1983 to 1997 was 15.3%, outpacing the Dow and the club's own pedestrian 1984-93 returns." Plus, the club never got sucked into the dotcom bubble. |
