Mike, the most famous example of this was the rich hedge fund manager Robert Wilson who shorted Resorts Intl. and then went on an around the world cruise before wireless communications. In the meantime, other evil hedge fund mgrs, including yours truly, bid up Resorts for no reason other than that we had him on the hook, much as they did with Micron under the tutelage of Kurlak. The stock went from the 40s to over 200. When Wilson returned, he was in deep kimshee, though hardly poverty stricken.
I don't know the real answer to your question. If you had somebody you could trust, who was not only competent but honest and had the free time and the good will, to watch the stocks for you, that would be the perfect solution. But outside of that, it can be spooky. I know I get nervous about options positions, especially, whenever I go off on a long trip. I have some brokers I can grill if I have time to get to a phone, but that gets old, too, when I'm not placing orders. These guys have to dial for dollars to make a living. But, since I have made some of them wealthy when I managed institutional portfolios, I still take advantage of them.
But I live in fear of my missed gains more than losses, since I have a low risk, high return investment philosophy. For example, there is no way I could have managed the nimble trades in Presstek on the downside when it fell from 200 to 50 if I hadn't been in town. Just too many missing pieces. So, if you find a solution to this problem, please let me know. MB |
