Can't we all just get along? :-)
Fact:
o Bob recommended a sell of New Asia before the serious turmoil started, citing a reason of "lagging performance".
Was it lagging relative to other Asian funds? Yes. But was that what he was referring to? Who knows. Maybe he meant relative to general int'l funds. Maybe even relative to the S&P (doubtful). And, maybe he felt uncomfortable with the region, but didn't mention it. Does it matter? Well, no. Not really. Sort of. Maybe.
It matters to me only that, as stated before, I elected to switch out of New Asia to another Asian fund. I didn't follow his recommendation. Can Bob be blamed for that? Of course not. However, it does irk me when I hear him say - or imply - that he foresaw the Asian troubles and got his subscribers out. He did the latter, but not the former, IMO as a subscriber. Doesn't mean he didn't foresee it, but it does mean he did not convey that to me.
Fact:
o Over the 7-9 years I've been listening to him (I've lost track of exactly when I started), he's been uncannily accurate in identifying buying opportunities in both the stock *and* bond markets. He hasn't been perfect (Mar '94 comes to mind), but he's damn well been the best that I've come across, and far exceeds my expectations.
Will he be able to call a top? We'll know eventually. If he cannot, I will still believe he's the best I've seen, and I won't bad mouth him because of it. If he can, well, I really will begin to wonder if he's visiting us from a future time zone.
Fact:
o Some of Bob's stock picks have been great, and others not so great. I was long UTEK before Bob mentioned it, and I'm still long. UTEK *is* a good company, and I strongly believe in it. Yes, recommending it for purchase late last year at 30 or lower wasn't a very good call. In hindsight, selling it at 30 or higher would've been better. But that's one pick among many over the years, some of which have done very well. (Again, I wish I hadn't used independent thinking and sold MSFT in late '96 when it seemed WAY overvalued to me. Bob held, and it's doubled since.)
Fact:
o All wives (mine included) feel Bob is arrogant, egotistical, and sometimes rude. ;-)
I do believe there are times when he is clearly short - curt - with people. Some of them deserve it, many of them don't. But, deep down, I think he's a pretty decent guy. And I cannot believe he can put up with 6 hours of callers (some of them make *me* yell "GIVE ME A BREAK"), week after week, for soooooo many years. Of course, I do still hold a bit of a grudge for the time he read our letter on the air, and remarked "Give me a MAJOR break". ;-)
Fact:
o I am bothered by the fact that he keeps saying "I have nothing to sell". Compared with brokers and bankers and insurance agents who push loaded mutual funds without disclosing the load - damn straight. But, c'mon. In some ways, Money Talk is a 6 hr commercial for Marketimer. (Much more so nowadays than in the "old days".) Bob has reached critical mass (many times over, I'd think) due in part, at least, to his radio show. But I don't begrudge him one bit for it - I just wish he would stop saying he has nothing to sell. (Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've heard him say that anytime recently ....)
Thanks for letting me vent. I hope I haven't upset too many regulars here, who think that a lurker such as I shouldn't be seen or heard.
Ken |
