Dear Ms. Payne,
Please pardon me if I have painted all short sellers with one brush. I have nothing against short selling - it is tool that I believe all investors should have in their toolbox. More than that, it is a vital tool in a market such as the one we find ourselves in.
You are absolutely correct that there is nothing morally wrong with short selling, and I meant no offense to you.
I was responding to jgsolari's question about the "venom, anger and bitterness" that *some* short sellers exhibit when posting. You, as you have said, are "gratified by a correct analysis of a stock." That is commendable. But some short sellers are far more gratified by expressing their investment as a moral decision - as an admirable, even righteous act. For them, it is very important that the company which they short be viewed in negative moral terms. For them, the short sale is both an emotional and spiritual act, and they are the instruments of God to punish the evildoing company. Hence the venom expressed at a company's management.
So I believe that we are in agreement. You were very wise when you said "investing based on emotion is dangerous to one's financial health." It is very important to separate the investment process from emotions.
I close with another of your statements.
"It's all about buying low and selling high. I'm not interested in being a hero."
How I wish all who short sell could remember this motto. It is far too often that one hears statements that a company "deserves to be shorted to zero" because the management are "crims."
I am impressed by your level head and poise in the investment process, and I wish you all the best, whatever side you may invest on, long and short.
Yours,
The Boom Dog |
