David,
I hope you realize my earlier comment was tongue-in-cheek.
However, put yourself in their shoes:
"1. TSC is becoming an InterNut IPO. How can ANY neutrality continue to exist? Any editorial must now be considered tainted."
Ok, so they're taking their company public. So is Goldman Sachs. Does this mean that Abby Joseph Cohen's market calls are now tainted? If I'm a happy GS customer should I now disregard anything that comes out of their research department because it could be a veiled attempt to keep the market propped up? Remember that the S.E.C. will certainly scrutinize any commentary that comes out of TSC that could be interpreted as an attempt to goose up the market price of their stock. With the S.E.C. watching them, as well as a hoard of securities attorneys ready to pounce should the IPO blow up, one could say that their editorials will be conservative, not tainted.
"2. JJC has now admitted to a 2% gain for his Cramer Berkowitz fund for all of 1998. I don't need advice from someone, who goes through that much pain to earn less than half the rate that I am currently getting from a totally safe US Government 90 day T-Bill."
He has also beaten the S&P over the past 10 years. As you know, last year was a weird one, and I'd bet you'd be hard pressed to find many hedge fund managers who outperformed the S&P over 10 years and at the same time had a bang-up year last year. Just ask investors in Long Term Capital if they would've settled for 2% last year. If JJC happens to beat the market this year, will you renew your subscription? Or will you care? I'm sure his well-chronicled blowup on Cendant had a lot to do with 2% last year. Everyone makes mistakes, but if you've beaten the averages over 10 years, you're certainly doing something right.
"3. There is a distinct bubble occurring out there. TSC is ignoring it and this policy is deliberate. TSC has a duty to its readers to point this fact out MUCH more loudly than the occasional mention in a dimly lit column."
Read Herb Greenberg's daily columns. You'll see a daily reminder of the bubble. And who's to say we're in the middle of a bubble? Only time will tell. I agree with you that the market is overvalued on a historical basis. But what would you like TSC to do? Beat the "bubble drum" and then watch the market continue to rise? You criticize JJC for only doing 2% last year. But if he had positioned himself for this impending bubble you speak of, his performance would've been even worse. Barrons and Abelson have been crying "bubble" for almost 10 years now. They make JJC look like a god in relative terms.
If the $6.95 per month spent on TSC can't be justified, then you did the right thing by cancelling. If you are concerned with the effects their pending IPO will have on their editorial content, again, you did the right thing. But you can't really (can you?) expect TSC or anyone else for that matter to espouse your personal market opinions or to change their point of view on things like market bubbles, simply because you say there is one. If "bubble" is what you want to hear, then there are several mkt letters (Dow Theory Newsletter, Joe Granville, just to name a few) out there. And as far as the 2% return last year, c'mon, it's not like the guy is charging $100 per month for the service. If Warren Buffett wrote a newsletter, I promise you he'd charge more than TSC does.
Good luck.
Gary |
