To All, Jim Cramer has a very odd piece in The Slate today. The title tells most of the story, "A Message To My Enemies." He makes some excellent points, but the overall tone is bizarre and makes me fear for his emotional health. First, the good points.
He mentions how his enemies have gloated over his 2% return last year and how that doesn't take away his great returns for the last 15 years. As a portfolio manager, I totally agree with his attitude. You cannot get superb returns over the long haul without an occasional sub-par period of performance. Now, 2% when the markets are up nearly 30%, is pretty danged sub-par, and tells me he is taking too much risk to get his superior returns, but at least his returns were not negative.
However, he is the first to say that "I can't wait for these overvalued stocks to come down. I have to buy them because I have to make a living today." There is a saying among portfolio managers that goes, "you are only as good as your last trade." It is nonsense logically, but true in that cutthroat world. And, to be fair, when I was being paid nearly half a million bucks a year while the average American was earning $23,000 a year, I think the average American had every reason to expect superior performance for that payout. And today's gap is even greater. Vinick left Fidelity after half a year of owning bonds that didn't work, despite many years of great performance. At one firm where I worked, we had 4 managers who regularly hit The Forbes Honor Roll. One year none of them got there and within a year all had left the firm, under pressure if not fired. And it was one of the reasons the only time I actually fought with my bosses was when they took action that would hurt my performance.
There is no loyalty in this game. It is "what have you done for me lately." My guess is that Cramer's 15 years of great performance attracted many new clients and those cliets were justifiably unhappy with him last year. That is the way this game is played.
He talks about how everyone picks on him and nobody picks on Tokyo Mex. Duh. I had never heard of Tokyo Mex before seeing his name in The Slate piece. I used to see Cramer on CNBS and ABC every other day. If you are a public figure, you have to expect more shots than an anonymous thread poster.
He mentions that money managers know more than reporters. Correct.
Then he starts to justify what he does with the publics' need to know. C'mon, Jim, you like the limelight and you like to tout your positions. Nothing wrong with that. You are not a selfless benefactor of the public. Neither are most of us. And would anyone want to read Mother Theresa's thoughts about bull spreads and neutral straddles?
Very odd, very whiny column. I think Abelson hurt his feelings in Barron's. More, I think the Barron's pan may have hurt the stock offering.
MB |
