Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Roger's 1998 Short Picks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: larry who wrote (2162)	2/2/1998 11:14:00 PM
From: Roger A. Babb	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 18691

Larry, it is often easier to find good shorts than it is to find good longs, at least for me. Even though the market was up 30% in 1997, my short portfolio returned a much higher % and my long portfolios did only a little better than the market. Admittedly my long portfolios are much larger and more diversified, while my short portfolio is smaller and more focused and gets a lot more of my attention. I can select a group of 10 longs and say with confidence that 6 or 7 are good investments. But I can select a group of 10 shorts and be right on 9 of them. I guess I am just better at finding the bad in a company. Or maybe I have just been lucky with my shorts and only think it is skill, hard to tell which. Shorting is no more risky than going long. It is just that you have to be prepared for it to go up just as you are prepared for a long to go down. That means you must carry adequate reserves. Happy investing, Roger