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Non-Tech : James Cramer -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: W. Luther who wrote (311)	2/25/1999 6:52:00 PM
From: Gary M. Reed	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 766

Why does everyone feel so compelled to take cheap shots at Cramer? So he didn't outperform the averages last year. How many hedge fund managers did? Ask the investors in Long Term Capital if they would've settled for 2% return last year. Comparing your individual returns to a hedge fund mgr is like apples and oranges. When you are investing your own money, you call the shots on when to get in and out. When you are managing others' money, you are at their mercy. Typically these investors pour money into the funds at the market highs and choose to redeem them at market lows (witness last October). As a result, you are often forced to buy high and sell low. Which can seriously impact your bottom line results. Also, Mr. Luther is correct when he says Cramer took a big hit on CD early in the year. Unlike most guests who appear on Squawk, Cramer didn't try to hide that fact...in fact, he used it as an example to viewers, sort of like "here is one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made, and here's how you the viewer can learn from it." I think Cramer is controversial because he doesn't pull punches. How many times have you seen guests on Squawk crawfish on their market calls. I.e., Haynes will ask them what they like, and their response is, "well, I guess the market could go higher...but then again, it could go lower." How many guests (besides Cramer) have actually admitted they were long Internet stocks like AMZN. Usually these bums spew out the same "me too" stocks (i.e. GE, IBM, DELL, MRK), and then--in the true spirit of being non-committal--they hedge their comments at the end by saying, "Uh, well, I like GE, I think it could go higher...but I guess it could go lower if the market goes lower." At least with Cramer, you know exactly where he stands. And like the CD incident, he never tries to hide or downplay his mistakes. Contrary to some of the posts I've read, he never tells you "this is what YOU should be doing." Rather, when you read his stuff on Street.com or view him on Squawk, he is giving you a look at his daily journal, i.e. "these are my current thoughts on the markets." As an investor/trader, I consider his stuff invaluable. I don't always agree with him and sometimes I vehemently disagree with his views. But he does indeed provide key insights to what "the big boys" are doing on Wall Street, and as an investor, that is invaluable information. And back to the investment return issue, even John Bogle would tell you the only true yardstick of a manager or fund's performance is the 10-year figure. Anything shorter than that can be misleadingly skewed due to one big (or lousy) year. And the article DID indeed say he had beaten the S&P over the last 10 years. 'nuff said. I can't help but think that most of this "anti-Cramer" sentiment is rooted in jealousy. I mean, be honest--of all the guests who appear on Squawk, who would you most want to grab a beer with and pick his/her brain? Then again, I would guess that the fact there are (at least) two SI threads devoted to Cramer is, in itself, a tip of the cap to the man. Think about it, have you ever seen a Jimmy Rodgers thread? I've spent the last 10 years in the securities business as an analyst and a trader. I find Cramer's insights educational and his candidness refreshing. Those who don't are walking around blind without a cane. And those who feel the need to slam him should be forced to watch 8 hours of Meyer Berman interviews. And as far as the goofs who are bashing him for taking Street.com public, get a life. Again, be honest--if you owned a piece of an Internet related business, are you saying that YOU wouldn't take it public now? I suppose it is okay for Jeff Bezos and the boys at CMGI to take their stuff public, but it's sacriligious when Cramer does it. Again, the jealousy oozes from those posts. Give the guy a break. Gary