Quants Rule
Finance wizard James Simons made more money than T. Boone Pickens last year. Is it any wonder quants are the hottest commodity on Wall Street?
We don’t know if the geeks will inherit the earth. But they will certainly invade the General Society Library in NYC on Thursday, December 7th.
All Daily Speculations readers are invited to hear Professor Francis X. Diebold speaking on “Volatility and Investing: A Fifty-Year Overview.” Prof. Diebold is among the world’s outstanding historians. His book Elements of Forecasting is an essential reference for the market participant. We are sponsoring this event on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 8 pm at the General Society Library, 20 W. 44th St., between 5th & 6th avenues in New York City. Admission is free and you may bring as many people as you like. We welcome your attendance and look forward to meeting fellow speculators and readers.—Victor and Laurel. Daily Speculations
Turn off CNBC and read a book.
Evil Is Thy Name
I recently eavesdropped on cocktail chatter discussing the loathsome behavior of a well-known television personality. Seizing the moment, I inserted myself into the conversation, incredulous that he was recommending Research in Motion (RIMM-NASDAQ) last week in the neighborhood of $140 after panning the stock in July when it was trading in the low $60’s.
7/20/2006
Cramer also said that investors should sell (RIMM) ahead of the (MOT) investor conference. Cramer thinks that (MOT) will possibly announce a BlackBerry killer that could hurt Research In Motion’s (RIMM) share price. maddmoney
Emboldened by own astuteness, I added that his histrionics over Google (GOOG-NASDAQ) going into the Thansgiving break pretty much put the top in that stock...with an assist from CNBC.
Alas, they were talking about Kramer, not Cramer, and I politely excused myself.
Still, who is the real menace to society?
Granted, our observations are more anecdotal in nature than statistically based...but some folks have been busy crunching numbers on Cramer’s picks…
Outside Looking In
Former journalist turned sell-side analyst turned pariah turned blogger Henry Blodget has been chronicaling all things Google (GOOG-Nasdaq) for quite some time at his Internet Outsider blog.
A mere six years ago Blodget was riding high, making big bucks at Merrill Lynch and enjoying his coronation as King of the Net stocks, having displaced Morgan Stanley’s Mary Meeker as Institutional Investors #1 ranked Internet Analyst.
Henry was not long for Wall Street however, and got out of Dodge before the Lynch mob in Merrill’s retail account base could string him up for his numerous sins.
Henry held on to a pile of cash after paying some fairly hefty fines and proceeded to reinvent himself as a blogger free to speak his mind. Is this a great country or what?.
His most recent post might be of some interest to those of you who rely on Yahoo! finance and/or Google finance.
Remember Google Finance? Half a year ago, Google Finance debuted to rave reviews, startling the snoozing market leader, Yahoo, into action. Rumor has it that in the past six months the Google Finance team has even launched more impressive innovations. But have they? Who knows? To check out Google Finance, you have to type “Finance” into the search window (or stumble into the Finance section by searching for something else that happens to be contained within it). And who wants to bother to do that when you can stay on Yahoo and just click a link. Who can even remember to do that? Internet Outsider
Love or hate him, you might want to occasionally read him.
Professors Invade Big Apple
Not all market participants can stoke the public’s imagination like Nat Rothschild. Indeed, Vitaliy Katsenelson is a self-proclaimed boring guy. He is one of the many Minyanville professors. Sage minyans will be gathering at their big event later today.
We would like to introduce Guest Blogger Vitaliy and his “Absolute PE” concept. You can read all about it at his ContrarianEdge blog…
The following transcript was published in a CFA Society of Colorado newsletter…
CFA COLORADO-Vitaliy, thanks for agreeing to be our first featured member. You do it all-you’re a portfolio manager at Investment Management Associates, an instructor at CU Denver and contribute articles to The Financial Times, Minyanville and The Motley Fool. You’ve even got a book coming out next spring! Not to mention that you have a wife and 2 young kids at home. You must be very passionate about investing. How do you do it all?
VITALIY-Outside of my home, investing is my passion. I don’t see it as a job; it’s more like a hobby. And the writing comes naturally. It is an extension of my analysis, a part of the research process. To understand a company, I write about it. This makes me intellectually honest. But rather than write research reports, I write articles. Plus, I do tend to work long hours, including at home after the kids are asleep. My writing and teaching help me to become a better investor. It’s a trifecta. Each one makes the other better. I teach and write about what I’m investing in.
CFACO-Tell us about the class you teach at CU Denver.
VITALIY-I teach a graduate class in Practical Equity Analysis. Besides the enjoyment I find in teaching, it’s like a lab for my investment ideas. It helps me refine my investment process.
CFACO-How so?
VITALIY-I came up with a concept I call “Absolute PE” that I first introduced to my students and have since integrated into my investment process.
