Edges for Individual Investors

An unusually sedate Jim Cramer has a very intelligent conversation with James Altucher about the markets, edges for individuals and the backlash to his CNBC show.

The advantages for the individual is that there is no need to mark-to-market — they can be patient, as they are not be forced to generate performance numbers monthly. Plus, they are not limited to $7 billion plus caps, and can find various alternative stocks that are not overly owned or researched.

These are both huge advantages.

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Cramer
Source:  TheStreet.com

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Hey Jim Cramer!  Please do more of this sort of stuff! 

I know the Mad Money show needs the "theatrics," the over the top behavior, biting the heads off of the toys —  But this sort of sober, quiet, intelligent conversation is instructive and wonderful for those who either do not want or need the carnival atmoshpere of the show.

You should do more of this, either on the web or elsewhere.

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What's been said:

Discussions found on the web:
  1. Nona commented on Apr 5

    Thanks for noting and posting this. I would have otherwise missed it. And, yes, it would be wonderful if Cramer had more of these exchanges.

  2. me2 commented on Apr 5

    I totally agree. I think Jim knows his stuff, but I also think a lot of it gets lost in the theatrics. The show would be a lot better with some changes.

    I’ve got another comment. Jim recommends 3 to 5 stocks on every show, one way or another. I say that the market doesn’t have 3 to 5 really good stocks to recommend every day. Mad Money must run about 250 days a year. 250 x4 = 1000 stocks a year ! If I were Jim, I would cut back on the number or recommendations and spend more time just discussing “things” in general. I’m sure a lot of people would like to learn more about investing in general, rather than just throwing money at the daily recommendation.

  3. EKC commented on Apr 5

    Do you ever get the sense that his recommendations are leaked or bought beforehad?

  4. UndergradJonathan commented on Apr 5

    good question. It is interesting that he brings certain products on the show (i.e. Oakley sunglasses, Van Helseng Shirts) and talks with CEO’s of companies..Is he buying these items himself or recieving them elsewhere..but this is not the point..

    His podcasts I find are much more tolerable and his after market following is ridiculous. For instance, TOMO, reccomended yesterday, up 1pt and change..baffling

  5. Alaskan_Pete commented on Apr 5

    Oh please. Cramer would be stocking shelves in Best Buy if not for his wife. He should have stuck to journalism…well actually I guess he did in a way after getting flushed out of the real game. How much OPM did he lose trying to run a hedge fund?

    The guy is just another Goldman shill, and a raving asshole to boot. The last thing we need is another apologist for this shithead.

  6. john commented on Apr 5

    Alaskan_Pete – don’t hold back – let us know what you really think.

    Cramer makes more than 3 to 5 recommendations a day. Go to madmoneyrecap.com and you will see on a day by day basis every single pick he has made since starting the show.

    The guy has picked over 600 stocks (that’s 100 more than the SP 500 contains). Someone has figured out that if you just bought a mid-cap ETF you would have done just as well as his picks (about 16% annum) and you wouldn’t have had 600 round trip commissions.

  7. wcw commented on Apr 5

    Now, the last thing I am is a fan of Cramer’s, but I’d read that his hedge fund had outperformed. No? Cf this critique that Google brings me: http://mahalanobis.twoday.net/stories/859613/

    Sounds about right to me. I’m betting he did have great numbers, that were probably 1/3 rose-colored glasses, 1/3 IPOs and 1/3 inside poop. Do we have anything more verifiable than his book?

  8. mh497 commented on Apr 5

    It’s actually a very entertaining show to watch from the treadmill at the gym.

    Boy does that guy have energy.

  9. me2 commented on Apr 5

    I too wonder about him/his funds pre buying his recommendations. Its funny to watch the afternoon show and see the after hours trades going across the ticker as soon as he talks about a company. He obviously has a big following. It would be pretty easy to make 5% on every stock he recommends by buying before hand.

    I haven’t agreed with a lot of his recommendations. In a bull market one will be “right” more often than not. It will be interesting to see him recommend 4 or 5 stocks a day in a bear market. “There is a bull market somewhere.” Yeah right.

    Who is Jim’s wife and why does he owe a lot to her ?

    What is Jim referring to when he talks about sleeping in his car ?

  10. ryan commented on Apr 6

    Actually, there is always a bull market somewhere–sometimes it’s equities, many times it’s other assests, real estate, bonds, metals, grains, it may be bonds–short or long term, sometimes it may only be a foreign currency but Cramer is right when he says there is always a bull market somewhere.

  11. todd commented on Apr 6

    I still don’t give a lot of weight to guys like Jim Cramer that have only been in the market since the early 80s. It’s hard to make a mistake when (for the most part) the markets have only traded higher year after year. An idiot can make money in THAT environment and therefore it’s hard to seperate the idiots from the pros.

    I love the super old dudes. Whenever someone who appears to be older than 65 has something to say, I shut up and listen. I love Art Cashin, Gary Shilling and Richard Russell. These guys are survivors in ANY market conditions.

    BTW– all the older traders seem to be VERY caucious about this market.

  12. Barry Ritholtz commented on Apr 6

    Jim Cramer’s hedge fund’s annualized peformance over 12 years was 23% — thats a substantial outperformance over the S&P.

    He frequently references his wife — the trading goddess — because when he ran into trouble in 97/98, she pulled him out of the fire. If not for her, the fund would havegone belly up, or so he says. Cramer goes into great detail on this in his books, especially Confession of a Street Addict.

    Its $5 used at Amazon, and is a worthwhile read — espically if you want to understand the cult of Cramer . . .

  13. Nyquist Capital commented on Apr 6

    Jim Cramer + Valium = Brilliant

    I may be one of the few folks on the planet who has never seen more than a minute or two Jim Cramers show Mad Money.
    I dont like the theatrics of his show and I think they depreciate the intelligence of Cramer, who is clearl…

  14. Bynocerus commented on Apr 6

    I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I feel compelled to defend JJC.

    My score on the GMAT was good enough to get me a (nearly) full ride to several top 25 business schools. However, it never even crossed my mind to apply to Harvard B-School, because I knew I would be a long shot at best. Harvard Law School is no different. You can’t bs your way into the best university on earth, and despite what you think of his stock picking prowess, JJC is a smart mofo.

  15. Bob A commented on Apr 6

    a couple of Mad Money questions that I am surprised I haven’t seen asked, or at least asked more often?

    How much do the highlighted companies on Mad Money pay to get space on the show?

    How much insider trading is going on among people who know people who work for the Mad Money show?
    Isn’t this kind of activity what got Dan Dorfman busted?
    Do you really not believe there is any of this going on?

  16. angryinch commented on Apr 6

    I think Mad Money could be improved. Especially if they fry an egg on the top of Cramer’s head during each show. By the end of the program, it should be medium-cooked, not too runny. Just like I like it.

  17. curmudgeonly troll commented on Apr 7

    Jim Cramer for Treasury Secretary!

    Boo-yah! Like Barrons’ said, Bush needs someone who can communicate forcefully the good news about the U.S. economy, and take credit on behalf of the administration.

    Preferably without calling attention to the fact that government spending under Bush has increased at the highest rate since the Roosevelt Administration. And that the tax cuts created deficits that would disgrace a banana republic. And that we no longer manufacture anything, and the job base has been exported to Asia. etc. etc.

    If Cramer is too smart to take the job, then surely Maria Bartiromo would be a great backup.

  18. mike commented on Apr 8

    I too have to defend JC. I have followed him for years and have learned quite a bit from him and my mistakes when put in conjunction with one another. His wife who knew the rules and the ropes when he got started, was able to recognize his raw talent for spotting stocks. She taught him many things about the ins and outs of the market.

    When he lived in California, someone broke into his apartment and cleaned him out. He couldn’t afford to remain in his apartment so he had to live in his car for a while(been there, done that).

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