Can Slim

[vikefan52]

I just finished reading Bill O'Neil's book, 'How To Make Money In Stocks'. The book is a good starting point. It contains a lot of useful information. I am in the process of trying to figure out what type of investment strategy to adopt. I have given CAN SLIM some thought. It seems to make sense, even though some of you do not believe it works.

"There are very few stocks that meet all of the original criteria, probably fewer than 5 out of 10,000 publicly traded stocks."

Physics, I guess CAN SLIM is no different than Rule #1 in this regard. There are only a few stocks that actually meet all of the Rule #1 criteria.

I guess opinions vary widely on different approaches to investing. It is up to the individual to figure out what best fits their style and temperament.

Maybe I will just put to work what I learned from reading Jim Cramer's MAD MONEY: Watch TV, Get Rich. A great book, written by a legendary former hedge fund manager who has been there, done that.

Just my 2 cents!!

[tombrown1]

YouTube - Jim Cramer: "Bear Stearns is Fine!" Tues, 3/11/08

[vikefan52]

Cramer is not perfect by any means. He has made plenty of mistakes over the years. This over-hyped comment he made regarding Bear Stearns can be interpreted many ways. People tend to form opinions based on whether or not they like the man. Bottom line: However you want to slice it, shareholders and those with accounts at Bear were both made whole.

[tombrown1]

Over-hyped? He was screaming into the camera that Bear was fine. At the top of his lungs. Leaving absolutely no doubt.

How is this interpreted differently?

I've always been prone to like the guy at least for entertainment value and his encyclopedic knowledge about different companies, but how could anybody invest in "his" companies after hearing this?

Anybody with 5 minutes of technical experience would've been out of Bear way before the crash. The chart looked awful.

Oh, and by the way, Go Lions!!! (I know it's an oxymoron)

[vikefan52]

The following post on youtube sums it up pretty well:

"He was asked should any money at Bear be taken out. Not whether to invest or not. Not to get out of the stock or not.

Do you know what would have happened if he said "Yeah, take your money out QUICK!!!!"?

There would not be a frigging penny left in the bank.

He would then be investigated by the Fed for initiating a run on a bank."

Also, if the Lions had a new GM, they may win a few more games!! SKOL Vikes!! Adrian "All Day" Peterson is da' man!!

[tombrown1]

Interesting now that you put it in context. But at the end of the day he still said, "Bear is fine!" at the top of his lungs.

And his stocks have been shown to underperform time and again. There are more threads on this somewhere else in the forums. Sorry to continue posting off-topic.

Back on topic - Mr. 31-81 is due for his breakout year - but I don't think he'll ever get it because he just stinks. If you wanna' have some fun, check out his draft record some time.

[KatonahMike]

Originally Posted by tombrown1

I've always been prone to like the guy at least for entertainment value and his encyclopedic knowledge about different companies, but how could anybody invest in "his" companies after hearing this?

I recently listened to his Real Money book on audio. Some of the advice seemed useful. He also appeared to contradict himself at times. Mostly he seemed to be a hyperbolist, which always turns me off.

Out of curiosity, I signed-up for a free trial of his Stocks Under $10 service this morning. After looking at the portfolio and seeing that it had an 18% return since 2004 (I'm pretty certain this is not annualized - that's it for the whole period), I immediately called and canceled so I wouldn't get charged after the trial period. That list did not look like it was worth $300 a year.