Why is everybody bashing that wild and crazy cable-station stock commentator, Jim Cramer? Maybe some people just do not like his style. He never stares straight into the camera while droning on about some stock we have never heard of. He doesn’t take himself seriously enough for some people, I think. Probably he sees himself as an entertainer as well as an educator. His antics-most famously wearing adult diapers over his street clothes as he described a paper company-leave his audience laughing as well as wiser.
Maybe that’s why his show is a hit and his books are best-sellers. We enjoy learning from Jim Cramer. That and his methods of stock picking actually seem to work.
He’s also got an impressive resume. He’s a magna cum laude graduate from Harvard, and got his law degree there too. He spent time as a journalist, and then years on Wall Street, at Goldman Sachs and then at his very successful hedge fund. He’s rumored to have a net worth of over $100 million and he’s known for his philanthropy. He’s a serious contributor to New York magazine, and a sometime contributor to Time. People call into his show daily and brag about the money they’ve made following his lead.
So what’s the knock on Cramer? A former employee claims in his book ‘Trading With the Enemy’ that there may have been ethical problems at the hedge fund. Cramer himself once appeared in a video on YouTube discussing sketchy techniques possibly employed by certain hedge funds. Did Cramer himself do anything sketchy? It doesn’t seem as if he would have needed to. He has done fine playing by the rules.
After all, though he denies it, he’s a financial genius. The problem is that you and I are not. At least I’m sure not. I just don’t have his skill. Also, I’m timid. For me, it makes more sense to follow conservative advice, like that of, say, John Bogle. I think I should keep my small hoard diversified in indexed stocks and bonds, so I don’t give away so much in taxes, transaction costs, and mistakes. Maybe, if I’m careful, I’ll do well enough that eventually I’ll have some Mad Money I can use to follow Jim Cramer’s thrilling advice. Meanwhile, I read his books, watch his show, and enjoy the learning experience.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Cramer
www.thestreet.com
www.thecramerreport.com/Biography