Is it the end of an era? Is it the beginning of a new day? Everybody is talking about how great things are going now the GDP is up and Ford posted a profit. Well, friends, I don’t buy it. Things are still spinning out of control, yet nobody seems to be paying attention, let alone doing anything to stop it.
Tuesday the voters in New Jersey did something. They got rid of the incumbent and told the world that just because you have money, you are not able to buy an election. The problem is, however, that we still don’t know where the governor-elect stands on any issues other than that he offers “change” to “the status quo”. I have a problem with this and I think other voters do as well.
Change is good, if it is real; change for change’s sake is something we need to worry about. Change seems to be on the horizon for the hedge fund industry, as once again Congress and the President have started talking about drafting new legislation to tame the hedge fund beast. And while I am sure they believe that they are doing the right thing, the truth is that in the end it doesn’t really matter. It may win some hearts and minds, and may even help the Democrats keep control of the House but, it will do nothing to stop Wall Street or, better said, hedge fund managers from making money.
It’s clear that the powers-that-be don’t understand how the Street works. A quick lesson, for those in the District who are reading the blog: Regardless of what rules mandate, Wall Street knows how to make money – period end of sentence – heck, end of story. What Wall Street is good at is dissecting the rules and figuring out how to operate profitably while abiding by them. Some think this is sneaky, others think it is brilliant, while others, well, we don’t know what others think, but it’s what happens. The rules are put in place and the Street adapts. It is pretty simple and straightforward.
Nevertheless, those making the rules are so void of any real knowledge about how money is made that the regulations either make no sense or they simply provide enough wiggle room to drive a fleet of eighteen-wheelers through.
The folks on the Street and in the hedge fund trenches are waiting with baited breath for the new laws to be enacted so they can start figuring out how to make money accordingly. This is why they earn the big bucks.
When it comes to investing, we need to understand how money is managed. We need to ask the difficult questions and not think just because someone is wealthy or has had success that they can continue to be so or do so in the future and are worthy to manage our assets. It takes a very long time to come up with a successful, repeatable strategy. Having smart people managing one’s money is a smart thing to do, but it is also important as an investor to pay attention, to ask questions and to demand answers.
Question 1 is “How are you going to deal with the new regulation?” From there the rest should be easy.
I am happy to report, thanks to the President, the Congress and the economy, not necessarily in that order that the level of excitement around HedgeAnswers 2009 is rising as the first of the calls approaches. People want to talk about issues and they want answers. And that is exactly what the calls provide. HedgeAnswers allows people to exchange ideas and gather information to be more successful in the marketplace.
I look forward to having you with you with us on November 17. Register today by clicking here.
THINGS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY
This week is it’s the people at Steiner Sports – “the leader in autographed sports memorabilia and sports collectibles” — who are driving me crazy. It is clear that they have no idea that what the company sells is a luxury item and that nobody actually needs a signed baseball, bat or used urinal from a the old Yankee Stadium or the “game used dirt” from the always lovely Fenway Park.
Nonetheless, these guys seem to think that they are doing all us a favor by letting us buy things from them. I recently tried to use a coupon and gift card to complete transactions and both times I was treated like the dirt from Fenway they’re trying to hawk. The people I spoke with were both obnoxious and belligerent and not worthy of my money.
Only after threatening, quite softly, I might add, to cancel the purchase did they come around and act properly. It seems that because Steiner has what seems to be a monopoly they don’t believe in customer service.
Had it not been for the coupons and promotion, I would not have spent money with them. I don’t expect to do so in the future nor should any of you.
