Idiots and more Idiots

Nov 24, 2005 4:46 pm

I cant help but chime in after reading in another post brokers who knocking other brokers for managing accounts themselfs on a discretionary basis.  This is a subject near and dear to my heart since I have over 135 million that I manage myself on a discretionary basis. 

You ignorant fools.  You compare mutual funds to the service one receives from a good advisor managing money themselfs and taking all the gall darn responsiblility for doing it?   Are you stupid or are you just completely uninformed?  What in the hell is the matter with you making such posts?  One guy even talks about some Phd at American Funds.  What a foolish, stupid, uninformed comment.  So you are going to put a guy with 5 million dollars in mutual funds?  Oh yea but they'er American Funds!  What an idiot. What a great business for me to be in because this is who I have as my competition.  Uninformed fools. 

You are truly stupid human beings for not having the sense to understand what in the hell goes into an advisor managing money themselfs.  In fact you all are dummer than the guy last month on here who thought the specialists on the floor of the exchange do not manipulate the price of the stocks to better their own book.

Along those lines can anyone tell me what four stocks were responsible for keeping the market going into this Wall Street contrived rally we are having?  Maybe one of you dopes who like mutual funds so much for wealthy investors will know.   "Not likely" 

Nov 24, 2005 5:29 pm

Greenhills- Have a happy Thanksgiving!!

Nov 24, 2005 8:56 pm

I have a feeling that greenhills will be spending Thanksgiving alone in a cabin in the woods somewhere, drinking from a bottle of moonshine and being bitter at the world… But hey, at least he is the all knowing when it comes to managing discretionary money…

Nov 24, 2005 9:09 pm

umm ok I’ll be glad to learn which 4?

Nov 25, 2005 1:32 am

Remember the good old political debates, those were the days.

Nov 25, 2005 6:18 am

[quote=blarmston]I have a feeling that greenhills will be spending Thanksgiving alone in a cabin in the woods somewhere, drinking from a bottle of moonshine and being bitter at the world... But hey, at least he is the all knowing when it comes to managing discretionary money...[/quote]

Blarm-Pay attention....he may not spell so well in this post, and may come on kinda strong, but he has more wisdom about how things really are than you may realize.....

And I hope you had a good Turkey day bro.  Hit those phones tomorrow!  I likely won't be calling, but I do need to prepare and send out some transfer forms. 

Nov 25, 2005 11:22 am

I agree with you Geenguy, buy why so militant!

Nov 25, 2005 4:18 pm

During critical recent days, the financial sector is what kept the market going when there was no other leadership. You need a sector to lead to get a rally going so the crooks on W.S. can get their year end bonus.  

You can thank the specialists for JPM, Merrill, Goldman and Citi for this rally because with out them artificially raising their bid prices at critical moments and keeping things up we would not have this b.s. rally we are having. Get ready to short come January.  

I got upset because it is unforgivable to be so stupid that you would compare a mutual fund to a high net worth advisor managing accounts on a discretionary basis.  I just cant believe how many uninformed people there are working in this industry.  

Nov 25, 2005 5:59 pm

Remember the .com days. Actually most years there is a rally from Nov to Dec. So in reality this is common trend, but nice when your riding the bull.

Nov 25, 2005 6:17 pm

Four stocks. Goog, JPM, MRK AAPL. Wow (TASR). Damn you guys see this. Remember early this year at 60 dollars. Now at 7 and delisting notice today. Yikkeeesss

I think jobs has like 1 billion options at $80. When the deal was set is was impossible. Now look out! Remember MSFT put a ton of money into AAPL a few years ago. Nice pay off there.

Nov 25, 2005 6:19 pm

[quote=Greenhills]

I cant help but chime in after reading in another post brokers who knocking other brokers for managing accounts themselfs on a discretionary basis.  This is a subject near and dear to my heart since I have over 135 million that I manage myself on a discretionary basis. 

You ignorant fools.  You compare mutual funds to the service one receives from a good advisor managing money themselfs and taking all the gall darn responsiblility for doing it?   Are you stupid or are you just completely uninformed?  What in the hell is the matter with you making such posts?  One guy even talks about some Phd at American Funds.  What a foolish, stupid, uninformed comment.  So you are going to put a guy with 5 million dollars in mutual funds?  Oh yea but they'er American Funds!  What an idiot. What a great business for me to be in because this is who I have as my competition.  Uninformed fools. 

You are truly stupid human beings for not having the sense to understand what in the hell goes into an advisor managing money themselfs.  In fact you all are dummer than the guy last month on here who thought the specialists on the floor of the exchange do not manipulate the price of the stocks to better their own book.

Along those lines can anyone tell me what four stocks were responsible for keeping the market going into this Wall Street contrived rally we are having?  Maybe one of you dopes who like mutual funds so much for wealthy investors will know.   "Not likely" 

[/quote]

So you watch tickers all day long and try to pick stocks?  Aren't you doing asset allocation?  Don't you have an equity research group full of gear heads who are paid to watch screens all day long.  That is not the way I want to live my life. 

Nov 25, 2005 7:02 pm

[quote=maybeeeeeeee][quote=Greenhills]

I cant help but chime in after reading in another post brokers who knocking other brokers for managing accounts themselfs on a discretionary basis.  This is a subject near and dear to my heart since I have over 135 million that I manage myself on a discretionary basis. 

You ignorant fools.  You compare mutual funds to the service one receives from a good advisor managing money themselfs and taking all the gall darn responsiblility for doing it?   Are you stupid or are you just completely uninformed?  What in the hell is the matter with you making such posts?  One guy even talks about some Phd at American Funds.  What a foolish, stupid, uninformed comment.  So you are going to put a guy with 5 million dollars in mutual funds?  Oh yea but they'er American Funds!  What an idiot. What a great business for me to be in because this is who I have as my competition.  Uninformed fools. 

You are truly stupid human beings for not having the sense to understand what in the hell goes into an advisor managing money themselfs.  In fact you all are dummer than the guy last month on here who thought the specialists on the floor of the exchange do not manipulate the price of the stocks to better their own book.

Along those lines can anyone tell me what four stocks were responsible for keeping the market going into this Wall Street contrived rally we are having?  Maybe one of you dopes who like mutual funds so much for wealthy investors will know.   "Not likely" 

[/quote]

So you watch tickers all day long and try to pick stocks?  Aren't you doing asset allocation?  Don't you have an equity research group full of gear heads who are paid to watch screens all day long.  That is not the way I want to live my life. 

[/quote]

If you have a discipline and are systematic, you don't have to spend all day watching tickers.

If the gear heads were so damn smart, they would be money managers themselves.  Just follow the money.....

As for not being the way you want to live your life, as BigPayDay sez, one great thing about this business is that there are so many ways to skin a cat in this biz!

Nov 26, 2005 1:01 pm

I used to detest stock pickers.  I thought they were just full of
air and luck, and many still are.  I do have alot of respect for
following a system or method, more quant than qual, with entry and exit
points.  Knowing when to sell, use puts and stop losses and
such.  If you do this with a portion of your book, and are good at
it, you can run with the funds and managers and usually do better
because you do not have flows and cash levels to be concerned with,
along with you do not need to hold 100 positions.  You cannot,
hoever, do this efficiently without being discretionary. 



At ML, you get approved for your system, you get a portfolio manager
title, and you get excellent performance measurement reports for you
and your clients quarterly, you affect all desired accounts via 1
trade…efficiency!   It is awsome!

Nov 26, 2005 3:33 pm

And you never have the time to take vacation or a minute off because you’re managing individual stocks. No thanks. Not the way I want my practice to develop over the next five years. I’m in this business to enjoy life, not be tied down to a computer or TV all day trying to keep up with my client’s ports.

Nov 26, 2005 6:47 pm

Wow.. Tracking sectors or stocks daily is not for me. I did that as a day trader in the late 90's and nearly went insane. :) Different strokes for different folks.

Nov 26, 2005 10:09 pm

If watching the ticker all day isnt your ideal way to spend the day, find someone in your branch who excels and enjoys those activities. Partner with them to manage a clients account (s), negotiate a split, and manage the relationship, not just the account… I have aclient who has the majority of his ‘serious’ money with me in IRA’s, etc. He also wanted us to trade equities with about 260K of his money. I told him that wasnt my specialty but that there was an FA who engaged in those behaviors. So my buddy manages the discretionary account and I focus on the retirement and lifestyle accounts. The beauty is we can do whatever we enjoy and outsource the rest.

Nov 26, 2005 10:13 pm

Greenhills tone was indeed harsh especially at Thanksgiving, but I couldn’t

agree more with him. Over the years, I have developed a disciplined method

to stock selection and position management which serves me (I eat my own

cooking) and my clients well.



I do spend a lot of time in front of a screen, but to me, its not a chore. But

boy when those statements go out and clients express appreciation, makes

it the most satisfying part of the job.   



Also, knowing that they can’t go across the street and get what I have to

offer, is icing on the cake.

Nov 27, 2005 7:11 am

Well said Skee....and all true!

If you have a discipline, too, you can even get away from the screen now and then!

And if you do it well...they can't get that from many other folks.

So exec jock....now you tell us you were a daytrader too?  What happened to that career?  Was fish brokering just too lucrative to turn away from?

Nov 28, 2005 2:54 pm

I hate to burst anyones bubble…but there are no exclusive platforms, products or processes. No…foolproof method. I have been doing this long enough to see guys like Greenhills, pound there chests one day, then completely blow up there clients the next. If I have learned anything in my career, it is to have humility. There are a lot of ways to make money for our clients…Funds, managed money and individual stock selection are all parts of the recipe.

Nov 29, 2005 12:16 am

JoeD not everyone can be as successful as you. One good story. During spring break I bought 100 shares of DCLK. Stock went up 20 dollars a day for a week. So during spring break I make 10,000 bucks on paper. That was fun, but its easy to get caught up. Joe, I was a part time day trader.

Nov 29, 2005 2:40 am

[quote=executivejock]JoeD not everyone can be as successful as you. One good story. During spring break I bought 100 shares of DCLK. Stock went up 20 dollars a day for a week. So during spring break I make 10,000 bucks on paper. That was fun, but its easy to get caught up. Joe, I was a part time day trader. :)[/quote]

I do Ok EJ, and can always learn more.   Never claimed any more than that.

Nov 30, 2005 1:49 pm

[quote=ezmoney]And you never have the time to take vacation or a minute
off because you’re managing individual stocks. No thanks. Not the way I
want my practice to develop over the next five years. I’m in this
business to enjoy life, not be tied down to a computer or TV all day
trying to keep up with my client’s ports.[/quote]



This is very weak.  In this business you go big or you go home.



You do not need to watch a ticker all day to manage individual equity
portfolios.  When run correctly, it is actually very
efficient.  If, for example I want to take a profit in ABC and buy
XYZ I do 1 buy and 1 sell on the system, and ALL the clients accounts
in the model are traded. 



When you get a good strategy that performs, it is YOU making those
gains and this goes along way with clients.  I really cannot
exclaim just how much this has helped my “practice” in the last 5
years.  I have one strategy that is up over 30% this year, over
80% since I started it in 2003, and we get quarterly performance
reports comparing our performance to the market.  These are HUGE
talking points with clients and great sources of new business. 



There is a difference to those that want to take on this sort of
committment and those who do not, the biggest of which is those that do
are busy and do not ask questions like “why is it so slow?”  I
work 40 Hours a week and have a great life, but while at work I am
committed and I work…and during that time my goal is to provide a
nice life for clients, not myself.  After I walk out the doors,
its me. 



For those newer to the business, it is wise to realize the sooner you
take the focus off of yourself and place it on the client, the sooner
you will experience real success.

Nov 30, 2005 2:31 pm

well said rightway…well said…

Nov 30, 2005 5:41 pm

[quote=ezmoney]And you never have the time to take vacation or a minute off because you're managing individual stocks. No thanks. Not the way I want my practice to develop over the next five years. I'm in this business to enjoy life, not be tied down to a computer or TV all day trying to keep up with my client's ports.[/quote]

I am with you.  This sounds like a young broker.  The older BIG successful brokers in my business manage relationships and they let the gear heads pick stocks.

Nov 30, 2005 6:42 pm

[quote=maybeeeeeeee]

[quote=ezmoney]And you never have the time to take vacation or a minute off because you're managing individual stocks. No thanks. Not the way I want my practice to develop over the next five years. I'm in this business to enjoy life, not be tied down to a computer or TV all day trying to keep up with my client's ports.[/quote]

I am with you.  This sounds like a young broker.  The older BIG successful brokers in my business manage relationships and they let the gear heads pick stocks.

[/quote]

So you think.  I have been in the business far longer than you have.  Those who have been around a while know that the 'gear heads' aren't always that smart!

Nov 30, 2005 8:02 pm

CNBC just had a couple of analysts on the other day talking about GOOG's good prospects and why they had a $500 price target on them.  Next day, GOOG fell almost $20...hmmmmm...

I use research from S&P and CSFB, but it's no excuse not to think for yourself...

Nov 30, 2005 9:35 pm

Goog is amazing. There has to be a slight probability that AOL, YAHOO or MSN will come out with a good search engine to compete.

120 billion over night is amazing! I dont know enough about GOOG to understand the 400 dollar a share price, but it sounds like DCLK, INSP, JDSU and AOL in 1999.

See RIMM today? They might have some issues awaiting.

Nov 30, 2005 10:51 pm

[quote=joedabrkr] [quote=maybeeeeeeee]



So you think. I have been in the business far longer than you have. Those

who have been around a while know that the ‘gear heads’ aren’t always that

smart!

[/quote]





Its already been proven that gear heads have hidden motives for their

opinions. One sure way to blast clients is using only “sell-side” research.

That’s why major fund managers have inhouse research teams. They just

use Wall Street for trading and access to IPOs.
Dec 1, 2005 11:02 pm

[quote=Greenhills]

You are truly stupid human beings for not having the sense to understand what in the hell goes into an advisor managing money themselfs.  In fact you all are dummer than the guy last month...

[/quote]

Um, it's spelled d-u-m-b-e-r

Irony.  Yikes.

Dec 2, 2005 12:42 am

GFB,

His poor spelling and grammar has been pointed out before.  It's a shame that he doesn't have his assistants proof his posts on here.  Perhaps they could also tone down his arrogant rant so that perhaps a nugget or two of truth would come through.

...he keeps promising to go away, but just like Randy Quaid in Christmas Vacation, he just keeps showing up when you least want him to...but at least Randy was funny...

Dec 8, 2005 3:40 am

Yes youre right Indyone.  It comes from a brain disorder to be quiet frank with you.  But it hasent hurt my ability to manage money. Funny thing to be able to memorize mass amounts of numbers for example but not be able to spell a 5 letter word. Or to get letters mixed up like B and D or S and 2.  I warn new clients but my assistants do a great job of not letting me send anything out.

My prediction for Wednesday is that they will mess with the ten year yield  to bring it down.  This entire market is being manipulated right now to create a rally.  So for you who are clueless, watch the Russell 2000.  It is at a critical point right now. They need to keep the 10 year down and Pimco will help out with that since they control over 25% of the ten year float.  VEry bad to have the sell off the last hour today. 

Good for you those who manage their clients money themselfs.  These fools cant believe it when they hear someone is up 20% or more this year or that they have a 20% publishable yearly track record.  They'er just ignorant and uninformed and unwilling to put their asses on the line. 

So what do I do.  No you dopes I dont sit around and watch the ticker all dam day.  Here is what I do. 8:30 am my assistant brings in a daily sector report that tracks opening high/lows, volume, and previous days close.  This is how I caught them trying to raly the financials and that is why I jumped on GS MER, and JPM thank you.  Tracking sectors and volume gives you a great understanding of the market.  At any rate this takes very little of my time to look it over and put it into my binder.  On Friday she gives me the same info only it is for the entire week and put into chart form.  Great way to catch trends early.  If you learn volume and watch it and are able to catch out of the norm changes, you are way ahead of 99% of the brokers out their and their ability to manage stocks.  I use the MATES sofeware and manage different portfolios spec, agg, moderate.  I have to code the one speculative since we may short in that one even though calling it speculative is crazy.

I have my own software that I scan stocks with.  Pretty simple, I look mostly for W formations under the 50 or 200 day moving average.  I then wait for that stock to break through resistance on volume and it has to have good relative strength relative to its corresponding index.   Rarely do I buy on up days and this is the reason why.  I also look for stocks breaking out of consolidation patterns.  MCD for example is setting up for that MAYBE but I have it on my watch list. I also look for short covering bounces on occasion.  There are other things I do but basically I am a patten recognition specialist.

None of  this  is very difficult or very time consuming.  I am much more at ease knowing I am managing the accounts rather than some crappy kid running a mutual fund or some over priced 3rd party manager.  If need be, I can place trades from just about anywhere on the planet however rarely is that necessary.  I use simple stops.  When I buy a stock, i decide in advance how much I am willing to loose and one of two series 7 assistants know when somethings needs to be sold. 

If you want to attract big money...get one large business owner client and successfully run their account like this.  Word gets around.  The other day I had a guy call and talk to my assistant.  He just told her to mail the paperwork to him to open and account.  She told him what my minimum is and he said no problem just mail the paperwork.  She said, but XXXX will needs to talk to you first before he will  open an account and work with you.  So I called  him back.  I have know idea how he got my name.  He said he heard about me from someone and wanted me to manage his money.  This is the kind of thing that happens when you learn to do things well yourself rather than what nearly all the rest of the brokers out there are doing.  MAybeee...did you say this is how small brokers run their business????  OK, you must be really green.  ARe you the one that doesnt even have an assistant?  Get informed newbe. 

 For some reason, it works better for referrals than you loosers hawking mutual funds with out any ability to talk market to these people. You are nothing more than a cast of many thousands all the same all thinking some how they are different.  Boring, average followers unwilling to step up and learn and bring your business up to a level that you can be proud of.  ANd it aint just about the money.  It's about providing  great expertise to rich people and doing something good with your career. 

I need to go chase a cayote away now.

Dec 8, 2005 3:20 pm

Greenhills,

Good stuff. But learn how to spell 'coyote'. Maybe you skipped that class during remedial school?

Dec 12, 2005 6:29 pm

[quote=joedabrkr][quote=maybeeeeeeee][quote=Greenhills]

I cant help but chime in after reading in another post brokers who knocking other brokers for managing accounts themselfs on a discretionary basis.  This is a subject near and dear to my heart since I have over 135 million that I manage myself on a discretionary basis. 

You ignorant fools.  You compare mutual funds to the service one receives from a good advisor managing money themselfs and taking all the gall darn responsiblility for doing it?   Are you stupid or are you just completely uninformed?  What in the hell is the matter with you making such posts?  One guy even talks about some Phd at American Funds.  What a foolish, stupid, uninformed comment.  So you are going to put a guy with 5 million dollars in mutual funds?  Oh yea but they'er American Funds!  What an idiot. What a great business for me to be in because this is who I have as my competition.  Uninformed fools. 

You are truly stupid human beings for not having the sense to understand what in the hell goes into an advisor managing money themselfs.  In fact you all are dummer than the guy last month on here who thought the specialists on the floor of the exchange do not manipulate the price of the stocks to better their own book.

Along those lines can anyone tell me what four stocks were responsible for keeping the market going into this Wall Street contrived rally we are having?  Maybe one of you dopes who like mutual funds so much for wealthy investors will know.   "Not likely" 

[/quote]

So you watch tickers all day long and try to pick stocks?  Aren't you doing asset allocation?  Don't you have an equity research group full of gear heads who are paid to watch screens all day long.  That is not the way I want to live my life. 

[/quote]

If you have a discipline and are systematic, you don't have to spend all day watching tickers.

If the gear heads were so damn smart, they would be money managers themselves.  Just follow the money.....

As for not being the way you want to live your life, as BigPayDay sez, one great thing about this business is that there are so many ways to skin a cat in this biz!

The gear heads don't succeed in the business, the sales people and relationship people do.  The guys in our back office just can't talk with people.  But they can pick some great stocks.

[/quote]
Dec 12, 2005 9:13 pm

Greenhills,

I think you THINK your smarter than you really are and you THINK everyone else is dumber than they appear to be.

I'm glad you run your business the way you do.  Someone like you who thinks they have all the answers just needs to make one big mistake and they are the subject of multiple lawsuits.  Your a compliance nightmare just waiting to happen.

Best of luck...and no--I don't use American Funds.

Dec 12, 2005 9:51 pm

Ditto me, except that I’ll have to confess to using some American Funds…mostly for small IRAs…

Dec 12, 2005 10:02 pm

Greenhills:

Best of Luck to and others that may follow your stock picking strategies! TA

 I am weening my self of of stock picking. Some one once asked me to name a successful stock picking money manager from the 80's or the 90's that still exits in the profession today? I could not maybe you  can. But the point being they are far and few between and the odds of me finding them or coming across a successful strategy is highly unlikely!

That is why I am moving toward DFA I know I am not smarter then the William Sharpes and  Kenneth French and Eugene Fama or Rodger Ibbotson, Robert Merton, Myron Scholes. I will stick to there proven strategies! They gave up on TA and momentum strategies decades ago!

Again Best of luck to you ! Maybe you will win a Nobel Prize To

Dec 13, 2005 2:33 am

Hey Zacko.  At least I have enough class not to get on here an brag about my wifes breat implants.  Shut up and go sell mutual funds now child. 

And if you want to brag, dont do it with me because I dwarf you in every respect green pea.    

Dec 13, 2005 3:06 am

Oh, one other thing.  Your comments about risk only show your ignorance.  The chances of my portfolio blowing up is far less than one your mutual funds or even 3rd party managers. 

Now Zacko, when you learn how to manage stocks you may speak to me.  But as long as you stay a simple little salesperson selling MFDs and 3rd party managers you will have to stay in the back of the room and be quiet.

There are plenty of people better than me at managing money.  You are not one of them.  

Dec 13, 2005 3:15 am

Green backs.  If I have time I can give you plenty of names later this week.  I can give you a couple now but let me get my list at my office if I have time later this week and give them all to you at once.  The best technicians most people have never heard of.

My God, there are many of them.  Why do you all think that I am the only broker on the planet doing what I am doing?  I am amazed.  It is like I am from outer space.  It's just hilarous.  I stumbled onto another planet when I found this site.   I'm perplexed.  Maybe it's me.  I am just trying to help some of you and if that means rocking your little Wall Street world then so be it. 

Comments like Zackos are just to uninformed it amazes me. ANd this is a guy who makes good money yet he has no clue what I do and then thinks he understands risk management as it relates to technical analysis.  IF he had any brains he would know what people like me do is ALL ABOUT RISK MANAGEMENT. 

Poor uninformed soul.   Just another salesman that could have been something.

Dec 13, 2005 2:07 pm

Hey Green-broker,

You felt it necessary to comment three times in three posts to my one little post?  Strike a nerve did I?

You play with your cups and handles and read all the newsletters you can about the next big trend or breakout while I work my 35 hours per week and spend time with my wife and kids and go fishing.  I must be the dumb one.  Heck, I'm not even 40 years old yet..so I probably have a lot to learn.

If you think all I do (and people like me) is sell mutual funds--well you are wrong.  I take asset allocation very seriously and also use equities as well as fixed income.  My clients seem to do ok too.  But then again, given my level of investment intelligence and risk management prowess--my clients are probably a good bit less saavy then yours.

Dec 13, 2005 3:54 pm

[quote=Greenbacks]

Greenhills:

Best of Luck to and others that may follow your stock picking strategies! TA

 I am weening my self of of stock picking. Some one once asked me to name a successful stock picking money manager from the 80's or the 90's that still exits in the profession today? I could not maybe you  can. But the point being they are far and few between and the odds of me finding them or coming across a successful strategy is highly unlikely!

That is why I am moving toward DFA I know I am not smarter then the William Sharpes and  Kenneth French and Eugene Fama or Rodger Ibbotson, Robert Merton, Myron Scholes. I will stick to there proven strategies! They gave up on TA and momentum strategies decades ago!

Again Best of luck to you ! Maybe you will win a Nobel Prize To

[/quote]

Yah Merton and Scholes were so smart about how markets REALLY work that they managed to help folks lose BILLIONS of dollars and create a major market crisis via the collapse of Long Term Capital.

Dec 13, 2005 5:49 pm

Good one Joe,

I get so tired of people blindly worshiping the Nobel winning financial scientists.  A lot of these guys have a great grasp on the left brained side (teechnical) of the market but no concept of the intuitive aspects.  I really liked in the Money Game when the author compared the market to a woman.  Yeah, when you take in aggregate all the various transactions and activities the market participates in, you get probability distribution curves, efficient markets and a whole bunch of other technically eloquent ways of categorizing and homogonizing data.  Problem is, is that we are just a speck in those homogonized statistics.  What's it mean, I don't know, but what I am concerned about is that if you follow the crowd (which now is MPT wrap programs, Ibbotson allocation driven) you'll probably end up on the lower ranges of the return distribution curve and in a low return environment people will  inevitably be disappointed (assuming of course that we're in a low return environment, which I don't know for sure).  Maybe I am an idiot or concerned about nothing.  Just thoughts that creep in from time to time.

Dec 13, 2005 6:58 pm

[quote=Greenbacks]

I am weening my self of of stock picking.



[/quote]



Join the crowd. There’s comfort in being formulaic, right?
Dec 13, 2005 8:22 pm

I agree with Duke and you are definately not an idiot.   

Well I guess I must be crazy but I am going more and more into doing everything myself.  I use MATES for most managed accounts and it is working well.  It is an added burden I suppose however I like doing it. I screen first for top ranked fundamental equities and then I screen for technicals.  I wont buy a stock that has "great" fundamentals if the technicals don't also look right. Since I am on MATES using discretion I have specific guidelines I have to follow but all in all I am happy and it gives an added level of service to my clients that they like.  I also feel I am better able to control risk being that I am fairly tactical.

WHat ever works though is good with me.  I don't see anything wrong with mutual funds or outside managers but they arent for me.    

Dec 13, 2005 9:24 pm

NOT an idiot! 

In the history of Wall Street, whenever 'everyone' is doing something because it's the best way to make money, all the excess returns are eventually wrung out of the system.  (Not sure if I really said that too well, but I think many of you know what I mean.)

I use asset allocated fund portfolios, but even those I'm always looking to tweak to add a little something different rather than just being 'trapped by the style boxes'.

I am not familiar with MATES, and would be interested if y'all could tell me a little more about this program.  What is it exactly?

Dec 13, 2005 10:00 pm

Mates is a platform that enables you to place simultaneous trades in multiple discretionary accounts.  For example you can add a 4% postion into AMD accross all accounts.  It lets you also seperate portfolios so for example you want to place the above trade in your #1 portfolio.  I have three portfolios.  You can also seperate trades by qualified and nonqualified accounts.  Also lets say you want to buy 4% but you have some accounts that don’t have 4% in cash.  It will buy up to the max cash in the account or your desired % which ever is greater.  It is the same platform that institutional managers and MFD guys use.   

Dec 13, 2005 10:13 pm

In other words, a buy allocation screen?

Dec 13, 2005 11:01 pm

[quote=Malcolm]Mates is a platform that enables you to place simultaneous trades in multiple discretionary accounts.  For example you can add a 4% postion into AMD accross all accounts.  It lets you also seperate portfolios so for example you want to place the above trade in your #1 portfolio.  I have three portfolios.  You can also seperate trades by qualified and nonqualified accounts.  Also lets say you want to buy 4% but you have some accounts that don't have 4% in cash.  It will buy up to the max cash in the account or your desired % which ever is greater.  It is the same platform that institutional managers and MFD guys use.   [/quote]

Sounds cool.  Where do you get it?

Dec 14, 2005 6:37 am

If you really want to be an idiot, transfer to Edward Jones Investments...................GP's will have you bending over having you drink Kool Aid until you start liking it then they'll really bend you over

Dec 14, 2005 2:48 pm

Malcolm may be with Smith Barney.  MATES is the trading allocation system they use.  I don’t know if it’s a proprietary system they built or a 3rd party system they incorporated.  All major firms (I believe)have similar systems available whether built internally or 3rd party.  CheckFree’s APL trading system is a 3rd party system many b/ds and money managers use.

Dec 14, 2005 3:33 pm

Yea, I'm with a wire house and they have it.  Do indys have anything like it?  THat would be a major problem with me ever leaving if I couldnt have discretionary accounts and the great trading platform. 

Dec 14, 2005 5:53 pm

[quote=Malcolm]

Yea, I'm with a wire house and they have it.  Do indys have anything like it?  THat would be a major problem with me ever leaving if I couldnt have discretionary accounts and the great trading platform. 

[/quote]

Some do, some don't, and I'm sure there are varying degrees of capability w/in those that do, depending on what they're using.  Definitely something you'd want to look into if you start to look at indy.

In fact, don't take anything for granted re resources, or you may have some bad surprises after a move.  List all the things (products, technology elements, services, etc.) that are now important to you & your clients, and use that list as a part of your due diligence process.  Obviously no firm (whether another wirehouse or indy) may be a perfect match w/ such things, but you've got to identify those elements that are workable for you and those that are deal killers.