In April of 2010 this guy wrote me about my critique of Jim Cramer (he was reading intro to my 2nd book?). Almost a year has passed with no contact and now today this ditty comes rolling in from Dave Loevner:
I have so far skimmed the information you have to offer, and intend to go back, and read verbatim. What bothers me specifically about you, and certainly not your material is your opinion of me. Obviously, with the fact that I do watch Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer makes me an idiot. Why do you waste energy slamming someone else when, that energy could be used more productively? Why even bring up Jim Cramer when you have so much to offer? Put the energy there. Every time I see your name on the internet, it’s never about you, and what you have to offer. It’s you, slamming Jim Cramer. Much rather hear more of what you have to offer. Are you so filled with jealousy over not having a TV show that, you have reduced yourself to this playground nonsense? That was rhetorical, only asking that you give yourself an honest answer. You have value, and much to give but, not because, in your opinion Jim Cramer doesn’t. Knock it off, and focus on the information you have to offer. Yes, I enjoy Mad Money. One thing Jim Cramer emphasizes is, due diligence! I take him at his word as he has been wrong more than once. He emphasizes that because he, admits he has been wrong. It is entertaining to me, and I do get some valuable information to at least enable me to continue looking at the market. I have learned much on analyzing my market activity. I intend to learn more from you, as well but, it is difficult learning from someone who thinks I’m an idiot, and focuses so negatively on someone else. Both of you have different styles but, much to offer. When you finally free yourself from focusing so negatively on someone else, and referring to me as an idiot perhaps, I can feel a little better about reading your material word for word. Hopefully, you will move forward with an emphasis on you, and your work. Thank you, Dave Loevner
Let me get this straight Dave, you don’t want to read about trend following because a small part of my job is to slam your boy Cramer? I recommend sticking with him. Working with lost clients is not my cup of tea. Here are two more shows to add to your watch list: 1 and 2. When done there start at about the 27:00 minute mark here.
“Most people feel intimidated when seeking a loan. Bankers like to view potential borrowers with suspicion…dallying a bit before deciding whether a borrower is sufficiently creditworthy. But George Roberts of KKR never asked to borrow money. He always asked if his bankers could raise a loan for him. The slight difference in wording proved crucial. Suddenly Roberts controlled the situation. The bankers, even if they represented a giant institution a thousand times KKR’s size, were the ones put to the test.”
Nice.
Note: The author George Anders appeared on my podcast in 2018.
An excerpt from: The Secret World of Jim Simons by Hal Lux:
Like all quantitative money managers, Renaissance aims to find small market anomalies and inefficiencies that can support profitable trading on billions of dollars of capital. Though all quant shops are alike in their dedication to models Let the best algorithm win! Renaissance’s approach differs from the “convergence trading” popularized by John Meriwether’s Long-Term Capital Management and similar arbitrage shops. Convergence traders price financial instruments based on complex mathematical models, find two different instruments that are cheap and expensive on a relative basis and then buy one and sell the other, betting that the prices will, at some point, have to return to their proper level. The Renaissance approach requires that trades pay off in a limited, specified time frame. And Renaissance traders never override the models. Back in action, Medallion made its mark through rapid, short-term trading across futures markets. “I have one guy who has a Ph.D. in finance. We don’t hire people from business schools. We don’t hire people from Wall Street,” says Simons. “We hire people who have done good science.” “We have three criteria,” says Simons. “If it’s publicly traded, liquid and amenable to modeling, we trade it.” Unusual for a hedge fund, the heart of Renaissance is not its trading room an uncluttered room where a score of traders buy and sell around the clock but rather an auditorium with exposed beams that seats 100 and features biweekly science lectures. Last month a molecular biologist presented research on colon cancer. “When you hear someone talk about an interesting use of statistics it helps trigger your thinking,” says one Renaissance employee.
I remember a few years ago, sitting in the private office of one of the best trend following traders around (performance and assets), talking about this very issue with him: how does Simons really trade?
Noted value investor Jeremy Grantham maps out why trend following wins (PDF) — which I am sure was not his intent. He seems to think like my style of trend trading, even though his way to get there is quite different.
Note: Shout to www.pragcap.com for finding the PDF.
Today, I had the opportunity to share face-to-face experiences with a handful of key lieutenants at a prominent trend following firm. They also provided a great background from their then small start-up to current respected veteran status. Their track record? It extends over 30+ years. They have been around the block to say the least. How has their basic trend following philosophy remained under the radar? That was the question I kept asking myself. How can a college finance class serve any purpose if these types of trend traders are not on the syllabus? Well, it can’t.
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