Unfortunately, just because someone is on TV every day talking about the stock market or happens to run a billion dollar hedge fund does not mean that he or she is any good at picking stocks. In fact, with recent picks like Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), Kohl’s Corporation (KSS) and Micron (MU), Bill Ackman, Jim Cramer and David Einhorn are struggling just to keep up with the S&P 500.
Ackman Crushed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX)
In his Q1 letter to Pershing Square investors, Bill Ackman revealed just how bad things have gotten. Ackman’s stubborn bull thesis on VRX has been highly-publicized, but VRX wasn’t the only stock that dragged Ackman down in Q1. Pershing also had a large stake inMondelez International (MDLZ) and a massive short position in Herbalife (HLF). MDLZ fell 5.8% in Q1 and HLF rose 12.8%. Yikes.
Of course, VRX was the big loser, plummeting 71.5% in Q1. When the dust finally settled on the quarter, Ackman followed up on 2015’s 20.5% loss with a staggering 25.6% Q1 loss. Perhaps even more troubling for investors, when fees are factored in, the fund has now generated only a 0.2% return since its inception in late 2012.
In that same time, the S&P 500 is up more than 45%.
Kohls (KSS) Not Kind To Cramer
Last April, Cramer published…
Click here to continue reading
Want to learn more about how to profit off the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!
