Before I take a cheap shot at this guy I'll first acknowledge that back in 2007 his contrarian views and a lot predictions for 2008 came true. Hat tip to you Kass.
So I have no problems picking on people better than me. This guy has always rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was his smug look, winter scruff on his face, sitting in front of those fancy bookcases at Seabreeze Partners. He is a noted contrarian that ran a Short-Only fund that has since converted. Now I haven't seen this guy since early 2008 as I do not watch CNBC but every now and again I look for some humor in TheStreet.com headlines, mostly to see if Cramer is bullish or not so I know when to get short.
In 2007 a contratrian view of the market was the correct side to be on. However it seems to me that often times a contrarian just finds reasons to be a contrarian as opposed to looking at things objectively. Case and point. In Jan 2008 Kass recommended people buy Citigroup at $20 and put it in a sock drawer for a year or two. When I first read this one year ago, the first thought that came to my mind was why in the world is a guy that is running a short-only fund recommending people get long something. I didn't hear him say to get short another name at the same time so I can't give him credit for a hedged call. Secondly, has the guy looked at the macro view? Lastly, has he seen the size of their Tier 3 (off-balance sheet) assets? Fast forward to present day and your socks are worth more than your Citigroup stock.
Often times it does pay to zig when other people are zagging, but constantly taking the contrarian view will have you owning Citigroup at $20. I imagine Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is not too happy with Dougie right about now.
- 01/15/08 Kass: Buy Citigroup for a Rainy Day
- 05/29/08 Kass: I'm Putting My Money in the Banks
- 11/21/08 Kass: Bonds May No Longer Rule (Shorts TLT at 104 for "anti-implosion" hedge)
- 12/08/08 Kass: On the Road to Recovery
- 12/22/08 Kass: Too Early to Expect a Turnaround (The bottom line is that while I am feeling pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good that the stock market has bottomed...)
- 01/15/09 Kass: It's a Sad State of Affairs
