Some proposed rule changes in the stock picking contest
lubow
group, we're up 4.93% as of C-O-B 9/4/2007.
Regardless of the average P/L of the competitors, every one selected at
least three stocks that is beating the S&P 500. I think that's fantastic!
Congratulations to everybody and may the best picker win. There are some
changes that I am proposing for 2008:
(1) I would like to get a preliminary number of people who would like to
compete. Calculating the results is the easy part. Entering the dividends
is slow. If we get more than eight contestants, I'm going to ask each
contestant to just email to me the dividend amount per share, the dividend
date and the closing price on the dividend date. I'll do the rest.
(2) Rukeyser had a minimum of four investments, we're using a fixed number
of ten stocks. Do you want to stick with ten or four minimum?
(3) Rukeyser allowed the contestants to weight each investment. For
example, if your portfolio is ten investments, one could be weighted 19%
while another is weighted 1%. I have no problem with that. Interestingly,
the best competitors on W$W never weighted anything.
(4) Shorts are allowed. That's a given
(5) This, I'm sure, will generate some discussion: I prefer only listed
securities. The bid and ask spreads of bulletin board stocks and pinkies
are just too great (look at, e.g., GCOG) to provide fair valuations in the
context of a competition.
(6) No bonds -- too difficult to look up
Thanks to everyone who has participated and to those that would like to
participate.
-- Lubow.
FrediFizzx
news:uZnDi.4362$pm2.273@trndny08...
> We're about to enter the home stretch in the stock picking contest.
> As a group, we're up 4.93% as of C-O-B 9/4/2007.
>
> Regardless of the average P/L of the competitors, every one selected
> at least three stocks that is beating the S&P 500. I think that's
> fantastic! Congratulations to everybody and may the best picker win.
> There are some changes that I am proposing for 2008:
>
> (1) I would like to get a preliminary number of people who would like
> to compete. Calculating the results is the easy part. Entering the
> dividends is slow. If we get more than eight contestants, I'm going
> to ask each contestant to just email to me the dividend amount per
> share, the dividend date and the closing price on the dividend date.
> I'll do the rest.
I'll compete. Put me on the list.
> (2) Rukeyser had a minimum of four investments, we're using a fixed
> number of ten stocks. Do you want to stick with ten or four minimum?
I like sticking with ten.
> (3) Rukeyser allowed the contestants to weight each investment. For
> example, if your portfolio is ten investments, one could be weighted
> 19% while another is weighted 1%. I have no problem with that.
> Interestingly, the best competitors on W$W never weighted anything.
Weighting is OK but I probably will do just equal dollar amounts for
each.
> (4) Shorts are allowed. That's a given
>
> (5) This, I'm sure, will generate some discussion: I prefer only
> listed securities. The bid and ask spreads of bulletin board stocks
> and pinkies are just too great (look at, e.g., GCOG) to provide fair
> valuations in the context of a competition.
Yes, I agree with listed only. What happens if a stock gets delisted
during the competion?
> (6) No bonds -- too difficult to look up
>
> Thanks to everyone who has participated and to those that would like
> to participate.
Your welcome.
Fred
lubow
A: Whatever is the last price listed in Yahoo Finance. For listed stocks
that become delisted stocks, we'll make it the exception.
And "listed" securities means listed on an *exchange* that is covered by
Yahoo finance. That means no *.OB, no *.PK
--
Lubow
"FrediFizzx" <fredi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:5k6lplF...@mid.individual.net...
ausound
news:uZnDi.4362$pm2.273@trndny08:
> We're about to enter the home stretch in the stock picking contest.
> As a group, we're up 4.93% as of C-O-B 9/4/2007.
>
> Regardless of the average P/L of the competitors, every one selected
> at least three stocks that is beating the S&P 500. I think that's
> fantastic! Congratulations to everybody and may the best picker win.
> There are some changes that I am proposing for 2008:
>
> (1) I would like to get a preliminary number of people who would like
> to compete. Calculating the results is the easy part. Entering the
> dividends is slow. If we get more than eight contestants, I'm going
> to ask each contestant to just email to me the dividend amount per
> share, the dividend date and the closing price on the dividend date.
> I'll do the rest.
>
> (2) Rukeyser had a minimum of four investments, we're using a fixed
> number of ten stocks. Do you want to stick with ten or four minimum?
I think the 10 model keeps the playing field level
also it's a good workout picking those last 3 or 4
>
> (3) Rukeyser allowed the contestants to weight each investment. For
> example, if your portfolio is ten investments, one could be weighted
> 19% while another is weighted 1%. I have no problem with that.
> Interestingly, the best competitors on W$W never weighted anything.
I suppose it makes it a bit more realistic
I probably wont
>
> (4) Shorts are allowed. That's a given
THEY MUST BE LAUNDERED....NO ...ahh...."stains"
>
> (5) This, I'm sure, will generate some discussion: I prefer only
> listed securities. The bid and ask spreads of bulletin board stocks
> and pinkies are just too great (look at, e.g., GCOG) to provide fair
> valuations in the context of a competition.
BZZZZZZZZZT
doesn't matter what the bids & spreads are....that's intraday stuff....
your contest tallies monthly per the closing price.
you would exclude VRNT.PK and a stock up 10% today with cutting edge
technology for the next century STHK.OB
what I think we should exclude is them foreign stocks...Rukeyser's
contest used only 'Merkan stocks
>
> (6) No bonds -- too difficult to look up
Rukeyser refered to them as Bond Ghouls
lubow
>> (5) This, I'm sure, will generate some discussion: I prefer only
>> listed securities. The bid and ask spreads of bulletin board stocks
>> and pinkies are just too great (look at, e.g., GCOG) to provide fair
>> valuations in the context of a competition.
>
>
> BZZZZZZZZZT
> doesn't matter what the bids & spreads are....that's intraday stuff....
> your contest tallies monthly per the closing price.
> you would exclude VRNT.PK and a stock up 10% today with cutting edge
> technology for the next century STHK.OB
>
Ausound, I'm not the stock picking contest dictator. I'm only making a
suggestion and I think it's worth a few minutes to hear everyone's view on
this. Either way, my software will pick up any price of any stock in Yahoo
Finance.
My view of this is that pink sheet stocks can be and have been heavily
manipulated. It only takes a handful of trades to change the price by
10-20% on a regular basis. For that reason I don't think those stocks are
appropriate in a competitive environment.
Also, please be aware, that everything was OK including commodity futures on
the Rukeyser show except pinkies. Many times John Dessauer picked foreign
stocks that were only traded overseas. In fact, Dessauer was in the Final
Four so many times, that Rukeyser fired him.
Rukeyser fired four others for "cause." The most famous was Alan Bond, whom
I really liked and followed. Bond took the retirement money entrusted to
him by the NBA Players Assn. and used it to buy expensive cars for himself.
The others were Hurd Baruch, who advocated an invasion of Saudi during the
first Arab oil embargo; "Mama Bear" Gail Dudack for being too bearish and
bond maven Jim Grant for plugging his newsletter on the air.
--
Lubow
lubow
> technology for the next century STHK.OB
Startech may work out. but I have been burned big time by a similar company
(Safety-Kleen), so I would waive on that one. If I ever bot into that
industry again it would be BFC-UN.TO
================================
I remember Vereint when it was Comverse. Those crooks still owe us around
$3500 for Y2K work. The founder of Comverse remains on the Interpol most
wanted list.
"As a result of the accounting issues from Comverse's option backdating,
Comverse was unable to file timely financial reports with the SEC, and a
result its stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market on February 1,
2007, and removed from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 at the same time. The
stock now trades on the Pink Sheets." From the Wikipedia
--
Lubow
aero...@flight.net
wrote:
>(4) Shorts are allowed. That's a given
Can you use a combination of shorts and longs, or would that be
difficult to manage?
com...@webtv.net
do .
i would like to stick with ten stocks.
i do not like the weighted portfoio method because then you could win
the competition with just 1 pick. example;
990 shars of xyz stock 1 share of GE 1 share of IBM , 1 share
of..........you see how someone might do that.
no matter what the rules , i look forward to the competition...
A Liberal is "just a Communist in a Free Country" !
Lubow
The only restriction is you cannot long and short the same stock.
Just remember that your picks prior to 1/1/2008 are locked and cannot
be changed.
--Lubow
Lubow
> i do not like the weighted portfoio method because then you could win
> the competition with just 1 pick. example;
> 990 shars of xyz stock 1 share of GE 1 share of IBM , 1 share
> of..........you see how someone might do that.
> no matter what the rules , i look forward to the competition...
Good point, Mr. Comics. And yes, I think the contest (or whatever you
want to call it) has been extremely useful in many ways. E.g., from
you I picked up on the bull market in agriculture; from Don I picked
up that unusual India ETF and Consolidated Water; from Ausound I began
looking at Ivanhoe.
--Lubow
The Visitor
This is great you're running another stock picking contest.
I may even enter the next one. Since you started posting in here, this
newsgroup really picked up. You are a class act.
Right now I am still on hold watching things move sideways.
(still stinging)
John
Lubow
entering the game for 2008. Even though there's no real money
involved, I think it is much more challenging than the CNBC game
because we will have to forecast an entire year's worth of market data
and economic activity.
Best of luck.
--Lubow
The Visitor
Sort of. I will at least hold 1000 shares of each pick, initially.
Because I will believe in what I pick. But, I may actually sell them
before the year is up. Although not relevant to the contest.
Yes I think there will be more contestants this time around.
Your efforts are appreciated by many.
John
ausound
news:oRHDi.9978$Ov2.4993@trndny06:
>>>
>>> (5) This, I'm sure, will generate some discussion: I prefer only
>>> listed securities. The bid and ask spreads of bulletin board stocks
>>> and pinkies are just too great (look at, e.g., GCOG) to provide
>>> fair valuations in the context of a competition.
>>
>>
>> BZZZZZZZZZT
>> doesn't matter what the bids & spreads are....that's intraday
>> stuff.... your contest tallies monthly per the closing price.
>> you would exclude VRNT.PK and a stock up 10% today with cutting edge
>> technology for the next century STHK.OB
>>
>
> Ausound, I'm not the stock picking contest dictator.
okay, the stock picking contest Oligarch
I'm only making
> a suggestion and I think it's worth a few minutes to hear everyone's
> view on this. Either way, my software will pick up any price of any
> stock in Yahoo Finance.
>
> My view of this is that pink sheet stocks can be and have been heavily
> manipulated. It only takes a handful of trades to change the price by
> 10-20% on a regular basis. For that reason I don't think those
> stocks are appropriate in a competitive environment.
what could be more competitive than that?
read what you just wrote: "It only takes a handful of trades to change
the price by 10-20% on a regular basis." YEEfuckingHAW! one could develop
a strategy with that kind of volatility
>
> Also, please be aware, that everything was OK including commodity
> futures on the Rukeyser show except pinkies. Many times John Dessauer
> picked foreign stocks that were only traded overseas. In fact,
> Dessauer was in the Final Four so many times, that Rukeyser fired him.
I did not know that
>
> Rukeyser fired four others for "cause."
I did not know that
The most famous was Alan
> Bond, whom I really liked and followed. Bond took the retirement
> money entrusted to him by the NBA Players Assn. and used it to buy
> expensive cars for himself.
>The others were Hurd Baruch, who advocated
> an invasion of Saudi during the first Arab oil embargo;
C'mon, a guy named Baruch advocating invasion of Saudi Arabia.... who you
tryin to kid