Jim Cramer, con artist, legit or what?

[james.hendrickson]

At one point I took one of Kramer's recommendations and bought a concentrated position in a single stock. I did okay, but the downturn in the market has got me thinking about the utility of listening to "gurus" like him. When I watch Kramer on TV most of the time he seems like he's done his homework and his advice is legit, but when I consider it, the guy seems like he's pushing too much content to have a coherent perspective.

I’m asking because I've heard good conflicting arguments about him. So, I'm not really sure how to make up my mind about the quality of the advice he's giving.

[corn18]

He's just another talking head. He doesn't know anything more about why the market is moving than anyone else (including anyone on this forum). Ignore the noise. And it's all noise.

[disneysteve]

I don't think he's a con artist. I just think acting on stock tips from ANYONE is a fool's game. Nobody has a crystal ball. If somebody actually has information about a company that isn't already public knowledge, acting on it would likely constitute insider trading. By the time Jim Kramer films his show and talks about a company, whatever he's discussing is probably already priced into the stock. Plus, there will be tens of thousands of people who will trade based on what he says and that will affect the stock price.

Stick to index funds that cover a broad swath of the market at a super low cost.

[Like2Plan]

Seriously, I have never been able to watch him for more than a couple of minutes because there is just too much going on... so, I don't know. But, I stopped taking advice from talking heads on individual stocks a long time ago. What I would like to see is back testing on all the stock recommendations that are made 1 year later--not just Kramer, but all the financial gurus/magazines. I feel like they have to fill the time (or magazine space) with something, so they make recommendations. There will be a change to the stock just by a recommendation being made.

[disneysteve]

Seriously, I have never been able to watch him for more than a couple of minutes because there is just too much going on

Agreed. I don't know how anyone watches his show. Anytime I've accidentally come across it, I was done in a minute or so.

[Jluke]

Probably about 14 years ago I read an article from Cramer where he was pumping some stock.

I invested $1500 in that company. Not too much time went by and the company was in trouble for accounting etc.

i held that that one for a very long time even though it was worthless almost from the get go. Think I took a $1400 loss there.

Learned that lesson pretty quickly

[james.hendrickson]

Probably about 14 years ago I read an article from Cramer where he was pumping some stock.

I invested $1500 in that company. Not too much time went by and the company was in trouble for accounting etc.

i held that that one for a very long time even though it was worthless almost from the get go. Think I took a $1400 loss there.

Learned that lesson pretty quickly

Ouch!

[TexasHusker]

Jim Cramer is an entertainer. I wouldn’t seek investment advice from him any more than I would seek political insight from Taylor Swift. It’s shocking how much people’ are influenced by people on TVs and stages.

[kork13]

Jim Cramer is an entertainer. I wouldn’t seek investment advice from him any more than I would seek political insight from Taylor Swift. It’s shocking how much people’ are influenced by people on TVs and stages.

I couldn't agree more. He's an entertainer who happens to prattle on with a finance vocabulary.

[scfr]

James - Have you read what Dan Solin has to say about Jim Cramer?

[JoeP]

I've never heard of the guy until a few months ago when we were on a trip and I stumbled upon a show where he was giving his analysis on certain stocks. He was highly entertaining to me because I liked his sense of humor. I would never take investing advice from him though.

[james.hendrickson]

James - Have you read what Dan Solin has to say about Jim Cramer?

No what did Dan Solin say?

[~bs]

he's basically like the news guy that comes on at 6pm or 10pm that really isnt the expert on what they're talking about, but look and sound good reading their lines.

[corn18]

he's basically like the news guy that comes on at 6pm or 10pm that really isnt the expert on what they're talking about, but look and sound good reading their lines.

I actually think he is more of an expert than some of the experts out there. He doesn't spew as much BS and makes as much sense as any other self proclaimed pundit. But I don't listen to any of them because if they actually knew what they were talking about, they wouldn't be on TV talking about it.

[scfr]

No what did Dan Solin say?

I dare you to call in live to one of Cramer's shows and ask a question that begins with "I was listening to this guy named Dan Solin and he says ..."