Dennis Gartman of the Gartman Letter appears to have a rather vocal critic in Fabrice Taylor at The Globe and Mail, this item appearing earlier today casting a dim view on all things Gartman, the lone exception being a style that is almost always engaging and entertaining.
Gartman fund needs less talk, more action Dennis Gartman never shies away from declaring a bubble when he sees one, or thinks he does.
Today the bubble is in gold. Mind you, the bubble was in gold several months ago, too. If it was a bubble at $700 (U.S.), I suppose, it’s an even bigger bubble today. But that doesn’t prevent Mr. Gartman from owning gold. The man works in mysterious ways.
Vox rarely declares a bubble, but we make an exception today: The bubble is in Dennis Gartman. When you start calling Warren Buffett an “idiot” while you lose money for your own investors, you’re way too big for your britches. … Whether you’re just vaguely acquainted with his work or an avid reader, you must have asked yourself at one point if Mr. Gartman actually makes any money for himself or for his readers by trading. Until recently, there’s never been a reliable way to gauge. Now there is, and it’s not particularly impressive.
At first it sounded as though the Hulbert Financial Digest had taken on the task of tallying Gartman’s winners and losers, clearing through the performance haze that seems to come with most investment newsletters, but, that is not the case.
It seems that, earlier this year, Gartman started an investment fund whose performance is now subject to a much more thorough accounting than any staffer at Mark Hulbert’s operation could provide.
Launched last March, the Horizons AlphaPro Gartman ETF is managed by the man himself using the wisdom he dispenses in his newsletter.
The fund launch was well-timed, coming as it did just as stocks were about to start one of the greatest runs of all time. Mr. Gartman’s investors, though, are down. The units, sold to investors for $10 a few months ago, closed at $9.12 on Friday, giving the ETF a market cap of about $52.5-million. … But the market is up 30 per cent since the fund launched. What’s up with that? Mr. Gartman didn’t get back to me, but the people at Horizons AlphaPro tell me the fund is intended to be market neutral, meaning it won’t move with the market. Why? Because it’s long and short, and supposedly constructed in such a way that the market’s performance has no net effect on the returns. The only thing that does have an effect, in theory, is the manager’s skill. It may be early days, but Mr. Gartman’s performance has been found wanting.
He’s expected to return between 6 and 12 per cent regardless of the market. Eight months in, he’s nowhere near that.
Apparently, one of the fund’s big losers was a bet against Berkshire Hathaway that was made all the worse by the label “idiot” being applied to the legendary investor from Omaha.
While it was conceivable that Berkshire shares might sink over the summer during what turned out to be anything but a “sucker rally”, the potential upside to calling Warren Buffet an “idiot” completely escapes me.
ooo
Tim Iacono is a retired software engineer and writes the financial blog "The Mess That Greenspan Made" which chronicles the many and varied after-effects of the Greenspan term at the Federal Reserve. Tim is also the founder of the investment website "Iacono Research" that provides weekly updates to subscribers on the economy, natural resources, and financial markets.
Interesting view on Gartman, since he’s a fave of that Trader Program: “FAST MONEY” on CNBC every night. It’s almost every night that Gartman is featured on there. When they aren’t quoting what Dick Bove said on CNBC in the DAY…they fill in with Gartman in their 5pm (est) show.
He’s for GOLD one DAY…AGAINST GOLD..the next.
It’s interesting to know about his fund which hasn’t performed. I wish CNBC would institute FULL DISCLOSURE about their “performers” rather than “Half or 3/4th’s.
But, then….it’s all supposed to be entertainment. So, why should they? :shrug:
Unfortunately, I agree that Gartman is an overvalued bubble.
He is a smart thinker and I always interested to hear what he has to say, but I usually ignore his recommendations. I even used to pay $20 a day to get his daily letter emailed in A.M.
He has five Fridays a week and flips the sides five times a day. I am also suspecting that he is a Monday morning quarter backer.
Two words: Show me.
I can’t stand him. Really.
It’s kind of funny actually, because this is how my little acorn brain works with some media personalities, celebs, etc. – I can take them in for a good long while (years sometimes), when one day, to quote the incomparable George Carlin, I simply say to myself, “Ah! He’s full of shit!”
That’s what happened to me during one of the many occasions he was featured on CNBC. It dawned on me that he ALWAYS makes the prudent buy/sell earlier in session to catch/avoid the big move of the day (be it market, commodities, etc.). There have been approximately 2 occasions in which I noted a bit of an edge to him, and he wasn’t spewing off about charts whose f$%^g “lines move from the lower [f#$%g] left to the upper [f#$^g] right”. Got me thinking that he was slammed on those two days and couldn’t even muster up a good fable about how he sold the loser at the high of the day. Shut the f@#k up, Dennis. Shut…the f@#k… up.
Rant over. Apologies.
By the way, I’m glad to see Tim posted on the site, Barry. I think he does fantastic work.
Great post, Tim. There are far too many blowhards on financial TV who are bombastic in their predictions and seemingly try to stand up thru the TV to declare themselves a valiant warlord of the financial battlefield.
I’m a show me the money kinda guy….I’d rather hear from the guys who made billions..the John Paulson, Jim Rogers, Buffett types…not “newsletter” guys. Cramer used to be in the camp of guys who made big money, but now he’s taken the “Valiant Financial Warlord” title instead.
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” Henry Ford said it all. The broadcast media’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” demands no dead air and quality content at least 12 hours a day. All manner of Don Juans of knowledge would be consumed like a regular-sized bag tortilla chips at a pool of guacamole by all the rest of those who demand to see the answers on the smart kid’s paper. And G’Damn it , they better be right or we’ll kill you. You know BR that quantity dilutes content; true ideas are stars and consumers demand the door be opened and there be an ocean of light 24/7 . The answer is not “What are they thinking?”, but of course they are not and they get what they pay for. Don’t wait for Fred C. Dobbs to help you find the mine.
Ultimately all “egos” get crushed by the market.
I guess his biggest words of wisdom were usually along these lines ‘as long as the graph is moving from left to right on an upward slope than I am bullish’.
Surprised if he is not long now.
He always looked like a pompous ass to me.
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