I’M ALI MESHKATI AND I TALK ABOUT MY PERFORMANCE NUMBERS
It is fair to say that the financial blogosphere exerts a great deal of influence in today's world. Bloggers move markets. You couldn't say that even 5 or 6 years ago. With that level of influence comes a sense of machismo among these beacons of influence. That sense of chest pounding popularity then begins the fine art of creating moral codes of what is and isn't considered acceptable conduct among financial professionals.
These are financial professionals, mind you, that have proven themselves useless over the past 12 years. They are a breed of professional that holds no real purpose. They don't treat illnesses. They don't defend against impropriety. They don't create. They have been trained to speak a certain way, delivered through the polluted womb of an educational system that seeks to deliver pedigree to the institutions that demand it. Thereby furthering the illusion of intelligent research and an attention to due diligence. There is no greater degree of uselessness than that of a Wall Street professional.
For proof all one has to do is look at the performance numbers for the average hedge fund. The hedge fund is after all the destination of choice among the elite. That destination used to be Goldman Sachs and we saw what that created. The average hedge fund, filled to the brim with pedigree, distinction and hubris is nothing more than a vehicle meant to enrich those who collect the 1 and on occasion the 20. They have underperformed terribly. The aroma of mediocrity is putrid even if you wear a $300 tie and $800 shoes. A well-trained nose can't be fooled.
The average investment adviser is no better. They are simply tools of the industry that rely on pedigreed research to drive an investment thesis that is built on robotic duplication of what has been working recently. There is little originality. They rely upon diversification to the umpteenth degree so that they can cling onto the mediocrity that is not losing too much of your money at once. An Alfani tie and Levi's dockers doesn't seem to do the trick either. Just buy the SPY.
It is no wonder then that talking about performance numbers is frowned upon. Never mind that the financial markets are not a venue for story telling or being witty, but rather to perform. That fact seems to get lost. Among all the bloggers and financial media, it seems that Wall Street has turned into a children's fairy tale that involves picking apart news stories and adding ominous quips about the nefarious types that will harm us. Performance shouldn't be discussed. Instead what needs to be take place is a colorful discussion that is completely useless towards adding performance, which shouldn't be discussed in detail either way. Performance numbers are an absolute sin in a venue where performance is the bottom line. Make sense? Not at all.
I talk about my performance numbers because I am here to perform. I am not here to pick apart news stories or talk about the latest product from Amazon or Apple. I am here to provide you with research that creates performance. That performance is not something I will shy away from. Whether good or bad, I will discuss my performance on occasion in an effort to improve, create consistency and show that I can kick ass.
It is all detailed here. If I fall down, you will get to watch in real-time. If I rise to great heights, it will be here for you to see. My research drives me. My desire to look at price action differently keeps my mind working around the clock. My need to discover new opportunities has me scanning through hundreds of companies per day. The result of this drive, desire and need is my performance.
Why on Olympus Mons would I shy away from discussing that?
