If anyone is a follower of Jim Cramer how much success have you had following him?
Answer:
Overall, I've lost money on Cramer and I no longer pay any attention to what he says. I never subscribed to his stock picking service, so maybe that would have been better.
One problem with Cramer's radio and TV shows is that you seldom know when he changes his opinion, and you don't know at what price his opinion merits action. For example, he used to "love" Lucent, and for awhile it had a good run. Then it tanked. He no longer loves Lucent, but meanwhile I'm in the hole because Cramer used to love Lucent. Asked about that one time, he said (in effect) that even though he liked the stock, that didn't mean you should go out and buy it when it had already run up 20-30%. It's impossible to get useful actionable advice from his programs, in my opinion.
I've lost money on Annaly Mortgage Management, Lucent, and Yahoo. I'm about even on Unitedhealth. I've made money on Cabela's and Sears Holdings. These were all stocks he was touting.
It is my experience that Cramer is a good contrarian indicator. In other words it pays to do the opposite of what he says.
http://champs-and-chumps.com/ features many of the stocks that Cramer touts and profiles their performance.
I've had a lot of success following him. Not necessarily in following his trades, but moreso from the overview he provides of the market.
Cramer's a fundamentalist. As such, most of his stocks typically take 6-12 months to move. Some might move sooner, but most may not depending on the market.
He doesn't always tell you this, so unless you are aware of this, it could cost you a few $$$ following his suggestions as if it were gospel.
Hope that helps!
I am not so sure I'd follow him, as learn from him. His services such as Stocks Under $10 can be excellent but they cost dinero. Read his two books and get a feel for how he works. He can teach you a lot about the day to day mechanics, and his picks have two tracks: Long term, and whats happening now. Know which is which, do your own research, and they work on your market timing. The technician at the Street.com, Meisner, I think her name is, does a creditable job of market timing, so you might subscribe to the THE STREET .com. These guys are good for ideas and timing, but not to be tied to..
Good Luck
DG2
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