Whitney Tilson is shutting down his hedge fund

[SHDL]

Furthermore, I simply don't get why the doings of Mr. Tilson is even interesting, thereby interesting to discuss here on CoBF.

 

There’s a famous quote from George Bernard Shaw that goes “those who can do, those who can't teach.”  It’s a fairly commonly held notion among Americans, and explains well the general lack of respect for teachers in this part of the world.  Anyway, I think that is one of the deep reasons why people around here like to make fun of people like Tilson, whom many regard as a stereotypical “teacher” of the investment world.  There's a cultural idiosyncrasy involved that may be hard to understand from outside the US.  :)

[Jurgis]

Furthermore, I simply don't get why the doings of Mr. Tilson is even interesting, thereby interesting to discuss here on CoBF.

 

There’s a famous quote from George Bernard Shaw that goes “those who can do, those who can't teach.”  It’s a fairly commonly held notion among Americans, and explains well the general lack of respect for teachers in this part of the world.  Anyway, I think that is one of the deep reasons why people around here like to make fun of people like Tilson, whom many regard as a stereotypical “teacher” of the investment world.  There's a cultural idiosyncrasy involved that may be hard to understand from outside the US.  :)

 

I don't agree with that saying. And I did not think negatively about Tilson's previous pursuit of workshops and teaching. However the latest ad was really sleazy selling of questionable advice. Which may not warrant a thread, but probably warrants making fun of.

 

"The prophet of profit!" - nah, this is already © Nef Anyo.

[SHDL]

I'm not a big fan of the American obsession with this notion either.  In fact I think it's unfortunate. 

 

But, although I'm American, I'm also what people call a third culture kid, so I don't think my views are representative of the general population here.

[TwoCitiesCapital]

I'm not a big fan of the American obsession with this notion either.  In fact I think it's unfortunate. 

 

But, although I'm American, I'm also what people call a third culture kid, so I don't think my views are representative of the general population here.

 

It's an unfortunate view, but it's somewhat supported by data in America.

 

While most of the world pulls teachers/professors from the upper quintiles of students, teachers in America tend to be more representative of the lower quintiles. That doesn't mean there aren't good teachers, or smart teachers, but that they are vastly outnumbered.

 

 

[SHDL]

I'm not a big fan of the American obsession with this notion either.  In fact I think it's unfortunate. 

 

But, although I'm American, I'm also what people call a third culture kid, so I don't think my views are representative of the general population here.

 

It's an unfortunate view, but it's somewhat supported by data in America.

 

While most of the world pulls teachers/professors from the upper quintiles of students, teachers in America tend to be more representative of the lower quintiles. That doesn't mean there aren't good teachers, or smart teachers, but that they are vastly outnumbered.

 

Yes, based on what I see, I agree. 

[John Hjorth]

... There's a cultural idiosyncrasy involved that may be hard to understand from outside the US.  :)

 

Suddenly the issues discussed in this topic becomes interesting - SHDL: Why do you think this is hard to understand from outside the US?

[SHDL]

... There's a cultural idiosyncrasy involved that may be hard to understand from outside the US.  :)

 

Suddenly the issues discussed in this topic becomes interesting - SHDL: Why do you think this is hard to understand from outside the US?

 

It’s just my guess based on what I’ve seen, namely the stark contrast in terms of how teachers/educators are regarded outside vs inside the US.  I’ve never lived in Denmark though, so I may be missing something crucial!  ;)

[LC]

Tilson is an interesting case.

He has been following WB and Brk for YEARS, and yet his own funds returns have been lackluster.

Yet, he has still attracted capital and been able to market his funds.

 

I take two lessons from him:

1) Sometimes it's just not in the cards. You can say all right right things, do all the right things, and it just doesn't work out. To me, WT really seemed like (or believed that) he was executing the value investing playbook. And yet, no dice.

 

2) Despite all this, marketing still works! You can just really be sub-par, but if you spin a good yarn, you can hang around for decades.

[Deepdive]

Tilson is an interesting case.

He has been following WB and Brk for YEARS, and yet his own funds returns have been lackluster.

Yet, he has still attracted capital and been able to market his funds.

 

I take two lessons from him:

1) Sometimes it's just not in the cards. You can say all right right things, do all the right things, and it just doesn't work out. To me, WT really seemed like (or believed that) he was executing the value investing playbook. And yet, no dice.

 

2) Despite all this, marketing still works! You can just really be sub-par, but if you spin a good yarn, you can hang around for decades.

 

To be fair, he navigated 2008/2009 quite well and that can sometimes give you another 8-10 years of rope to hang yourself

[Gregmal]

This jerk off failed at managing money in one of the easiest environments ever... now he's running a bs newsletter....and people are bidding up stocks based on his touts? LOL suckers

 

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3481080-home-plus-16-percent-tilson-tips-buyout-activity

 

https://empirefinancialresearch.com/articles/snap-is-ripping-stock-idea-of-the-day-at-home-gabriel-gregos-takedown-of-bio-on-when-martin-shkreli-tried-to-stiff-me

 

The only question anyone paying for his services or considering acting on his recommendations needs to ask is this... If you are worth listening to, why couldn't your fund make money?

[fuluvu]

Tilson is selling "founding partner" of his newsletter for $6000.00. What a bargain  ;)

 

Dear future partner,

 

I’m pleased to personally invite you to become a “founding partner” of the Empire Financial Partnership.

 

Now, what I mean by “Founding Partner” doesn’t have to do with getting shares of my company or anything like that… It means that you’re entitled to every new product we ever publish… for life!

 

But I must warn you…

 

You’ll never see another offer like this ever again.

 

Giving away a “piece of my business” at such a low introductory rate is me fulfilling a promise I made to Porter Stansberry…

[Jurgis]

Tilson is selling "founding partner" of his newsletter for $6000.00. What a bargain  ;)

 

Dear future partner,

 

I’m pleased to personally invite you to become a “founding partner” of the Empire Financial Partnership.

 

Now, what I mean by “Founding Partner” doesn’t have to do with getting shares of my company or anything like that… It means that you’re entitled to every new product we ever publish… for life!

 

But I must warn you…

 

You’ll never see another offer like this ever again.

 

Giving away a “piece of my business” at such a low introductory rate is me fulfilling a promise I made to Porter Stansberry…

 

"for life" .... or until I shut down this newsletter and start another something...

[stahleyp]

Honestly, I don't see who the target market is for this. The people who don't know who he is probably aren't going to pay $6,000. The people who know who he is also aren't going to pay $6,000 since they know that's a terrible deal.

[LC]

Honestly, I don't see who the target market is for this. The people who don't know who he is probably aren't going to pay $6,000. The people who know who he is also aren't going to pay $6,000 since they know that's a terrible deal.

The one thing I've learned about marketing is to never underestimate human ignorance  ;D ;D ;D

[nickenumbers]

Whitney Tilson = Charlatan

 

[gfp]

Yeah, these lifetime memberships are a successful product at Agora (Agora majority owns Stansberry which owns Empire).  There is usually a "maintenance" annual fee as well.  Its a zero marginal cost business essentially, so money up front is a great deal for the company.  Get Whitney's PDF's emailed to your inbox for life!  OR however long Whitney works for Agora...

 

Honestly, I don't see who the target market is for this. The people who don't know who he is probably aren't going to pay $6,000. The people who know who he is also aren't going to pay $6,000 since they know that's a terrible deal.

The one thing I've learned about marketing is to never underestimate human ignorance  ;D ;D ;D

[opihiman2]

What a fucking hack.  Every time I see his mug, I want to punch him in the face.  That guy totally just shit the bed when it comes to investing, and now he's all like, "I told you so!" about the recent rally.  I hope the SPY turns over and just craters below 200 so I can just watch his shit eating grin on Yahoo Finance go away.

[jeffsreng]

Business 101 is selling.  If you ever run your own business, you know how difficult it is to SELL.

I admired him and learn a lot from him.  Much respect. 

[stahleyp]

Business 101 is selling.  If you ever run your own business, you know how difficult it is to SELL.

I admired him and learn a lot from him.  Much respect.

 

You respect someone who has terrible returns and does shady marketing?  :o

 

From an investment perspective, what is there to respect?

[jeffsreng]

I dare you to open your own fund or business. It is not easy.  I triple dare you.  I'll give you a million buck if you

can out perform him.

[stahleyp]

I dare you to open your own fund or business. It is not easy.  I triple dare you.  I'll give you a million buck if you

can out perform him.

 

It's not hard to beat his record. Throw it into an index fund...or almost any mutual fund. It is quite hard to have returns as bad as Tilson's.

[arcube]

I dare you to open your own fund or business. It is not easy.  I triple dare you.  I'll give you a million buck if you

can out perform him.

 

You need to cool your jets. Just because people mention these money managers and share their thoughts about them, your come back to all is, go start your own and all that crap. And stop daring people, lot of people here own businesses and have done way better than managing a fund. Cool it.

[jeffsreng]

If it so easy - why don't you have your own fund or business.  All talk and no action.

[jeffsreng]

My dare still stand if anyone want to make a million dollar.

[Jurgis]

I dare you to open your own fund or business. It is not easy.  I triple dare you.  I'll give you a million buck if you

can out perform him.

 

It's a deal. You deposit $1M into escrow account at reliable mutually-agreed custodian. We write up a contract. All documents to be public and published on CoBF.