Hempton Speaking at Spring VIC

[Parsad]

What a friggin' joke!  He's one of the speakers at the Spring VIC in Vegas.  That distaste from listening to Chanos and Herb Greenberg at the first VIC call Fairfax a fraud, just came back...I've never attended since, and never will.  Cheers!

[fareastwarriors]

What a friggin' joke!  He's one of the speakers at the Spring VIC in Vegas.  That distaste from listening to Chanos and Herb Greenberg at the first VIC call Fairfax a fraud, just came back...I've never attended since, and never will.  Cheers!

 

But it gave the opportunity for many investors to buy Fairfax at a great sale. I'm sure many benefit from this short attack.

[claphands22]

The guy has uncovered frauds, worked at one of the most prestigious asset firms in Australia (platinum asset management, also a big bac believer), big value guy, and his fund has returned 160% since 1/6/09.

 

Hempton speaking at VIC is a big help to the owners of the VIC.

[Guest deepValue]

VIC is a joke. I don't know why anyone bothers going to it, much less the one in the spring. If you want to know Einhorn's or Ackman's latest ideas, just wait a few hours for the presentations to be released.

 

Of course, maybe people go for the Whitney Tilson "value investing workshop," because everyone is dying to learn which companies Bill Ackman told Tilson are cheap.

[mysticdrew]

VIC is a joke. I don't know why anyone bothers going to it, much less the one in the spring. If you want to know Einhorn's or Ackman's latest ideas, just wait a few hours for the presentations to be released.

 

Of course, maybe people go for the Whitney Tilson "value investing workshop," because everyone is dying to learn which companies Bill Ackman told Tilson are cheap.

 

By that logic why do people go to anything when results/summaries/presentations are released right after? People go because they think it's an experience.

[Parsad]

The guy has uncovered frauds, worked at one of the most prestigious asset firms in Australia (platinum asset management, also a big bac believer), big value guy, and his fund has returned 160% since 1/6/09.

 

Hempton speaking at VIC is a big help to the owners of the VIC.

 

He was also calling large shareholders telling them to sell their shares, feeding information to numerous journalists who would write hack stories, and was alledgedly dismissed from one of the firms he worked for.

 

http://www.deepcapture.com/introducing-john-hempton-the-plunderer-from-down-under/

 

http://www.deepcapture.com/the-word-on-thestreetcom/

 

Peter Eavis features prominently in several documents acquired through discovery in the Fairfax case. The earliest mention of him appears in an email dated July 10, 2002, in which John Hempton told Rocker employee Monty Montgomery “I have Peter interested” in his belief that Fairfax Financial was a fraud.

 

Later, short selling hedge fund manager Jim Chanos refers to Eavis as John Hempton’s “guy”.

 

I guess it's ok to just excuse someone's unethical, borderline criminal activites, if he writes a great blog and has great returns on his fund for two years.  Cheers!

[Hielko]

Imo people are usually way to quick to blame short sellers. Sure, he was wrong. So what? If I would keep track of all long pitches from value managers that turn out be be wrong it would quickly grow to a thick book...

[Parsad]

Imo people are usually way to quick to blame short sellers. Sure, he was wrong. So what? If I would keep track of all long pitches from value managers that turn out be be wrong it would quickly grow to a thick book...

 

It wasn't the short-selling or being wrong.  I couldn't care about that.  It was the unethical way he went around spreading misinformation in the media, calling large shareholders, feeding information to hedge funds, etc...60 negative articles by Peter Eavis in a 9-month span?  Herb Greenberg, Fabrice Taylor and others he pushed to write stories?  John Gwynn releasing analyst reports early to shorts?  It was coordinated and he was the prime individual in the whole thing...initiated, instigated and fueled.  Cheers!