In the Financial Times today, James Altucher relates the tale of a rain-soaked ride in a convertible with a 31-year old former hedge fund manager who retired two years ago. So either the guy was incredibly lucky or he's a genius. We're going with genius for now because one of his picks shows that this one guy who knows what he's talking about.
Alucher calls his "Ralph" but that's a pseudonym. He's asked Altucher not to use his real name. (Anyone want to hazard a guess?) And his stock picks are rather surprising.
• Citigroup: It's a bet on a rate cut bailing out the banks.
• Ram Holdings: A re-insurer of financial services firms with a less risky portfolio than others in the industry.
• Radian: Another re-insurer getting beat down with the rest of the industry despite having a better business.
• E-Trade: Big upside if it avoids bankruptcy.
So what is it that won him the spot in the "genius" column? It's his final words to Altucher.
“Oh,” Ralph added as I was getting out of the car. “Please don’t mention my name or write about any of these picks.”“No problem,” I said, “I won’t write about any of them.”
“One thing you can write about, though,” he told me, “is that I have a crush on Bess from Dealbreaker.com. Do you know her?”
Unfortunately for Ralph, Altucher has never been introduced to Bess. But we guarantee she'd look a lot better soaking wet in the convertible than a columnist for the Financial Times. Just make sure you've got a fifth of whiskey in the glove compartment, and ask if she'll bring her roommate along for the ride too.
A slow, wet convertible to the Street [Financial Times]
Posted by , Nov 20, 2007 2:21PM
Ahhh dealbroker.com all grown up. If I read that article on the FT page without linking in from here I would have killed myself laughing.
Bess, you've got big time fans! Ditch Carney and go find this hedgie.