Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog - Quickly revisiting name brand investors...

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...as a giant cheat sheet, so to say. Doing your own homework is quite important, for although quoting name brands makes for profitable media fodder, it doesn't do well for investors - contrar...

2. As I was harping on relying on Name Brands...
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

I was just warning readers to beware of believing the hype behind financial name brands when I came across the following WSJ.com article. If you have followed this blog regularly, you would have be

3. BoomBustBlog Research Performance for 2008
(Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

..., let's walk through my results for the year in detail. I'll start by comparing my results to that of the big name brands, just to illustrate where the real performance is to be found. For those in ...

When I released the various monoline analyses, I assured: my readers that we would start getting a wave of bankrutpcies as a result of the lax underwriting of the leveraged loan markets. I also made

6. I've told you about following those "name brands"
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

...that CRE will not be that bad this time around. I don't see why so many are walking around with blinders on! Name brands have put a hurtin' on banks repetitively, yet no one seems to learn their le...

7. In the "Worst is behind us!" world of financial news
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

8. Investment performance, Name Brands & "Should a blog charge 2&20?"
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

...oing lately, but before we do that I would like all to revisit a post I made in February... "Are you hooked on name brands?" It was quite true then and actually quite prescient now as we look ba...

9. Blogonomics 101: some of us new media journalists might know what we're doing...
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

...e to thinking that either the populace does not expect the acumen of those that blog, or they overestimate the name brands whose moniker resides beside the term hedge fund. On that note, here is an ar...

10. Reggie Middleton on James Cramer: Marked to Market!!
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

James Cramer: marked to market! This is most likely the final installment in my "Name Brands aren't all they're cracked up to be" series. This string of articles has seen me compare my (a lowly

11. The name brand contrarian plays have bore sweet fruit
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

...e brand banks, I think a recap is in order. I have taken strong bearish positions on a few of the most revered name brands, to the dismay of people who should really know better than to doubt my inves...

... "Who is this guy?" Well, you probably don't know who I am because the press routinely goes to "name brands", without regard for track record, hence routinely tends to circulate op...

15. The 2nd inning of the unwind begins, and I contemplate my strategy
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

...ommy (yes, that's what I called her) used to tell me that patience is a virtue. I noticed that a lot of name brands are jumping in to buy muni, mortgage, and real assets now, but I feel it is m...

The media, investors (both retail and institutional) and arm chair economists tend to look at the world one month at a time. The world is billions of years old, a monthly outlook is thinking small.

21. Blog vs. Broker, whom do you trust!
(Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog)

The Name Brand - that bastion of marketing that the finance and investment industries have come to rely on to convince those who should no better to do things that they shouldn't -has come under att

BAC pushed Congresswoman Waters too far...
written by phirang, January 26, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5uipZyB8lc

...
written by Reggie Middleton, January 26, 2009

This is really something BAC or any of the banks need to prevent, right now. If Lewis has any sense, he will phone Congressman Waters immediately with an apology and a fast track solution with all parties involved. I bet you it won't happen. I don't see how pissing off a tenured, outspoken member of the US Congress helps the bank's cause. Seriously!

...
written by shaunsnoll, January 26, 2009

thanks phirang, interesting bit there

...
written by Shabba, January 26, 2009

I hear ya on wells. I was thinking the same thing too quite some time ago,
but they have reported quarter after quarter after quarter of profits, and they
also bought Wachovia. So I'm thinking that you're probably wrong about this one.
But with the high concentration of business in CA, it seems like they have to be hurting. Anyways, I'm long on Wells, hope their earning report tomorrow is good!

...
written by Reggie Middleton, January 26, 2009

It\'s too late to be wrong, they\'ve already returned 3 - 4 times my original investment. Parse the earnings statements and you can probably find some fissures in their armour.

You are a brave soul to be long a bank like that with that type of exposure in this environment, particularly given the macro outlook. To each their own through. More power to you, my friend.

hey reggie,
written by shaunsnoll, January 26, 2009

just FYI, GLUU just recently had their credit line extended and ammended, by SIVB, one of the few public companies that SIVB lends to. if GLUU doesn't get bought by ATVI or ERTS sometime real soon they are goners.

AXP missed by .01...
written by phirang, January 26, 2009

I am DYING to see Reggie's take on their curiously close Q....

...
written by nyse, January 26, 2009

Hi Reggie,
I have been reading your blog for a while now and it is definitely one, of my favorites. Your analyses, especially those surrounding the banks, has offered much insight and corroborated much of my own research. That said, I believe we will see another round of bank sell offs (JPM is a no-good dog), and was wondering what you view will spark the coming capitulation. I.E., will it take a major event, downgrade, etc. to see the next round of bank beatings? Any insight you could offer would be invaluable. Thanks again for all you do.
Best, ng

SLG
written by phirang, January 26, 2009

Decent results...

Written by Reggie Middleton
Monday, 26 January 2009
About 8 months ago, I released research (as part of the Asset Securitiziation Crisis series) as a summary overview of Wells Fargo (Doo-Doo bank drill down, part 1 - Wells Fargo) and the forensic analysis of the same, Doo Doo 32 Bank Drill Down 1.5: The Forensic Analysis of Wells Fargo. For those that don't know, Warren Buffet is the largest shareholder of Wells Fargo. When my analysts and I came up with the short list that included Wells, the first thing to pop into my head was actually included in the introductory post. I will excerpt it here: "Well, the first bank on the drill down list will also be 2nd of the banks that I will deliver a forensic analysis on (the first was PNC Bank). That bank is,,, (drum roll in the backgroud, crescendo.... I know some of you hate it when I do this........) Wells Fargo! I can hear a few of you naysayers cackling behind your computer screens as I type this. Wells Fargo is a big name brand bank (cackle, cackle)! Wells Fargo has Warren Buffet as its largest investor (cackle, cackle)! Wells Fargo this and that and blah, blah and (cackle, cackle).... All I can say is, beware of name brands (I actually felt compelled to address this in earlier posts). I have made more than a couple of dollars benefiting from name brand hubris and smaller minded investors (this easily includes big institutions as well as little retail investors) who would rather be told what to do than read a balance sheet! Time will tell if I am right or not on Wells Fargo, just be forewarned - several of the banks on teh Doo-Doo 32 list have already taken a trip to the confessional! The score card for the credit crisis to date, Reggie Middleton - 10, big name brand investors - 0 (not to toot my own horn, I'm sort of a modest guy and I know I have a big mistake/loss coming soon, it just isn't going to be this one). I actually have a lot of respect for Buffet, though. Hell of a fundamental investor and cash flow king, and charming public persona as well as being modest (at least he's got me beat). My appreciation differs from that of many, though. His investment track record is quite impressive for it stands the test of time as consistent. As a smaller, unknown investor, he was the most impressive, but now he is an icon and his very words and even a scent of investment from him actually moves markets. Even though he has a much larger capital base to work from (which makes it harder to generate large proportionate returns), his influence can be confused for investment acumen. All in all, he is one to be admired, but the investment results stemming from alpha have to be seperated from the ability to manipulate and move the market (unless that actual ability can be defined as alpha - topic for another day). We all make mistakes though, and Wells Fargo is a mistake waiting to happen for anyone invested in it, including and particularly Mr. Buffet due to the size of his investment. Let's walk through this company as I see it. Of course, since Wells Fargo failed to cooperate with me in releasing their numbers, I used statistical data to back into their probable delinquincies where they weren't directly available from their public filings." Due to Mr. Buffet's heavy investment in industrial, manufacturing, insurance and banking stocks, he has had a very rough two years. The recent deterioration of stocks in the Berkshire portfolio happen to include a $4.5 billion drop in the value of its Well Fargo holdings since December 1. Wells has lost half of its value in under two months. This translates into a 2x to 4x on my bearish Wells Fargo positions. Name brands that I have trounced and made significant money off of in this crisis do not end with Mr. Buffett (see BoomBustBlog Research Performance for 2008). There is also Wibur Ross (Assured Guaranty ), Citadel/Ken Griffin (homebuilders/Beazer), Warren Buffet (Wells Fargo), Joseph Lewis from the UK (Bear Stearns), Legg Mason and Citibank (the homebuilders), UBS and Warburg Pincus (MBIA and Ambac), Carl Icahn (WCI Communities), nearly all the ex-bulge bracket banks (see Blog vs. Broker, whom do you trust!), and the list goes on for some bit. This is not to say that I am so smart. It is stated to illustrate that people are people, and we are all wrong sometimes. As a matter of fact, I have shown that many name brands have been consistently wrong for almost two years straight. My track record for the last 8 years easily bests the name brands that I just mentioned, yet no one would have ever heard of me if I didn't write in this blog. Let this be a lesson to you - do not follow an investor or any personality/pundit simply because they have a branded name. Do your own homework/legwork and create your own brand. We are all human, and chances are the best investors are most likely individuals that you have never heard of and probably never will hear of. See my past name brand commentary: Are you hooked on name brands? (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ...0% - Miami Condos in 2007, please tell me someone saw this coming besides me!!! Citadel Capital on Beazer Homes, down over 80% (they doubled up as it went down) Warburg Pincus on MBIA... Read more More on Name Brands (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ...as a giant cheat sheet, so to say. Doing your own homework is quite important, for although quoting name brands makes for profitable media fodder, it doesn't do well for investors - contrar... Wednesday, 15 October 2008 2. As I was harping on relying on Name Brands... (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) I was just warning readers to beware of believing the hype behind financial name brands when I came across the following WSJ.com article. If you have followed this blog regularly, you would have be Monday, 03 March 2008 3. BoomBustBlog Research Performance for 2008 (Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ..., let's walk through my results for the year in detail. I'll start by comparing my results to that of the big name brands, just to illustrate where the real performance is to be found. For those in ... Friday, 09 January 2009 The bankruptcies that I predicted are here (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) When I released the various monoline analyses, I assured: my readers that we would start getting a wave of bankrutpcies as a result of the lax underwriting of the leveraged loan markets. I also made Friday, 11 April 2008 6. I've told you about following those "name brands" (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ...that CRE will not be that bad this time around. I don't see why so many are walking around with blinders on! Name brands have put a hurtin' on banks repetitively, yet no one seems to learn their le... Friday, 09 May 2008 7. In the "Worst is behind us!" world of financial news (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) Tuesday, 03 June 2008 8. Investment performance, Name Brands & "Should a blog charge 2&20?" (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ...oing lately, but before we do that I would like all to revisit a post I made in February... "Are you hooked on name brands?" It was quite true then and actually quite prescient now as we look ba... Tuesday, 30 September 2008 9. Blogonomics 101: some of us new media journalists might know what we're doing... (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ...e to thinking that either the populace does not expect the acumen of those that blog, or they overestimate the name brands whose moniker resides beside the term hedge fund. On that note, here is an ar... Tuesday, 07 October 2008 10. Reggie Middleton on James Cramer: Marked to Market!! (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) James Cramer: marked to market! This is most likely the final installment in my "Name Brands aren't all they're cracked up to be" series. This string of articles has seen me compare my (a lowly Tuesday, 28 October 2008 11. The name brand contrarian plays have bore sweet fruit (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ...e brand banks, I think a recap is in order. I have taken strong bearish positions on a few of the most revered name brands, to the dismay of people who should really know better than to doubt my inves... Monday, 10 November 2008 A Direct Challenge to the Mainstream Media (the MSM) (Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ... "Who is this guy?" Well, you probably don't know who I am because the press routinely goes to "name brands", without regard for track record, hence routinely tends to circulate op... Saturday, 17 January 2009 15. The 2nd inning of the unwind begins, and I contemplate my strategy (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) ...ommy (yes, that's what I called her) used to tell me that patience is a virtue. I noticed that a lot of name brands are jumping in to buy muni, mortgage, and real assets now, but I feel it is m... Thursday, 06 March 2008 Comparing the BoomBustBlog to the Name Brands, again (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) The media, investors (both retail and institutional) and arm chair economists tend to look at the world one month at a time. The world is billions of years old, a monthly outlook is thinking small. Friday, 03 October 2008 21. Blog vs. Broker, whom do you trust! (Archived/Reggie Middleton's Boom Bust Blog/MyBlog) The Name Brand - that bastion of marketing that the finance and investment industries have come to rely on to convince those who should no better to do things that they shouldn't -has come under att Friday, 24 October 2008 Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites Related Articles/Posts I'm headed back to DC, with bl... Reggie Middleton vs Goldman Sa... This is the opinion piece that I promised on Goldman Sachs research and product sales. I want it to be clear that I have absolutely nothing against Goldman Sa Cali Muni's are looking scary ... Moody's and S&P are going after California's credit rating, which will really hurt some bond investors and insurers. I told you so, and I told it to you Insulet Corporation (PODD)... A New Topic Category for Retai... Reggie Middleton on the TARP R... A few grim thoughts for the Ne... Countrywide was forced into a fire sale vs bankruptcy situation. It was totally insolvent and reeked of non-performing, illiquid and depreciating assets. Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Hits: 1719 Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (9) Subscribe to this comment's feed BAC pushed Congresswoman Waters too far... written by phirang, January 26, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5uipZyB8lc +0 ... written by Reggie Middleton, January 26, 2009 This is really something BAC or any of the banks need to prevent, right now. If Lewis has any sense, he will phone Congressman Waters immediately with an apology and a fast track solution with all parties involved. I bet you it won't happen. I don't see how pissing off a tenured, outspoken member of the US Congress helps the bank's cause. Seriously! +0 ... written by shaunsnoll, January 26, 2009 thanks phirang, interesting bit there +0 ... written by Shabba, January 26, 2009 I hear ya on wells. I was thinking the same thing too quite some time ago, but they have reported quarter after quarter after quarter of profits, and they also bought Wachovia. So I'm thinking that you're probably wrong about this one. But with the high concentration of business in CA, it seems like they have to be hurting. Anyways, I'm long on Wells, hope their earning report tomorrow is good! +0 ... written by Reggie Middleton, January 26, 2009 It\'s too late to be wrong, they\'ve already returned 3 - 4 times my original investment. Parse the earnings statements and you can probably find some fissures in their armour. You are a brave soul to be long a bank like that with that type of exposure in this environment, particularly given the macro outlook. To each their own through. More power to you, my friend. +0 hey reggie, written by shaunsnoll, January 26, 2009 just FYI, GLUU just recently had their credit line extended and ammended, by SIVB, one of the few public companies that SIVB lends to. if GLUU doesn't get bought by ATVI or ERTS sometime real soon they are goners. +0 AXP missed by .01... written by phirang, January 26, 2009 I am DYING to see Reggie's take on their curiously close Q.... +1 ... written by nyse, January 26, 2009 Hi Reggie, I have been reading your blog for a while now and it is definitely one, of my favorites. Your analyses, especially those surrounding the banks, has offered much insight and corroborated much of my own research. That said, I believe we will see another round of bank sell offs (JPM is a no-good dog), and was wondering what you view will spark the coming capitulation. I.E., will it take a major event, downgrade, etc. to see the next round of bank beatings? Any insight you could offer would be invaluable. Thanks again for all you do. Best, ng +0 SLG written by phirang, January 26, 2009 Decent results... +0 Write comment Name Email Website Title Comment smaller \| bigger Subscribe via email (Registered users only) I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage. Write the displayed characters
Last Updated ( Monday, 26 January 2009 )

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Quickly revisiting name brand investors...

Quickly revisiting name brand investors...

See my past name brand commentary:

Are you hooked on name brands?