Meet CNBC's Mad Money Man
Surprisingly, such reactions cause him fits. "It shows that people aren't doing their homework," he complains of viewers who blindly follow his advice.
Monkeyshines? Critics say that those who do may be in for a letdown. "The truth is that a monkey does just as well," says Kevin Michaels, cofounder of cramerwatch.org, a site that tracks Cramer's stock picks and pans for 30 days, putting them up against Leonard the Wonder Monkey, an imaginary chimp who makes the same calls by flipping a coin. Over the longer run, however, Cramer says his picks fare better, racking up a 17 percent gain in 2006, versus about 16 percent for the s&p 500.
Yet others note that Cramer's in-and-out trading strategy can yield lower returns than if one simply bought and held the same stocks. "Of course, if he just told people to buy and hold, then the show would be boring," says Motley Fool commentator Rick Munarriz. "His capacity to entertain and educate is amazing, but I'd like to see him do a little more of the latter."
In fact, since Mad Money first aired in spring 2005, Cramer has increasingly stepped up his rhetoric against anyone foolish enough to take his buy and sell calls at face value. He has even written a stern warning in his new book: "In the first day after I tell you to buy a stock, and you like that stock, you are absolutely forbidden to buy it." Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch tv, Get Rich lays out a five-step plan for doing the required research. "Owning stocks isn't all booyahs and excitement, but trust me, if you do the homework right, you'll be plenty happy."
Now, if only Cramer could find a little more happiness, too.
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