Ackman is so full of it!

toc said:
Ackman while a smart Harvard dude and well exposed in the industry, cannot specialize in everything in the trading town.
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He does not have to. Anything that’s not a core expertise of the fund is outsourced. He does not even do his own stock accumulation. Most of the things you mentioned are occasional and you don’t have to have a person in-house for it - an investment bank can help with it just as well.

Martinghoul said:
While Ackman's record as an activist is also mixed, you could maybe argue that he's good at it. Somewhat predictably and ironically, the things that he has actually failed at pretty spectacularly have all been things that have very little to do with activism. Ackman, therefore, is a pretty textbook case of "mandate drift". I'd argue that hubris is the underlying reason.
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I think we both of an opinion that most massive fuckups are due to ego more than anything else. Thinking you’re smarter than all is the worst flaw to have in the markets.
 
sle said:
I think we both of an opinion that most massive fuckups are due to ego more than anything else. Thinking you’re smarter than all is the worst flaw to have in the markets.
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Indeed... Trades don't kill traders; traders kill traders.
 
helpme_please said:
Besides making money for himself when the investment worked, did the company's fundamentals really improve for the better? I think that is the most useful yardstick for success. Did Ackman make money at the expense of the company like what some private equity fund did?
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Improving a business is hard even if you actually understand the industry you are in (that's why there are so many underperforming companies). I would posit that the only value an activist can bring is that he can shake up a dysfunctional status quo: for example managers who continue to hold underperforming businesses as an ego project or a board who supports a weak CEO.

While I don't think many activists directly create better companies, I believe there have been studies that show that the threat of an activist investor tends to keep CEO's honest and shareholder focused.
 
Martinghoul said:
Indeed... Trades don't kill traders; traders kill traders.
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Come to think of it, there are two distinct flaws, both bad but a combination is truly deadly.
Flaw 1. “I am the smartest guy in the room”
Flaw 2. “I am right and will fight instead of listening”
 
sle said:
Come to think of it, there are two distinct flaws, both bad but a combination is truly deadly.
Flaw 1. “I am the smartest guy in the room”
Flaw 2. “I am right and will fight instead of listening”
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Yep... Finally, flavor with access to pretty monumental leverage, stir well and enjoy!
 
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sle said:
Come to think of it, there are two distinct flaws, both bad but a combination is truly deadly.
Flaw 1. “I am the smartest guy in the room”
Flaw 2. “I am right and will fight instead of listening”
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You can argue that those flaws is what made him his first billion.
 
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sle said:
“I love money. I love money more than the things it can buy. There's only one thing I love more than money. You know what that is? OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY.”
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Do not be too greedy now. There is something called health that comes before money. Yes, something that all the money in the world cannot buy!
:finger:
 
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Stocktracker said:
Do not be too greedy now. There is something called health that comes before money. Yes, something that all the money in the world cannot buy!
:finger:
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Also in pursuit of "money money money" people also hurt themselves and deny ownself of many much cheaper and cheerful joys of life. The natural law is that not every one is a millionaire, 1 in 100? so folks have to find joys in general things and money will follow with only "little extra effort" and not "painful extra effort".
 
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