In the story under caption above no one pointed out the Emperor to be without clothes. But what is intriguing is that the Emperor also did not wish to be told that he was without clothes. This anecdote applies perfectly with our Dalal Street �experts�. Well experts always come in with inverted quotes from me because that indicates what I feel about them!
So in my last trip to Mumbai I called on one �expert� who likes �chatting� about stocks, This so called �value� investor who specializes in turnarounds where most never turn around is also a TV anchor these days and enjoys trekking, holidaying and reading! If all this is enough hint as to whom I am referring to go ahead with my thoughts.
This person was unusually perturbed because I had personally signaled him out along with the head of one Doomsayer who thinks himself to be first globally. With a third eye for forecasting events the duo hogged our TV screens throughout 2008 and the early part of 2009. �We will be fortunate if we can report a 4% GDP growth in 2010� said the brokerage with the third eye. �India will go the Japan (Nikkei) way� chatted the expert and we will never see the highs for many many years agreed the other!
Coming back to the recent story the �expert� who was obsessed with the Japan of 1989 and was convinced that India will go the Japan way showed his displeasure because I picked the speakers individually when they were talking with crystal balls in hand during a conference in June 2009. Obviously being confronted in a crowd of around a 1000 people did not go well and that was evident from his protests.. I now provide a brief view of my conversation:
�Why do you want everyone to be a long term investor�? Well the answer to this question is an answer but with another question. That is because in the end long term investing works, I have known no great market timers; all those timers go to the grave with their music still inside them. Now here is the question �Why do you want everyone to be a trader?
It is not appropriate to pick holes at a public conference: If you can�t handle the questions then do not sit for the exam! Well then one should close the house the moment the speakers are finished with their talk. These blokes have managed to get away through one way traffic by talking on TV and find it curiously uncomfortable if someone bites back by pointing the lack of logic in their arguments.
Why do you want an AGM to continue for three hours? This is in reference to the Hawkins AGM which continued for long maybe the longest in its 50 years of existence and the reason is simple. There is no law which says that an AGM is to be completed within thirty minutes. Shareholders have a right to put the management under test and scrutiny and quiz them one day a year. I fail to understand how a person who categorizes himself to be a champion �value� investor would feel bad about anyone who manages to ask the right questions. It is bizarre that as investors we all have learnt to deal with management autocracy and it is much more shameful that someone who holds a membership of India�s premier exchange would have argued against any shareholder asking too many questions.
Additionally the person who was arguing against a long meeting was not even present at the meeting. What difference does it make to him if a meeting is carried on for three hours or three days!
So in the right earnest I request these people not to follow the strategy of scratching each others backs. If investors and the audience do not like a particular part of their argument they will stand up and point out the lacuna. On the other hand these very investors will stand up and give an applause if they are convinced about the arguments that the stage artists exhibit. So accepting the applause and refusing the brickbats is not a honest game. If you want to play that game hide yourself behind the glass screen known as the idiot box because you can�t stop the traffic from coming on the other side without putting a �One way� sign on the street!