Once upon a time, I was at an investment seminar for clients that were interested in Dividend Growth strategies. I had a moment to speak to the portfolio manager that was presenting and I asked him what news and information sources he used for research. I thought he would mention some obscure, expensive fact and information aggregator. Or maybe he spent a lot of time on the road visiting companies. None of the above turned out to be correct. The portfolio manager claimed that he didn’t read anyone. He came to his own conclusions as he didn’t think anyone knew more than he did.. At the time, I thought that he was arrogant but, looking back, I understand why he held that view.
The old adage of “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see” has never been more applicable. It seems like everyone has a alternative agenda for what they are putting out there. I turn off one news station because they are interviewing the former CEO of their parent company about his new book and the other that I turn to is still roasting Hillary Clinton.
What about the wealth manager on tv discussing his outlook for the markets? Does he really know what he is talking about or is he just on there to get the name of his company out there? Is he really offering candid insight or is he answering pre determined questions that he received a week ago and had time to craft clever responses to. I’ll let you form your own opinion there.
I’m even skeptical about the regulated, audited financial statements that companies produce. Who is to say that another Enron/Arthur Anderson story isnt out there?