Cat Beats Professional Wealth Managers at Picking Stocks

[meow2u3]

Everyone knows that cats are good at cuddling, catching mice and starring in viral videos. But it turns out they are pretty good at making money, too.

A cat named Orlando has bested several professional money managers in The Guardian’s 2012 investment challenge, making almost £400 (about $650) more than the professionals during the year-long challenge. The British newspaper pitted the ginger tom against a wealth manager, a stock broker, a fund manager and a team of finance students from a Hertfordshire school. Each team chose five companies from the FTSE All-Share index in which to invest £5,000 (about $8,000), with the opportunity to change stocks every three months, and then let their strategies play out over the course of the year.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/15/cat-beats-professional-wealth-managers-at-picking-stocks/

Kitty needs some bodyguards. Banksters just might catnap him.

[xchrom]

1. Well of course - he's a Ginger.

[joeybee12]

2. Not a surprise...

Cats are smarter than investment bankers

[valerief]

4. That's because cats have souls. Investment bankers don't. nt

[joeybee12]

5. Very true!

[bullwinkle428]

3. Several years ago, I heard a very similar story involving monkeys! And the "pros" allegedly

"managing" my 401K account keep wondering why I don't pay the extra fees I could to have them actively moving money around the various account options on a regular basis!

[AZ Progressive]

6. It seems the only thing they are selling is truckloads of bullshit

That's the way to make money nowadays. Shoveling and pushing bullshit.

[Danascot]

8. Great post & great comments

Came here to make a similar reply but y'all beat me to it. Thanks all!

[MadrasT]

7. I for one welcome our feline overlords.

They already run my house.

[AngryAmish]

9. A Random Walk Down Wall Street was published forty years ago

As close as you can come to truth in equity investments is that you can only consistently beat the market by using inside information or be Warren Buffett (and those two mix up a bit probably).

Yet people think they can beat the market. They can't over time. People ,may get lucky, even several years of lucky. Eventually the luck runs out.

As for your 401k, get an indexed fund. No loads. Cheaper.

The only reason to hire a stock picker is if you think they are a criminal and trades on inside information.

This is why shows like that Cramer guy are infuriating. He does not know what he is talking about. Nobody knows. The future is inherently unknowable.

[cbdo2007]

15. Markets are unpredictable.....companies are very predictable.

The infuriating thing about Kramer is that he makes people think you should pick stocks based on buzz companies you read about in the news, and not by doing hours and hours and hours and hours of research on companies and their earnings and stuff. He has an entertainment program where he must pick 10 winning stocks (at least) and 10 losing stocks (at least) EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

It's not difficult for an analyst to pick winning stocks, it's really about knowing when to buy and sell that is the tricky part, and besides that just takes hours and hours and hours and hours of research. I'll easily put in 20+ hours of research on each stock that I invest in, and the reward is that I rarely pick one that loses money during my target time frame.

You are correct though, 99.5% of people should put it all in an index fund.

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. Did the monkey die?

Oh I see, this is the European version.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Pay that cat $225 million a year and give him stock options and a golden parachute!

[KamaAina]

12. I can haz bonus?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

14. "I can haz goldin parachute!"... Sorry, couldn't resist. nt

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

13. Cat was caught unaware by hidden camera.

[Rex]

16. Cats are the superior creature in this case.

And I am so not surrounded by them now, nor did they force me to say that.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

17. ....

[Agony]

18. Orlando the Casino Cat!

[Prometheus Bound]

19. Oh, that would be so depressing.

To dedicate your entire life to becoming an expert and to be paid millions for your advice, only for your clients to find out that they can get better advice from an uneducated cat.