Am interested to hear other people's views on Jim. On one hand i really like him, seems spot on with all his statements (not always his calls, he is only human after all) but the logic behind what he says always seems to fit in with what im thinking. Also you cant argue with the guys track record, he probably made more money in the 1960's than all the people on this forum will make in a lifetime combined. But the skeptic in me cant help but question how much of that money was down to investment skill rather than back handers, he and Geroge Soros set up one of the first international global macro funds in a time when investments were far less transparent, maybe im being unfairly skeptical but i find it hard to believe there wasnt an element of "you give me some inside info on your fledgling emerging economy and i'll see x number of billion dollars flowing into you in investment... provided i get in first". PLus George Soros has always wanted to be a politician and had a lot of contacts. He made something like 5000% return in 7 years surely that smells a bit suspicious (but maybe im just a bitter old trader) Also his eternaly bullish comments on commodities, which he is perfectly entitled to give and he has a good point are all well and good, the only thing that concerns me about them is he runs a commodity fund, is he ever likely to say "i think commodities are a little over done i suggest pulling money out my fund", which makes me question his motives. I really dont want to get into the whole bashing someone just because they are more successful than me which seems to happen a lot around here but im interested to hear what people think, personally i like the guy i think he is very refreshing to the follow the heard mentality of most economic pundits but i sometimes wonder if his investment success is a little too good to be true
I think is a great forecaster and pulls no punches which I also like. What sets him apart though is when I was just starting to get interested in trading I saw Jim Rogers in an interview and went to his web site about his globe trotting and sent him a question related to markets which in retrospect was ignorant and ridiculous (I should have done my research rather than email someone of his stature). Unbelievable he emailed me back correcting me and we had a little correspondence back and forth for a little bit. I think that regardless of what you think of him as a trader or market commentator you have to admit that helping someone out who is on the opposite end of the spectrum from him is quite amazing. Who else in his position would even dream of doing this? But I think he has a unique perspective on the markets and was part of one of the most successful HF's of all time, if not the most.
that was decent of him to reply. I actually emailed Ed Seykota once and got a reply. Good to know not everyone is up their own arse
Very cool of Ed Seykota to reply also, very amazing that both Jim and Ed; both market wizards and wildly successful are helpful in an industry filled with egomaniacs.
maybe the fact that these guys are open to views outside the gentlemans club that is the hedge fund industry that makes them market wizards! But still, apart from them being helpful guys, neither of them has had a record of their returns published to the publi for decades, thats why im a little wary of the views they give
jim rogers has been mentioned in 538 threads. there is a search button in the upper right hand corner.
I also emailed Jim a few times, I said to him that the swiss franc was in trouble because banking was huge as a % of GDP and UBS balance sheet was 5 times the economy, he called me a coward for not shorting the franc and offended me a few times, one week later he said to bloomberg he stopped buying francs
Rogers is like the Robert de Niro of investing. Brilliant in what he does but they keep casting him in the same crap scenery. "So Jim, you think the markets will go up or down?" 'So Jim, you like gold?" So Jim, you still bearish on the dollar." It's a shame. When you read his old articles and watch his old video's he offers a great deal of wisdom.
Personally, I think that Jim Rogers is full of hot air. More often than not, he is very "wishy-washy" about his opinions on certain markets and when an interviewer tries to hold his feet to the fire, he is rather vague. Lots of "after-the-fact" EGO stroking on his part, I feel. He's been a bull on commodities for quite some time, but I don't seem to recall him ever taking profits or advising anyone to get out. On another note, I do not believe that he manages a commodity fund. Beeland Management Company operates the Rogers International Commodity Index (RICI). And while Rogers remains its majority owner, he has not been actively involved with the operations of the Fund since RICI was created back in 1998. Buyer beware.