Analysts, Gurus &amp; Pundits

Top 102. May 23, 1999 12:19 AM

» DennisL - Motley Fools on in S.F. Area

FYI to any Motley Fools fans in the San Francisco Bay area: The Fools' nationally syndicated radio program now airs on KSFO 560-AM between 10 AM and 12 noon on Saturdays. I listened to portions of their last two shows, and they were not bad. Certainly not Bob Brinker, but not bad.

-- posted by DennisL

Top 103. May 23, 1999 11:35 AM

» Mark_J - da Fools

Another new development with da Motley Fools, is that you (yes YOU) can listen to their broadcast ANYWHERE in the world on a delayed basis via Real Audio.

radio.fool.com

I've listened to them the past few weeks, and their show is very entertaining. In different ways then Bob.

For example, they recently had a show on Mothers Day where callers would call in and suggest a stock for mom. Last week, they were talking about "Star Wars" and stocks that might benefit.

Yesterday, they had John Tesh on as a guest and were taking calls on suggestions for improving Planet Hollywood. It's $1 a share I guess. Egad.

Pretty light stuff. Funny. A good listen. I put my headphones on and went for a long walk, listening and laughing to the show.

But, I still find myself wanting and waiting for 1:00 pm PDT for Bob... It's easy to get spoiled.

-- posted by Mark_J

Top 104. May 23, 1999 12:01 PM

» RandeS - My problem with the Fools is twofold:

My problem with the Fools is twofold:

1. They deride mutual funds. For the vast majority of individual investors no-load, low-cost mutual funds are the best way to invest for the long term. Any "adivor" who puts mutual funds down out of hand is suspect to begin with, in my book.

2. I'll wait until after the next bear market to form a complete opinion. I'm not sure if these guys were even out of high school in 1990. More than a few have confused the greatest bull market of all time with investment ability.

-- posted by RandeS

http://www.fool.com/portfolios.htm

Top 105. May 23, 1999 1:04 PM

» KirkL - Agree Rande

Agree Rande
We'll be bigger in the long run anyway.

They started, I think, in 1994 as writers and knew nothing about investing. They saw a need at AOL for providing information to the clueless and filled it learning as they went. They did a good job, educating many as well as themselves.

btw, I think their stock portfolio is now large and diverse enough to be a mutual fund so it may not matter. Their RuleBreaker is mostly nuts, but is up 40% YTD. Their 4-stock portfolio (CAT, JPM, MMM and IP) is up 28% YTD. Their Rulemaker is similar to Jorgensen's Super8 and is up 7% YTD. Do a blend of their 4 portfolios with a lower total in the more risky R-breaker and you have fairly good diversity (though alot of trading costs to build these portfolios for yourself).

-- posted by KirkL

Top 106. May 24, 1999 7:48 AM

» Mark_J - More Fooldom...

I think you're both right on regarding da Fools. I remember when they subbed for Bob a couple of weeks. What a shock to the Brinker followers! Remember the callers who called in and asked about index funds, and the Fools just laughing and deriding them?

But one of their biggest accomplishments is getting folks interested in investing. As we cross that bridge to the 21st century, this country is going to have to make some tough decisions on Social Security and retirement for the baby boomers.

I'd like to see folks with nation-wide appeal (Bob, da Fools...) to verbally campaign for financial education in our schools. I think the only way we can combat the sharks and upcoming issues is with an educated populace. If folks can learn and take responsibility for their own future, then they can rely less on the government or punishing some other folks who did take care of their futures. aka THE RICH.

Otherwise, we get useless feel-good blather like "USA Accounts."

-- posted by Mark_J

Top 107. May 24, 1999 8:21 AM

» RandeS - While the Fools may not be my cup of tea, you have to hand it to

While the Fools may not be my cup of tea, you have to hand it to them. They have become something of an icon in the investment world and have managed to build quite the empire. Hard to argue with that kind of success. Admiration for their accomplishments aside, I'll still be looking elsewhere for serious, long-term investment advice.

-- posted by RandeS

The Motley Fools Radio Show

Top 108. May 24, 1999 8:32 AM

» JenL_3 - The Fools

Thanks Mark for your report on:

I'm glad that you can listen to their show now live or archived on RealAudio. Like you, I always find their show entertaining, as well as educational.

It's true that the fools recommend buying individual stocks instead of managed mutual funds, but they do recommend buying index mutual funds. So in that respect, their advice is not that far off from BB.....Jen

-- posted by JenL_3