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otismo's Public Page
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May 25, 2012
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top ranked funds managed by otismo |
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manager profile
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| ABOUT
otismo |
| Age:
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51 |
Occupation:
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Investor |
| Other
Interests : |
Technology, Computers, Stamp Collecting, and, of course, My Family. |
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| HOW
THE MANAGER INVESTS |
| WHAT
IS YOUR INVESTING STRATEGY? (GROWTH, VALUE, TECHNICAL ANALYSIS, ETC.) |
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answer --> |
Hello, my name is Otis Arron Schmakel.
I have been an Investor/Speculator for over 30 years, and I have made most of the Major Mistakes in the Market with my own money. I have read many books on the mkt & in fact collect them! (I have a signed copy of the Famous "Edwards & Magee" Masterwork - signed by Magee only - that I got at a garage sale!!!) I spent many, many years reading financial publications on a regular basis, notably Barron's, the WSJ & Chgo. Trib. & IBD on a DAILY BASIS, & got familiar with the various Corporate Filings as well. I also spent a sizable chunk of my life "Reading The Tape" on Chicago's WCIU TV 26 Show, "The Stock Market Observer", & benefitted extensively from the observations of Ben Larson, who was a most astute observer as well as being a top-notch interviewer. Watching "The Tape" was how it was done in the "old days" when the NYSE volume was but a mere fraction of what it is today. Today, of course, we have MicroComputers (& the Internet).
I was a Stock Broker for a number of years (1984-1993). I then worked for a number of years at a Third Market House (1994-1999) where we paid for order flow; Brokerage Firms were my clients there. The Third Mkt Hse got a Bloomberg for its new Bond Dept. Now The Bloomberg is a fabulous device that I had always sorely coveted, but never could afford. I was given the freedom to use The Bloomberg as much as I wanted in "my spare time" (when the Bond guys were gone, of course!). So I proceeded to teach myself everything that The Bloomberg could do with respect to Equities. Then Mr. Michael Bloomberg himself (now the Mayor of NYC, FYI) decided he was going to move his wonderful device to a PC platform. I immediately thought this was a great idea, since instead of burning up reams of paper & killing off whole forests, I could instead save data to a floppy disk.
Now I had always used computers in my work, of course; but it was as a guy who drives a car but doesn't really understand how a car works. I was 46 years old & Computer Illiterate. I had never owned a microcomputer. So I made up my mind right then & there that I was going to assimilate the whole computer learning curve!!! Whew!!! It's 6 years later & I'm still at it!!! But I AM making some progress.
I would say that today, 60-80% of the stk mkt functionality of The Bloomberg now exists on the Internet, FOR FREE!!! (I don't mean to downplay the Bloomberg, it still has unique & valuable features, & all at your fingertips without waiting for pages to load, logins, etc.) There are some really terrific Stock Screeners out there, but I feel that the majority of Investors just don't know how to make the best use of them. That is because U have to twist your mind like a Rubic's Cube to do the necessary data mining that will identify the best probable investment candidates at any given time. Then there is EDGAR, but how many people have the time to do a complete EDGAR Due Diligence on hundreds of stx? I sure don't. (even if U did, how wud U spot the liars?)
I rely mainly on the fundamental numbers, and the verdict of the market itself, to put me on the path. On one hand, I look for companies that sell for a fraction of their book value, and/or at a fraction of annual revenue, and/or that have a lot of cash per share, & try to make a determination as to whether they can turn themselves around. I luv finding former "growth" companies that have grown revenues to at least a quarter billion but have hit some kind of (hopefully temporary) stumbling block and so have become MASSIVELY discounted by the market. On the other hand, I am also a big fan of companies with zero debt, and/or are growing their revenues, and/or are growing their earnings. For every "CAN-SLIM" stk that IBD urges U to bid up to higher highs, I say to you thus: at some point in that stock's history it was making a LOW; where was IBD then? So I try to be aware of who is "hot" & try to catch them at a "low" point.
I am also a big fan of Market Timing. I operate basically as a position trader who invests for the intermediate-term trend. After identifying the best potential candidates, I rely on Technical Analysis to pinpoint buy & sell points. I also try to use a strategy of not buying a complete position all at once; I wud rather have the benefit of a good average price than to try to pick "the exact bottom". This also has the added benefit of minimizing the amount of damage the market can do to me; holding on to what you've got is always the foremost objective, being aggressive when the time seems right is only secondary. And there is such a whole lot more that goes into the investment decision-making process, that I couldn't even begin to touch upon it in this short introduction. (for example, is the number of market-makers in an issue expanding or declining? is the Institutional Sponsorship of an issue growing, or are they sellers? answers to questions like these can trump even the BEST "technical analysis".)
So the minimum fluctuation increment was decreed to be reduced from one-eighth (which it had been for over 200 years, dating back to the Spanish "pieces-of-eight" that were used as currency in Colonial times) to ONE CENT, effectively killing off any profits I might hope to make at the Third Market House. So I had to move on, & decide what to do with my Investment Career. One of the things I discovered, once I began using the WEB, was Marketocracy. At first, I admit, I wasn't too serious about it, but now I believe that, with the help of guys like me, Ken Kam might just succeed in building the next Magellan.
At Marketocracy I run 10 Funds as if they were segments of One Large Fund. I am still defining & refining my methodology with regard to this approach. My goal is to get all ten Funds into the M100. Here at Marketocracy I also run an Investment Club, the M-baggers Club (M stands for "Multi" in the realm of the mundane, and "1000" in the realm of the Profound). The Club has helped to keep me focused. At the extreme, I hope that thru the Club I might be able to "clone" myself; on a more down-to-earth level I hope that some members become better investors due to my scribblings & blogs. And hopefully others will join in as well, freely offering advice & the benefit of their experience.
I continually offer up my very best investment ideas in postings to the Club. Just as Computer Programmers have their Open Source Movement, I am the Financial Industry's equivalent of that Movement. As any good Programmer knows, if U really want that software to do some unbelievable tricks, then U are going to need his help. I am likewise of the opinion that it is not an investment idea per se, but the skill one brings to bear upon a situation once one has become aware of it, that determines whether and to what extent one profits from it. I wud like to see someone take my ideas & do better with them than I can; I cud learn a lot from such a person. But I will probably never know, nor do I care: It is my belief that I am unique among my peers in doing what I am doing & where & how I am doing it.
Hopefully, the result of all my efforts in the stk mkt & with computers will one day lead to a meeting "under the Buttonwood Tree", out of which will come a brand-new Financial Institution!!!
Or I might one day become more fully integrated into the Phemomenon that IS Marketocracy!!!
But that is up to Ken Kam.
Otis (mo)
9:29 PM 9/5/04
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| HOW
DO YOU SELECT NEW COMPANIES FOR YOUR FUNDS? |
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answer --> |
Please refer to M-baggers Club Forums
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| HOW
DO YOU DECIDE TO REMOVE A STOCK FROM YOUR FUNDS? |
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answer --> |
Please refer to M-baggers Club Forums
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about this manager profile |
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This is a profile for
otismo, a member at Marketocracy's website www.marketocracy.com. Each of the funds listed here began with $1 million in cash and a Net Asset Value (NAV) of $10 per share.
Marketocracy is the only financial website where you can simulate running your own mutual fund and accurately compare your investing skill to professionally managed mutual funds and other investors. At Marketocracy, you can manage a $1 million virtual portfolio and make trades in an environment that mirrors the trading activity of the real stock market. Our portfolio management tools help you discover your investing strengths and weaknesses and help you become a better investor. You can try different investment strategies and styles to see what works best for you in a virtual environment first, before you invest your real money. It's a great place to learn, and a great place to prove your talent.
If your track record turns out to be one of the best, you?ll receive special privileges on our website and the best of the best get paid. If you're serious about investing or want to become a better investor, you'll want to signup for a free basic membership and start running your own fund. |
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[ To signup for your own account click here ]
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Who is Marketocracy?
Marketocracy Data Services is a research company whose mission is to find the best investors in the world and then track, analyze, and evaluate their trading activity. The company?s affiliate, Marketocracy Capital Management, is the investment advisor for the Marketocracy family of mutual funds and uses the research generated by Marketocracy Data Services.
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