Bert Hochfeld

Investment Analysis Clubs Saul’s Investing Discussions
21

with omnipotence like that…

Hi Carver, You don’t have to be omniscient to realize that if someone asks “Is this the same Bert that scammed investors and went to prison?” that he already knows the answer or he couldn’t have asked the question. It’s a rhetorical question, asked to discredit the person he’s talking about.

The fact that Bert went to prison and came out, and that he probably can’t work in the industry any more, turns out to be a benefit for us, as he apparently has to use his skill as an analyst to write deep dives for us about interesting companies. He doesn’t always get it right. He’s just a person like any of us, just with a lot more experience in the tech industry, but we get to learn about a lot of interesting companies that I, for one, would never have the time or skill to learn about on my own. And it’s free.

Just saying. And this is my last post about the topic.

Saul

13 Likes
22

I was not aware of his past at all, so this is juicy and very interesting gossip.

Bert Hochfeld is obviously morally corrupt. That said, it makes no difference to us as we are only interested in the accuracy of his analysis.

OTOH, I would not go defend him and make excuses for him just because he is useful to me as an investor.

People his age don’t change that much. A leopard does not change his spots.

#6

7 Likes
23

I quote a rather famous Person, about whom we celebrate this Christmas season:

LET HE THAT IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE

I am happy and thankful for the insights Bert has offered this board.

Thank you, Saul, for bringing Bert’s wisdom and insightful analysis to us.

Jim

12 Likes
24

" I am not what I once was."
Good. I am sure that is the case

But many 'not so good ’ guys just get badder with time. We know Hochfeld has served his time. Or at least some of it. We don’t know one way or another whether he has learned his lesson.

There are plenty of people who have a spotless record.

So Saul’s remark was way over the line , clearly a personal attack.

8 Likes
25

“LET HE THAT IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE”

Thank you for that Jim.

Frank

1 Like
26

LET HE THAT IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE

I’ll be more than happy to cast the first stone at that scumbag as I have never even contemplated stealing money from anybody, let alone people/friends who put their trust in me.

http://www.law360.com/articles/462693/hedge-fund-manager-get…

“Prosecutors said Hochfeld withdrew more than $1 million from Heppelwhite for his own purposes, spending money on antiques and vacations.”

This is actually material information that should be brought to the attention of members of this board. The fact that he needed to resort to cheating brings forward a very legitimate question about his ability to generate profits fair and square.

Why would a “genius” investor with a “brilliant” strategy need to cheat at all? If you have a reliable strategy to generate 20% annual returns, you will create fabulous wealth over time.

This nugget of information brought forward today is putting a dent in the credibility of this guy.

#6

11 Likes
27

Saul

Here is a concern I have about the quantity of posts submitted by Bert.

Is he researching and writing all of the posts himself?

First post was Dec 17th, 2015.

As of Dec 19th, 2016 with his latest, that is (202) very long & well researched articles in a single year’s time frame. How does he keep churning them out?

How can any one person be on top of an industry like that? Compile all that data every other day?

I do read most of his work, did know about his past, just not sure where the info comes from?

1 Like
28

Put me down with those who want to judge Bert’s work on its own merits rather than in light of his past. If you only judge someone on their past, you’re going to find very few people to admire. I’d be surprised if even those of us who have never stolen anything (or even considered it!) are without fault or vice.

But I’m not saying “judge not, lest ye be judged.” I’m just offering perspective. It’s equally true that if you trust everyone who’s never been caught in the past, you’ll be deceived pretty often.

Bear

7 Likes
29

Don’t you think we can drop this thread at this point. Those who find Bert’s post worthwhile will continue to consider them. Those who now (or never did) find his post worthwhile will ignore him.

There’s not a lot more to say about it.

21 Likes
30

Don’t you think we can drop this thread at this point. Those who find Bert’s post worthwhile will continue to consider them. Those who now (or never did) find his post worthwhile will ignore him.

The fact that at age 67 he resorted to stealing $1M from his friends deserves a serious discussion, far beyond his questionable moral values. I have questions about his net worth. Somebody who found it tempting to steal $1M, is not a very wealthy man.

Bert Hochfeld had been promoted here as a brilliant stock picker. I have to wonder why such a brilliant investor had not put together a war chest of 50 million dollar portfolio after 40+ years of investing?

Did he just develop his “expertise” in recent years or is he not as smart as you think he is?

#6

8 Likes
31

I mostly agree with brittlerock’s observation of “… not a lot more to say …”, but felt compelled to add…

I’m appreciative of Saul for bringing this author to my attention. Like Mr. Hochfeld, I spent my career in the tech industry (although I mostly was able to avoid managerial roles). His analyses and observations ring true to me. I have yet to make any investments in companies he’s identified for me (as opposed to ones I’ve discovered through TMF or other sources), but I’ve been intrigued once or twice. His breadth of coverage gives him a good view of industry trends as well as individual company performance - a nice combination to have. I’ve only ever clicked on two Seeking Alpha authors as ones I want to “follow”. Arie Goren was the first. I like the structure of his articles, but found them to be repetitive over time, so I dropped him. I’m still following Mr. Hochfeld.

I’m also grateful that his background has been “uncovered” for us. I put that in quotes, of course, because it is Mr. Hochfeld himself who has offered up the disclosure quoted up-thread. Maybe there were legal requirements surrounding what such a disclosure must contain… I don’t know. I read a few of his posts based on his recommendation here, but I failed to read the Seeking Alpha “bio” before marking myself as a “follower”. So I appreciate the additional info.

I too have wondered about how prolific his articles are. I kind of assumed that he has at least one assistant. He’s trying to make money as an author on Seeking Alpha. Making money as a writer isn’t an easy endeavor. If his profit - and the quality of his work - is enhanced by hiring an assistant, more power to him. I reiterate - I think he’s producing insightful work. Even if I could do without his references to popular music that predate my birth (and I’m a retired geezer). That said, his references to wine, music, and restaurants do indicate good taste (or at least tastes similar to mine).

I think it is wise to allow this man’s background to inform your opinion of him. But I’m not sure it is so smart to allow his past actions to prejudice you so completely that you ignore what he has to say, or infer that his motives for writing aren’t above board. As with all financial writers - myself included - you should consider that the author may be “talking his book” (i.e., penning articles that are advantageous to his or her actual holdings). This isn’t necessarily nefarious. Speaking for myself, if I write favorably about a stock I own, both ownership and favorable mention stem from an underlying belief in the stock. I hope you’ll read my write-ups critically and that you’ll see that I strive to find balance, not hiding or minimizing any negatives I uncover. I know that Saul sees some of the stocks I favor more negatively than I do, and we may attach different weights to the facts in front of us. But I think he and I agree on the facts. Likewise, it seems to me that Mr. Hochfeld is presenting facts and opinions based on those facts. I’ll admit, though, that so far Mr. Hochfeld’s articles (to my knowledge) have not intersected with the set of companies for which I do deep dives. Should that happen, and should it change my impressions of the quality of his analysis, I’ll let you know. For now, I deem him worth reading, and I feel as if his writing makes me smarter.

Fool on!
Thanks and best wishes,
TMFDatabaseBob
See my holdings here: http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDatabasebob/info.aspx
Peace on Earth

26 Likes
32

Clearly relevant. As a great President said of his general approach to human fallibility ‘Trust, but verify.’.

To me, in this case, ‘verifying’ would simply mean being extra careful the author is not discreetly leaving while the readership is arriving!

Having read one or two of the pieces, it does not look as if that is the case. The information is correct and the conclusions seem cogent.

5 Likes
33

This will make the 33rd post that doesn’t really have anything to do with stocks/companies.

We’ve ranted about a person who writes about stocks/companies. I think enough has been said on the subject.

Can we go back to investments?

Thanks,
A.J.

7 Likes
34

This will make the 33rd post that doesn’t really have anything to do with stocks/companies.

I respectfully disagree. This is highly relevant as people in this group follow the guy and gamble real money on his recs.

Forget the moral aspects. Let’s talk about the quality of his work.

A man that steals $1M is not a wealthy man. After 40+ years in the stock market, he failed to build significant wealth. In other words, he is an average investor at best.

He failed to make money for himself, now he is gonna teach us how to do it?

#6

7 Likes
35

Saul pointed out Bert was a convicted felon and there was some brief discussion about that at least two months ago in a thread ON this board. Why all of the sudden is that fact attracting so much attention? I believe it was the condemning manner here; <Is this the same Bert that scammed investors and went to prison?>
The authors conviction is also clearly listed in Bert’s bio.
We love to throw stones folks and a snarky comment as was given about stirs that up and touches that nerve in many of us so here we are 30+posts later.
Either read him or don’t I could care less, make your own decision I don’t care what it is truthfully. The fact is clearly out there for all to see that he is a felon and has been since he started writing for Seeking Alpha. He was outed on this board months ago.
Move on…

5 Likes
36

I try to follow this advice when dealing with stuff…like this message board…

“Take what you like, and leave the rest.”

Let’s chew on something else awhile…like the next stock that will go up. :slight_smile:

LuckyDog

1 Like