Yes, I would consider the lack of any exit strategy in SA and RB says, or at least implies subliminally, that you should buy and hold forever, with rare exceptions.
Check facts, please. Here is SA exit strategy (http://newsletters.fool.com/18/help/index.aspx?source=isasit…)
When should I sell?
Knowing when to sell a stock requires that you monitor a company’s business and prospects for growth. We do that for you with all of our recommendations here at Stock Advisor.
We’ll recommend selling only when we think a stock will no longer outperform the market over the next three to five years. You won’t catch us trying to time the market, applying any type of technical analysis, or anything like that. When we do sell, it’s usually because one of two things has happened: either all of the good news is already factored into the stock’s price, or something material has changed at the company or in the business.
Tom watches the financials like a hawk. After all, his picks are based on detailed assumptions. Tom’s a patient man, but if a company fails to deliver — say, on cash flow growth — he will think hard about selling. David is more forgiving, more focused on the franchise than the relationship between the financials and the stock price.
And just so we’re clear: You will be the first to know when we are no longer recommending a stock and why. We’ll get the word to you in the newsletter, through our updates, and on our website.
Will you ever sell a Starter stock?
We’d be fools (with a lowercase f) to say we’d never sell a Starter stock. We will, however, reiterate that our list of Starters will change infrequently. These are our long-term winners, after all. That said, if our investing thesis changes for a stock in our Starter list, we will consider removing it — and alerting all our Stock Advisor members right away.
I will try to be kinder to the MF, but the MF is a very successful business, and very self-confident as an organization, and I don’t think they are affected at all by my occasional rants.
All that matters is be precise in what we say. You have seen how I have needled the advisors on GG/HG boards endlessly, critiqued the performance of Bill Mann, Fool Funds, MDP and I didn’t even spare Tom Gardner on EP boards. And you are right that your rants don’t dent TMF but imprecise statements can cause untold financial damage to many of the naive lurkers around here who could genuinely benefit from following TMF services in the intended manner. Trust me, that is a guilt you don’t want to live with.
I am yet to see a single person around here actually report outsized portfolio returns based on what you do (not what you say - you do say good stuff) and that is why for the benefit of all I have started the tracker spreadsheet of your actions on the other thread. Let us make people more successful than TMF following your actions and for free. That would be a great deed indeed and families will remember you for generation for creating wealth for them. No pressure.
Anurag
