James Altucher



Profile:


Full name: James Altucher

Area of interest: Investment / Technical strategies used by hedge fund managers

Journals: Financial Times, TheStreet.com

Email: [mailto:james@formulacapital.com james@formulacapital.com]

Website: FT.Com / James Altucher

Blog:

Agent:

Networks: Facebook



Biography:
Education: Cornell University; Carnegie Mellon University: Computer science (Doctoral candidate)

Career: Partner at 212 Ventures - venture capital firm; founder of Vaultus - wireless and software company. Currently, managing partner at Formula Capital - alternative asset management firm that manages quantitative-based hedge funds and a fund of hedge funds. Also runs TheStreet.Com's Stockpickr website - 'the mindspace of investing'

Current position/role: Commentator


 * also writes/has written for: TheStreet.com (articles)

Other roles:

Other activities: president and founder of Stockpickr LLC

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:
 * Wallstrip interview by Lindsay Campbell (video blog)
 * Wedded to the best activist and value situations, Financial Times, 4th March 2008

TV/Radio: Wallstrip Chat - James Altucher (YouTube)

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:

 * Trade like a hedge fund: 20 successful uncorrelated strategies & techniques to winning profits OCLC 53058985, 2004
 * Trade like Warren Buffett OCLC 58916549, 2005
 * SuperCash: The new hedge fund capitalism OCLC 62393087, 2006

Latest work: The forever portfolio: how to pick stocks that you can hold for the long run OCLC 226304762, 2008

Speaking/Appearences:

Current debate:



Financial Times:
Column remit: Investment topics, wealth management industry, state of the economy

Section: Markets / Wealth

Role: Columnist

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:james@formulacapital.com james@formulacapital.com]

Website: FT.com / Wealth / James Altucher

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Tuesday

Regularity: Fortnightly

Column format:

Average length: 850 words



Articles: 2009

 * forget the power of networking'' - The only way to take advantage of opportunities is to leave the computer and interact with people the old-fashioned way – face to face - 17th February
 * menu for when fat is an investing issue'' - When times are hard, eating well, sleeping early and taking care of one’s health are crucial and more important than money in the bank - 4th February
 * beneath the surface of Madoff image'' - The alleged fraudster apparently owned some good stocks. Some of these still exist and make for interesting stock picks - 20th January
 * Madoff turned me down'' - an epidemic is taking hold in the financial industry as the less fortunate deal with the consequences of poor money decisions - 6th January (summary of Madoff articles here)



Articles: 2008

 * Broken bridges can help repair our fortunes - Barack Obama is getting set to propose a $700bn infrastructure package that James Altucher expects will go a long way towards stimulating the US economy - 16th December 2008
 * Buffett tactics chime with our crazy times - The rules are changing and we don’t know how the game is going to be played. But if you can buy $1 for 50 cents, James Altucher assures that strategy will work over time - 2nd December 2008
 * Confessions of an author on verge of despair - It was hard for James Altucher to write words useful enough to compete with 100,000 other books, not to mention the 5m blogs that one can read for free - 18th November 2008
 * to vote for any day of the week'' - Now has never been a better time to start a business – money is tight, competition is slim and everyone is too scared about new ideas - 4th November 2008
 * Reasons to be cheerful in troubled times - People compare these times to the Great Depression, and this could not be further from the truth. Here are seven reasons to be bullish - 21st October 2008
 * fun with funerals and get rich quick'' - By 2030 there will be more than 70m Americans over 65. As the demographics play out, the need for funeral services will be greater than ever - 7th October 2008
 * it simple while waiting for new stars'' - In this New Economy, where the leading banks are in consolidation and how to game them day by day is impossible, pawn shops are doing great - 23rd September 2008
 * it’s time to snap that spread together'' - In a very stressful market, one quick way to collect cheques and ride out volatility is to adopt a long-short strategy called ‘relative value arbitrage’ - 9th September 2008
 * Lessons from the up and down elevator - Many stocks have fallen badly in recent months and with them, the wealth they created, will they have the energy and wherewithal to rise again? - 29th July 2008
 * Reasons for hope in times of sickness - When things seem at their worst – even if you have been in a near-death experience or business failures – they can turn around quickly - 22nd July 2008
 * Wind power with firm foundations - When dealing with ‘hot topic of the day’ type stocks, find those that have legitimate cash generating businesses and trade at cheap multiples - 15th July 2008
 * Beaten down stocks have the furthest to rise - The market has gone down in a straight line, says James Altucher. But the buying will restart and the stocks that will move the fastest are the cheapest ones - 8th July 2008
 * Got an idea? Don’t lose any sleep over it - What people say is impossible is often stamped as nothing but a bad idea, but even misguided whims could eventually lead to one Google - 1st July 2008
 * Stocks that come back from the dead - In investing and in dealing with people, giving one’s loyalty and friendship to unloved outcasts often gets rewarded with high returns - 24th June 2008
 * The fast track to a racing certainty - When I was driving down the straight at 120mph in the new Ferrari 527M Maranello, a $500,000 car, it occurred to me I might want to tell my passenger that my licence had been suspended for faults all of my own - 17th June 2008
 * Some lessons in optimism from the babysitter - Seven years ago our babysitter told us she was going on Oprah the next day to discuss her drug addiction. We, of course, had no idea about her past and she was nervous about our reaction - 10th June 2008
 * Counter gloom and accentuate the positive - If you want to start a religion, it’s a good idea to begin by predicting the end of the world. In today’s modern religions, if you make use of pseudo-scientific facts you might even be declared a prophet. Or a Goracle - 3rd June 2008
 * Strategies for boosting your annual returns - I can’t deal with the incredible jealousy I have for the hedge funds that promised people 1 per cent a month with no drawdowns - 27th May 2008
 * Look out for tell-tale hedge fund interest - I am the worst negotiator on the planet. It is not even funny how bad I am. (Do not worry, this is going to get to stock picks: just relax and enjoy the ride.) - 20th May 2008
 * Find a mentor and you can help each other - We were standing in downtown Kaiserslautern, West Germany, in 1990 when Professor P, from my undergraduate school, offered me the last piece of advice he ever gave me: “Don’t go to any of the sex shops here. They’ll rip you off.” But let me rewind to some other words of wisdom from Professor P, my first mentor. - 13th May 2008
 * It's like Elon says: ‘Go a little crazy’ - Elon called the other day and said: “I just got out of jail. They locked me up for 30 hours. I’m a mess.” - 6th May 2008
 * A case of checks and imbalance - About 5 per cent of people are sociopaths. They will lie, cheat, stab you in the back, maybe even steal from you and feel no remorse - 29th April 2008
 * Get your fix of those reliable addictions - When you are addicted to something, whether it’s a substance, an activity or a person, it seems as if nothing can replace it - 22nd April 2008
 * Why insiders are betting on homebuilders - A few weeks ago I got an e-mail saying: “Stop with the personal sh*t and give us more stock tips.” So today’s article is ALL STOCKS - 15th April 2008
 * Fighting illness may offer a healthy reward - Stop being a “recession addict”. It doesn’t matter whether we are in one or whether we are in a bear market. These concepts have no real meaning and yet are debated endlessly in newspapers, on television, by economists, by bloggers and other pundits - 12th April 2008
 * Don't worry, the world's end might be nigh - Writing a book is the worst experience on the planet. I’m working on one that’s due out in September and is titled The Forever Portfolio - 1st April 2008
 * Success can be built on a hearty appetite - March 16 was probably the closest we have come to global economic collapse since the pre-Fed days of 1907. But let’s move on to more important things: where to eat? - 25th March 2008
 * Cash in on people’s need to look good - I was ugly from about sixth grade all the way through high school. The worst was in high school. I had braces, acne, glasses and dark curly hair. I didn’t play any sports – my only real hobby was playing chess and I read a lot of comic books - 18th March 2008
 * Actions speak more truth than words - Will people stop lying to me? Everyone lies. Companies say they aren’t going bankrupt and then two weeks later they file for bankruptcy - 11th March 2008
 * Wedded to the best activist and value situations - From the moment I wake up on Thursdays I start panicking about what I’m going to write for next week’s Financial Times column - 4th March 2008
 * Forget the stock crash – grab an airbag - I’m about to confess to a crime. Hopefully the crack Financial Times legal team lets this article through. As readers of this column know, I don’t drive for various reasons. Nor do I have a licence, for various other reasons - 26th February 2008
 * The result of earning $1m – sheer misery - It was a big day for my friend. Mike had just been given his bonus and the total was all in for 2007 – he had made $1m - 19th February 2008
 * College a waste of time and money for kids - Last week I made an off-the-cuff comment in my column that stirred up several e-mails asking if I was serious. What I said was that I had no intention of sending my kids to college. I was dead serious - 12th February 2008
 * Learn how to read writing on the wall - Things are simpler than they appear. I’ll give you an example. Let’s say you want to beat your family at Scrabble. You have two choices - 5th February 2008
 * Stop sitting on the sidelines – it’s time to play - Scott Nettles is a professor of computer science in Texas. He has no idea I’m writing about him. Nor have I spoken to him since I left graduate school in 1991, when he was my officemate. Scott was like the rest of us, except for this: he never had trouble lining up a date. I asked him for his secret. All you have to do is ask the girl,” he said. “Most people don’t ask.” - 29th January 2008
 * Breathe deeply before taking the plunge - In 1993, I was a respiratory therapist in the ER and ICU floors of a major hospital in Cleveland. I had no training, nor had I ever been in a hospital before. My tenure lasted one week - 22nd January 2008
 * Manage your anger and spot opportunities - People are getting angrier. On Saturday, a passenger was kicked off an aircraft going to Denver for spitting in the face of a stewardess when she didn’t want to serve him another drink - 15th January 2008
 * Stay healthy and enjoy your portfolio - I can’t believe I’m turning 40 two weeks from today. I think I’ve written about this before, but it’s starting to bother me. For one thing, I haven’t been to a doctor since I was 17 - 8th January 2008



Articles: 2007

 * A contrary take on the contrarians - 18th December 2007
 * Time to buy hope and ignore fear - 2nd October 2007
 * Britney’s not as toxic as you might think - 25th September 2007
 * Stay in the saddle on a rocky road - 18th September 2007
 * Now for the news you don’t need - 10th September 2007
 * The flipside of disaster and despair - 3th September 2007
 * Five seconds to present attractive stocks - 27th August 2007
 * Permabull picks for the rough times - 21st August 2007
 * Pick stocks, buy houses, don't worry - 14th August 2007
 * ‘Bot armies’ unravel web security net - 30th July 2007
 * Facebook can hold out for $100bn - 23th July 2007
 * Importance of having ideas - 16th July 2007
 * The case for legalising insider trades - 9th July 2007
 * Ideas often fail, but it’s cheap to try - 2nd July 2007
 * Time for champagne, not bubbles - 25th June 2007
 * Small wins help to build big success - 18th June 2007
 * Blondes have more fun in pageview war - 11th June 2007
 * Pitting Buffett versus Lampert - 4th June 2007
 * No tears for resurgent advertisers - 21st May 2007
 * Straight talk and the quest for greatness - 14th May 2007
 * US is going private and we’re invited - 1st May 2007
 * A fund of funds gets found out - 24th April 2007
 * Why investing in education should pay off - 17th April 2007
 * Bears lack spark as nerds get revenge - 9th April 2007
 * Gambits of Big Blue-sky thinking - 2nd April 2007
 * Stockpicking for the crafty beginner - 26th March 2007
 * Never mind the pundits: use your common sense - 19th March 2007
 * Early worm catches the world unawares - 12th March 2007
 * Time to stop worrying and start investing - 6th March 2007
 * Put stochastic vibration analysis to bed - 26th February 2007
 * Never mind the pundits: use your common sense - 19th March 2007
 * Early worm catches the world unawares - 12th March 2007
 * Keep an eye out for hidden gems under the $5-mark - 5th February 2007
 * Dotcoms start to be lords of their domains - 29th January 2007
 * Long-only is the new black in quest for ‘alpha’ - 22nd January 2007
 * Stock-picking sites - the next frontier for Web 2.0? - 22nd January 2007
 * ETFs with no fund managers – just logic - 15th January 2007
 * High fliers make a mark in domain names - 8th January 2007



Links:

 * James Alutcher's Stockpickr portfolios