I’ve previously pointed out the risks and costs of shorting. Most investors should avoid shorting. Yet I short stocks, so an explanation is required. Here goes: I short stocks as a hedge and to generate profits. But honestly, I also do it because I enjoy it. I caught the shorting bug early in my investing career. I love to study the “schemes” proposed by bad businesses. I like to see weak or poorly run businesses fail.
At the University of Virginia, I was a member of the undergraduate business school’s investment club, the McIntire Investment Institute. MII manages a real-money portfolio, which currently has nearly $600,000 in assets. It was initially seeded by John Griffin of Blue Ridge Capital, who was a major influence on the fund’s strategy (at least when I was a member). The strategy of the fund mirrored a hedge fund, because in addition to long equity investments, the charter allowed up to 10% of the fund to invest in short positions. Griffin had no day-to-day role in the student fund, but we all appreciated his investment philosophy, which revolved around “value-added research.” In other words, the best way to beat the market is to have an information edge, which can be garnered only through hard work.
But if Kmart’s failure brought me into the short-selling world, then it was Pegasus Wireless that confirmed my acceptance of it. In 2006, I stumbled upon Pegasus Wireless, a $500 million company with a sketchy history and very little earnings. Its CEO had a worrying track record, and I wrote critical articles about the company in June and July of 2006. I wasn’t surprised when the stock basically went to zero and its CEO was sent to jail for fraud. A fun and profitable short, to be sure!
I love studying scams
One of my favorite things about shorting is the story. I enjoy detective and espionage novels. I also like true-crime nonfiction. And the stories associated with some of the stocks that I’ve shorted are amazingly entertaining — better than any fiction. For a past example, check out KIT Digital. The company is currently in bankruptcy, but it was flying high when I wrote about it in April 2012. In short (forgive me), the company was a hype machine using capital to acquire questionable businesses, all under the guidance of CEO Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, the failed entrepreneur profiled in the documentary Startup.com.
That’s a historical example. A story that currently fascinates me is HCI Group Inc (NYSE:HCI). It’s a Tampa, Fla.-based property and casualty insurer. It insures homeowners in Florida, mostly against hurricane damage. It was started by a clever group of Florida businessmen, none of whom had any experience in insurance. Jim Cramer thinks the company is a buy (a definite “booyah!” according to his famously detailed analysis), and Fool Brian Pacampara thinks it’s poised to keep popping. I’m less enthusiastic. Yet I’m not sure the company will be able to survive a major hurricane. Weiss Ratings gave the company a “D” for financial strength. It has made some unorthodox investments for an insurer, including marinas, a restaurant, waterfront property, and a small software-development company based in India. It has disclosed several questionable related-party transactions, and a few key insiders have been selling. It’s a very interesting story, and I’ve enjoyed following it. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will work out well for shareholders.
I abhor bad business and corporate waste
I have a tremendous respect for free markets, capitalism, and business. Free enterprise has generated incredible benefits to society. Executives like Warren Buffett and Steve Jobs are heroes. But I’m not naive enough to think that every business or CEO is adding value to society. In fact, many are not, and they will eventually fail. And as an endorser of capitalism, it greatly offends me when companies are poorly run or are destroying shareholder capital. That’s exactly what is happening at Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) and AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL).
