Let me start this post by saying love him or hate him, I think Jim Cramer is a genius.
Is he a trading genius? NO WAY, according to BARRONS his returns have been sub par and this is backed up by this website.
Even a monkey has out performed Cramer. 
Sorry Jim, I like you and I hate to compare you to a monkey, but the facts are the facts when it come to investing.
Now for the genius part. Jim Cramer is a genius at producing must see TV, if you like reality televison, Cramer is it.
Watching Cramer on Mad Money is like watching a NASCAR race, he's loud, over the top, he's in you're face and he spins his wheels.
Mad Money and NASCAR parallel each other in another way. I call it the dark side of the force. I think many NASCAR fans go to watch the race, but secretly they're waiting to witness a massive pile up. I think viewers of Mad Money are pretty much in the same camp, they watch for investment advice, but secretly watch to see if 52 year old Cramer implodes. Like I said earlier Cramer produces great must see live TV.
NOW FOR A REALITY MONEY CHECK
Here's why I think Jim Cramer is not a genius when it comes to investing.
For every stock Cramer gets right, he gets a similar number wrong. That's a 50/50 win loss ratio, about the same odds as flipping a coin. But that's not the real problem I see with Cramer's show. Here's an energetic guy who is pressing buttons that shout out, buy,buy, buy or sell, sell, sell. What is amazing to me is that he never get's into placing stops on any of his recommendations. Forget money management, it doesn't seem to exist in Cramer's Mad world, probably because its a really a boring topic. Good money management just happens to be one of the major cornerstones of investing. But hey, he's Cramer master entertainer --- why should he bore his viewers with such mundane (not entertaining) matters like money management.
How many folks really believe that they are going to get rich on some inside information from a commercial cable show like Mad Money? Evidently quite a few as it is the #1 rated show for CNBC.
If you haven't seen Mad Money, here's how Cramer starts out his show.
"Hey, I'm Cramer, welcome to Mad Money, welcome to Cramerica, other people want to make friends [at this point, Cramer adds an extra, original statement], I just want to make you money, because my job is not just to entertain you, but to educate you, so call me at 1-800-743-CNBC."
I JUST WANT TO MAKE YOU MONEY???
What kind of statement is that. Does anyone watching the show really believe they are going to get the inside scoop watching this guy Cramer rant and rave about stocks. Here's a guy who has a lower batting average than Leonard the wonder monkey!
You seen the BARRONS article you have seen the track record site for Cramer's Mad Money show. Now, do you really want to take this guy's advice?
UGH, my mistake, I got it all wrong, Mad Money is an entertainment show, how did I miss that? I guess all the talk about investing and trading in stocks are used as props for Jim so he can get his message across. RIGHT, nice way to CYA, CNBC.
Has anyone read or even seen the CNBC disclaimer before the show? Blink and you miss it.
Here's where I am headed with this post, is now the perfect time to short Cramer??
After 500 plus shows, I think so.
SELL, SELL, SELL.
How much more can Cramerica take ... how much longer can Cramer go on like a mad man?
If he doesn't have a nervous breakdown and turn into a NASCAR wreck!!
CRAMER'S ULTIMATE GOAL
I think Cramer's ultimate goal, and ultimate job would be to head both the Federal Reserve and the SEC at the same time!!! Now there are two jobs I would love to see Cramer do. Can you imagine Cramer appearing before congress...now that would make a great pay for view reality show.
I used to be a Cramer fan, until I realized that Cramer could not possibly make me , or anyone else ,any money in any market save a secular bull market, and I'm being kind ! To buy, and to back the truck up every time the stock goes down is a surefire way to lose a large amount of money, and I find that it's irresponsible of him to liberally dispense this kind of advice, especially to market novices. Traders who have been around the block a couple of times, know the importance of keeping the losses small, and letting the profits run until a favorite indicator, which ever-one works for you ,mandates that you end the trade. I have found that Adam and the marketclub trading philosophy is simple and honest, and it works......keep up the good work guys !!! Frank
Frank,
Your comments are noted and appreciated.
Adam
I agree with you 100% on this. What Mr. Cramer does is nothing more in my opinion pump his books and his stock trading service (thestreet). The smart investors and traders are not watching his show. The ones that do watch are most likely novices in investing and trading. And for Mr. Cramer to completely ignore risk management (placing stops loss, sell when major trend lines break, etc) is actuallt hurting his viewers more. Mr. Cramer has stated on his show that he thinks technical analysis is voodoo. If he were indeed a hedge fund maganger in his early years then he must understand the important aspects of "reading the charts". So why no does he ignore technical analysis? Perhaps because the charts would disprove his stock picks.
A smart trader first learns how to preserve capital, only then can the trader make money. Mr. Cramer would seem to not be able to do either!
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