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Being fairly new to this forum, I dont have the emotional attachment (whether it be love or hate) that many here seem to have for Steve N. It has always amazed me that people seem to place much more interest in his fund simply because they see his name on a forum, many more people would be invested in the Colonial funds, yet we hardly hear a peep about any of these which is interesting (not negative, not positive, just interesting).
I have found Steve's material on this website to be extremely interesting, and is the reason I found this forum in the first place. He seems to be a very smart guy with a capacity to think outside the box, and to run a successful managed fund is a testament to this.
Having said that it is a little disappointing that someone like him would get so offended that he would take his bat and ball and go home. I agree with his comments that some people here seem to EXPECT him to report and post, rather than appreciate when he does. However, as a financial planner who gets paid commissions for the products that he recommends surely he would be used to and expect a little bit of caution from people. Like everyone selling something, there is a possible conflict of interest that people tend to be quite wary about. This is not to suggest that he would take advantage of anyone, but the possible conflict is still there no matter how pure and noble his intentions (thats just the way it is). Add to that an investment recommendation in an asset class that has a very shaky history, and not to expect some questions and comments is a little naive. Like any good salesperson knows, the trick is simply overcoming people's objections, and dropping a bit of information and getting upset when people discuss it and voice their opinions and concerns is not the best way to do that. Add again to this the fact that I have not seen a post from him in some time and the first time he posts is to do a product presentation and you can easily see how people might come to certain conclusions.
I for one was quite interested in the recent idea he presented, and quite enjoyed seeing other people's viewpoints, criticisms, and questions in hopes that among a group of intelligent people we could individually form a conclusion that might be better than if we did it on our own.
It is a touch disappointing that he decided to walk on the forum, however we dont know what stresses he might be under in his own life - I imagine it is a high pressure industry he is in, having to balance a whole range of things with a lot of people nagging at you about everything. Plus he is getting married again which could add even more stress (hopefully not negative stress, but its all stress!).
At the end of the day though, I think this is a pretty good forum, with the d***head per capita being much much lower than certain other forums. Although we may all be at different stages, have different goals, different ideas on how to best achive things, more aggressive or more meek ways of putting our ideas forward, I really think that there is a decent mix of people on here, and appreciate everyone's input whether I happen to agree with it or not.
Sim: your work on the board is appreciated as well.
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