QOTD: Mike Mayo on Sell-Side Cheerleaders

Mike Mayo, the notoriously curmudgeonly bank analyst that called bullshit on his coverage universe as they loaded up on debt has a book coming out called Exile on Wall Street.

As part of any respectable book publicity campaign, Mayo has done the WSJ op-ed thing and it’s published on their site this morning in the form of an excerpt.

In it, he takes his fellow sell-side analysts to task:

Analysts are supposed to be a check on the financial system—people who can wade through a company’s financials and tell investors what’s really going on. There are about 5,000 so-called sell-side analysts, about 5% of whom track the financial sector, serving as watchdogs over U.S. companies with combined market value of more than $15 trillion.

Unfortunately, some are little more than cheerleaders—afraid of rocking the boat at their firms, afraid of alienating the companies they cover and drawing the wrath of their superiors. The proportion of sell ratings on Wall Street remains under 5%, even today, despite the fact that any first-year MBA student can tell you that 95% of the stocks cannot be winners.

Source:

Why Wall Street Can’t Handle the Truth (WSJ)

Buy Exile on Wall Street on Amazon here:

Exile on Wall Street: One Analyst’s Fight to Save the Big Banks from Themselves

 

 

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. click here commented on Sep 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  2. Is Bitcoin Era legitimate or not? commented on Sep 23

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  3. bitcoin loophole review commented on Sep 29

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  4. Intelligent Automation Solutions commented on Nov 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  5. Stump Grinding company commented on Dec 11

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  6. dumps shop online commented on Dec 23

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  7. 김치티비 commented on Dec 28

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  8. DevOps Services commented on Jan 15

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  9. Software testing services commented on Jan 15

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  10. replica watches commented on Jan 19

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]

  11. situs judi bola resmi commented on Jan 24

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/11/05/qotd-mike-mayo-on-the-sell-side-cheerleaders/ […]