WSJ:
Even the smartest people routinely underestimate the possibilities of remote events.One buyer [of commoditized subprime mortgages] was Mr. Kelsoe, a senior portfolio manager at the asset-management unit of Morgan Keegan & Co., a Memphis, Tenn., investment firm and unit of Regions Financial Corp. At the time, Mr. Kelsoe was riding the housing boom by investing heavily in mortgage-backed securities. At the end of 2005, his RMK Select High Income Fund showed a five-year average annual gain of nearly 14%, according to Morningstar Inc. That performance beat all U.S. high-yield funds as well as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. His success brought him a bit of celebrity. He appeared on CNBC, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal and gave investing lectures at universities.
"He talked about the importance of identifying and assessing risk," says Wilburn Lane, head of the business school at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn. Mr. Kelsoe spoke there in October 2006 to some 300 local businesspeople over a chicken-and-vegetables lunch. Mr. Lane, who says he was impressed with the 44-year-old's track record, later invested in one of the seven funds managed by Mr. Kelsoe.
People wonder why I'm rarely interested in hearing lectures. I find that books are better investments of my time; it's easier to filter for quality and I can quit a book easier than a lecture.
Posted by Evan @ 10/17/07 03:53 PM
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