- Michael Burry tweeted “sell” in January, then said he was “wrong to say sell” in March.
- Close supporters of the ‘Big Short’ investor are divided on whether or not his admission was sincere.
- Here’s what four of Burry’s sidekicks told Insider about his polarizing tweets.
Michael Bury tweeted a single ominous word at the end of January: “Sell”. two months laterhe praised investors who bought the stock plunge late last year and said, “I was wrong to say sell.”
The shocking reversal of ‘The Big Short’ fame investor has divided those closest to him. Some took his reversal at face value and praised him for admitting he had mischaracterized the deal. The S&P 500 is up 8% this year, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 17% on the back of high-flying tech stocks like Tesla and Nvidia.
Other Burry acolytes doubt he is sincere and believe his praise of the “BTFD generation” was sarcastic. They are convinced that the boss of Scion Asset Management remains bearish on equities in the face of historic inflation, soaring interest rates, a looming recession and a possible credit crunch.
We asked four members of “Burryology— a subreddit dedicated to studying the Scion chief — for their opinions on Burry’s latest tweets and how they reacted when they first read them. We’ve edited their replies for more length and clarity:
1. North Collection
“I have to admit that when I first read Michael Burry’s tweet saying ‘I was wrong to say sell’, I took it at face value. It shocked me a bit, as I had previously interpreted his tweets as quite bearish, at least until the second half of 2022. However, around the time he made this tweet, Burry updated his Twitter description to indicate his penchant for online humor .
“In reality, when Burry praised the BTFD generation, he was actually making a sarcastic jab at their excessive economic optimism. It seems like a lot of people see Burry as a permabear and overly pessimistic, probably because he only gets attention for his bearish tweets. This may explain his humor found on social networks.
2. Warren Buttet
“I think he’s being genuine this time. He said in his Scion letters decades ago that he doesn’t get too emotional whether his portfolio is down or up. That’s an ideal philosophy for anyone relies on smart stock selection, not just marketing a fund to collect a large fee on the capital attracted. Being sarcastic at this point would be a misstep as it would indicate that he is too emotional about the actual results.
“My first thought when I saw the tweet was that no stock market actor can see the future. Dr Burry has been wrong before, and it’s very important that we all think independently and intelligently about our decisions. of investment.
“Many Burryologists treat his writing as gospel, and I think that’s not at all what Dr. Burry stood for when he was a budding investor. I generally try not to take what he tweets too seriously. After all, he could use his notoriety to influence the market like the rest of the activist investors.”
3. Main value
“Regarding the ‘sell’ tweet, I think he was being sarcastic in that he thinks the market might go up in the near term. That certainly doesn’t mean it’s turned bullish as some people think.
“If you look at what he’s said for the last two years, a lot of his concerns about assessment, inflation and the consumer strength haven’t really changed. He most likely believes we’re headed down, but maybe not as soon as he originally thought.
“His mention of the BTFD crowd was probably to suggest something along the lines of, ‘Hey, I shouldn’t have said sell because this generation is so trained in BTFD that this bear market may not behave like those in the pass. He likes to be vague in his words, but the data he shares is crystal clear. He’s a logic and data guy, so I think that’s how he really communicates his views to the market.
“After seeing his BTFD tweet, I thought his frustration was palpable. There’s a common misconception that Burry called ‘nine of the last two recessions.’ very accurate if you go back and read his old investor letters and MSN articles. His calls aren’t supposed to be weekly or even monthly. I think his ‘sell’ tweet will age well over time.”
4. JohnnyTheBoneless, Founder of Burryology
“The tweet ‘I was wrong to say sell’ may have been his way of emphasizing the notion that markets are always in a state of flux. Financial markets experience price changes and volatility over time. time. There are various factors and forces (e.g. economic conditions, investor sentiment, supply and demand, etc.) that influence the direction of the markets. You can learn to read some of these forces, but others are inherently unpredictable. banking crisis happened a month after his “sale” tweet. Very few could have seen it coming.
“I was amused by the tweets but didn’t react beyond that. More than a few people react to these tweets by acting on the markets. For example, some people sold positions or took positions short after the “sell” tweet. previous tweets, Burry espoused the importance of be your own investor, do your research and act on your own insights and life experiences. Taking any type of action based on a one-word tweet violates this recommendation.”