ACKMAN: Short-selling is 'not worth the brain damage'
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is known, among other things, for his $1 billion bet against weight loss and nutritional supplement marketer Herbalife.
But it sounds like we won't be seeing more monumental shorts from Ackman anytime soon.
"It's not worth the brain damage," he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV's Stephanie Ruhle on Monday. "I would have to think very, very hard before another public short."
Short sellers bet against a company's performance, and profit when its stock falls - but that can also give them a bad reputation.
"People are immediately skeptical of your motives, and so on and so forth, because you have an opportunity for profit if the business fails," he said.
Ackman has run a public crusade against Herbalife for more than two years and is betting its stock will ultimately go to $0. He thinks that company's poor fundamentals will bring it down "before the regulators do," and said he would see the bet through.
Ackman has been accused of manipulating Herbalife's stock, and the Justice Department and FBI are reportedly digging around, interviewing employees of his Pershing Square hedge fund. (The SEC and FTC also have ongoing investigations into some of Ackman's other investments.)
Ackman told Ruhle that while shortselling is inherently good for markets and for outing fraud, it's not a productive use of time.
"You do all the work. You suffer all the spotlight, and the criticism and some amount of reputational damage from inaccurate articles in the press," he said.
"Is it worth that investment in exchange to make a profit? There are easier ways to make money."
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema
- SBI Life Q4 profit rises 4% to ₹811 crore
- IMD predicts severe heatwave conditions over East, South Peninsular India for next five days
- COVID lockdown-related school disruptions will continue to worsen students’ exam results into the 2030s: study
- India legend Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 ambassador
- Maruti Suzuki Q4 net profit rises 47.8% to ₹3,877.8 crore
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market