Thoughts on Phoenix

It is one thing to talk about junior energy and mining companies or throw out some generic comments about uranium. Today however, I was on a panel at the Phoenix Resource Investment Conference with Dennis Gartman, Roger Wiegand and John Kaiser. It was very intimidating to be shaking Dennis Gartman's hand and then have to talk about commodities on the same panel.

The conference also featured Thom Calandra who has been returning to public life,  firstly by publishing excerpts from his novel  "Pablo by Numbers" on Stockhouse.com and secondly by doing some speaking this weekend at the Phoenix Resource Investment Conference. Thom's enthusiasm is infectious and he truly loves the companies he invests in.

I'm pretty sure that Dennis Gartman would never dream of "doubling or even tripling down" on a losing position yet that is how Thom Calandra proposes that we can all make a killing in the markets. How can this be?

Of course both approaches work. If you know a company inside out and have legally obtained inside information it makes perfect sense to buy shares as cheaply as you can. You can also do well following trends and exiting when the market tells you to. Where most of us fall down is when we let trades become investments or when we blow out great long term investments after short term gains.

Ultimately investors need to "know thyself" and find what works for them. I'll be posting more about the conference later.