Some misses
On May 24, 2006 the Inside ALPHA Investment Club recommended a short sell on Bodisen Biotech (Amex: BBC) at $11.30; we felt that the shares were completely manipulated by one of its insiders, with potential accounting irregularities. As the trade went South, we decided to take a 19% loss on August 9, 2006 rather than wait the usual six month holding period.
This was clearly a mistake. We generated a negative alpha of 18% (33% annualized) as the market had gone up 1%. Had we waited the usual half year, the profit would have been 52% with an S&P 500 12% higher, for an alpha of 64% in a half year, equivalent to a 169% annualized gain.
At the end of 2002, California Micro Devices seemed to have it all: fast growth, decent financials, bullish insiders. This was a complete miss: we lost 44% in six months, in a market up 6%. That's a negative alpha of 50% in half a year, 75% annualized.
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The founder of Inside ALPHA is Marc Mayor, who has devoted his career to helping people eliminate up to 98% of systemic risk, while making a positive, double-digit annualized performance in up, down and sideways markets 
