To the Editor:
Regarding “The Stock Market Just Hit a Record High. 27 Picks for the Year Ahead, From Our Roundtable Pros” (Jan. 19): What is the panel’s performance, cumulatively, over the past five years? I’ve read their picks for years, and they often seem to get shellacked on some picks that pretty much negate gains. I’m curious to see whether any panel member has a five- or 10-year rate of return better than the Vanguard S&P 500 exchange-traded fund. The panelists often recommend so many picks that are already very expensive and always seem to assume that the companies will grow into the projected valuations.
Mike Brown
On Barrons.com
Stock-Pick Suggestions
To the Editor:
I appreciate the transparency (“Here’s How Barron’s Stock Picks Performed—and Why We Trailed the Market,” Jan. 19). “Expected hold time” or “when to sell” would be good additions to your initial analysis and recommendations. If these were ideas for long-term buy and hold investors, then the timeline for review in many of the ideas is too short. If these are more short-term trade ideas, then positions should be entered with stops and a clear sell strategy, which would limit the downside on the losers.
Mick Noland
On Barrons.com
BP’s Energy Strategy
To the Editor:
BP is pursuing areas of the energy sector that are profitable, which is why CEO Murray Auchincloss was hired (“BP Stock Has Been Ignored for Too Long. It’s Time to Buy,” Jan. 19). If Auchincloss were able to obtain billions or trillions of free money from various governments to fund zero-carbon energy alternatives for an indefinite time, then I would be in favor of that decision, too. But the reality is that zero-carbon initiatives aren’t practical. This is another example of someone wising up.
Robert Conachey
On Barrons.com
Joint Responsibility
To the Editor:
No question, this is one of today’s major financial issues (“Solving the College Tuition Puzzle Is Only Getting Harder,” Other Voices, Jan. 19). It’s easy to blame others for the problem, but in reality, all are responsible: colleges, for charging very high tuitions; students, for not realizing the responsibility of paying back the loans; and our government, for too easily giving loans without knowing whether they’ll be paid.
All things considered, these three entities should bear the responsibility. Colleges should reduce their claims by a third, students should be forgiven for a third, and the government should pay the remaining third.
Thus, all parties would share the responsibility.
Sam Anteby
Delray Beach, Fla.
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