When investing tends toward gambling
January 30, 2026
To the Editor: Jason Mudrick, founder of hedge fund Mudrick Capital Management, says, “A lot of people lost a lot of money, and some very smart investors got put out of business because of this meme stock phenomenon” (“Meme Stocks Turn 5. Will There Ever Be Another GameStop?” Cover Story, Jan. 23). Is it possible to be a very smart investor when said investor is unaware of or, worse, has ignored systemic risks that can put you out of business? One of the smartest people I worked for, a former senior executive at a Fortune 500 company, repeatedly said, “Limit your operational risk.” Sage advice that too often gets ignored when investing tends toward gambling.
Keith St. DenisMillbury, Mass.
Yellow Fever
To the Editor: The principal factors driving the price of gold don’t appear to be lessening: massive central bank purchases, dollar debasement, huge and growing public debt, persistent inflation, and rising international tensions (“This Pro Is ‘More and More Bullish’ on Gold. How He’s Playing It,” Up & Down Wall Street, Jan. 23). Gold may well correct a little in the near term, but the long-term uptrend appears to be well supported. In any event, gold should be something you buy and bequeath to your heirs.
Michael UthOn Barrons.com
Things Run to Excess
To the Editor: GQG Partners’ Rajiv Jain on tech and artificial-intelligence disappointment was helpful (“30 More Picks for ’26 From the Barron’s Roundtable,” Jan. 23). Late in long bull markets, you see some crazy things. Very few on Wall Street want to blow the whistle on stock-based compensation and “cheerful” assumptions in graphics processing unit/tensor processing unit accounting for depreciation. In the past 17 years, the Nasdaq 100 has had a 20.8% compound annual growth rate, and $10,000 has grown to more than $250,000. That’s great but also, at some point, crazy. Things run to excess. They say every bad idea was a good idea in the beginning.
Thomas BoswellOn Barrons.com
Berkshire’s Cash Cow
To the Editor: Steven M. Sears wrote another great column in recommending that Greg Abel, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, use Berkshire’s enormous cash position to sell cash-secured put options against some of the great companies in its portfolio (“What Berkshire’s Greg Abel Should Do With All That Cash,” Striking Price, Jan. 21). Sears is correct that Buffett sold puts even though he was critical of derivatives. He points out that one drawback is that if a put isn’t exercised, Berkshire will have a short-term capital-gains tax bill. However, you can never have too many short-term capital gains.
Anthony BavedasShelton, Conn.
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