When someone tells you no one saw it coming … you can usually assume they mean “I” didn’t see it coming.
By now, many of you are familiar with the story about Michael Burry, the Stanford Hospital surgeon who uncovered the flailing mortgage market and made a fortune betting against the continued surge in mortgage offerings, usually buried inside a CDO – Collateralized Debt Obligation. Michael Lewis featured him prominently in his new book, The Big Short, and 60 Minutes also recently profiled him.
Burry’s recent NY Times Op-Ed piece is interesting reading and a good reminder that most everything you’d like to know is knowable … if you look hard enough and do your homework. Most of us are too lazy, though, and the lemming syndrome continues to befall the investor looking for easy pickings.
I’ll be back soon to comment further on the Goldman Sachs case, particularly now that they’re becoming the favorite whipping boy of the dreamcats in Washington.