Bob Brinker Reviews

stephen d   illinois

A few years ago, Bob would have gotten an excellent rating. I cannot believe what has come out of his pie hole lately. He must have read George Gilder's "Wealth & Poverty ", but he has forgotten what he read. On his Dec 18 show, Brinker actually said cutting government jobs is damaging the economy. YIKES !! It is the Feds taxing, spending, and wasting money that can be put to better use that is killing the economy. They produce no wealth. Taking it from those who know how to produce and provide goods and services and transferring it to deadbeats is not a winning formula for job creation and wealth.

chuck   idaho

Brinker actually believes the us govt numbers on inflation and employment. His show today was one lie after another. I wonder if current administration is paying him...that is how incorrect he was in what he was saying. I only listen now for entertainment and to see how far off base his advice really is.

Richard   Seattle

I have followed Bob since the early nineties. Like all market timers, he has had good calls and bad ones. He made me a lot of money in the 90's by recommending staying in equities during what he called "the greatest bull market of all times". And he shined with his advice in 2000.
But I also lost on his QQQ recommendations, never heard him admit he missed the boat in 2008. And do you remember Ultratech Stepper (UTEK)? What was that all about (recommending a stock he did work for)?
My problem now with Bob is that, more than ever before, we live in a global economy. The US used to drive the world's markets. Now, it is the other way around. There are just too many variables in the world today to time with accuracy. A single event anywhere on the planet can tip the balance big time.
I think Bob is a very bright guy and I enjoy his style. While I do not like how he sometimes does not listen to questions or jumps on people, it is precisely his style that I find so interesting and fun to listen to. It is, after all, a radio show.
While I no longer take all of his advice (like his most recent one to jump back into the market), he has taught me a lot over the years and that is what he is all about.

Chris   Rocklin

I have listened to Bob Brinker and subscribed - on and off - for the last 20 years. Yes, he blew it in 2008 and never admitted it - pretty annoying for someone like me who teaches his kids to take personal responsibility and also accept that they are not perfect. He is condescending and talks way too much about political garbage on his show that will have no influence in the long or short term or will have no effect on an individual listener's own investments.

However, I stayed the course and remained in equities in the 90's and took his advice in Jan 2000 and went completely into cash. In March 2003 - again on his advice - I went all in to equities and rode my investments up to where I tripled my portfolio.

Missing the 2008 drop caused me to lose a couple of years of performance, but I'm almost back to where I was in 2008 and way, way better than where I was in 2000. I may have lost 3 years of growth, but my peers who didn't heed Bob's advice in 2000, lost the entire decade.

In short, I rely on Bob for major trends and usually it works out well (like 2000 & 2003) - occasionally it doesn't (like 2008). Today (Sept 22. 2011), he put out a bulletin advising subscribers to go all in again in to equities(instead of dollar cost averaging back in) as he is predicting the S&P will be into the 1400's in 2012. If you are reading this at the end of 2012, you'll be able to make your own judgment on whether Bob still has it and is worth $185 a year or listening to him drone on about off-shore drilling or some other topic de jour.

For more detailed investment advice on the radio, I would recommend Ric Edelmen. Knowledgeable, entertaining, down to earth and strategic. In the end, however it will be gathering as much information from multiple sources and understanding economics - and keeping one's emotions and greed in check to be a successful long-term investor.

Robert chappell   Cali

I am a subscriber to Marketimer and have followed BB since 1999. Although his model portfolios have performed well over the years, I really think he needs to incorporate such things as liquidity and the number of investors on margin that could influence equity prices in a big way, as they have recently.

I must give him poor marks for missing the latest bear market and the current swoon. I give him even poorer marks for not admitting his mistakes. I stopped listening to him when hearing no admission from him to missing the bear market in 2008.
I was notified of a special message to subscribers at his website recently. I was disappointed that the message did not warn of the current swoon in the equities markets, but advised to continue dollar cost averaging.
Overall, I find his advice informative and conservative, which has aided the careful investor.
I thank you for this helpful forum.

mike higgins   illinois

I think you could miss a 10% drop, maybe a 20% drop , and maybe even a 30% drop. But if you call yourself a market timer, there is no excuse for letting your subscribers stay in the market all the way down to the bottom in 2008. I have never heard him address this or apologize for the tremendous loss we all incurred. I have dropped my subscription, because I think I can loose my money without his advice. How can he possibly explain this grave error?

Cman   Florida

I started listening to Bob in 1998 and I learned a lot from him in the beginning, but after his 2000 call which was a great call
He missed the most important call of our life time in 2008 and 2009.

I canceled my market timer subscription after he missed the big one I thought he should of gave his subscribers a free year of Market timer for missing that call. How can you call yourself a market timer and miss the biggest crash in 70 years?

Leon   Location unknown

Although I am a long time fan of Mr. Brinker, I am disappointed in him when "you need his advice or comments" the most. He has a tendency to take off when something critical is going on. He took off last weekend after the S&P downgrade. I'm also a long time subscriber to his Markettimer newsletter. Overall I am satisfied but I would like to see him post more bulletins when we have major movements in the markets or events.

Stan   Arbuckle, CA

He is a master of making it look like his past advice was right. He made the one excellent call in March of 2000. But even that call was to only lighten your equity load. But he always refers to that call as if he advised to sell all stocks at that time.

jules   Location unknown

His investing acumen is only average, but the real reason for the one-star rating is his ego. I am stunned at the difference between his current show and the one of 15 years ago. He is actually snide to callers, particularly those who may have made investing mistakes, or to those who ask questions which he considers silly. The success of his radio program has corrupted his ability to see through the fog of his own inflated head. He loves to hear himself pontificate, the result being that he takes far fewer calls than he used to. It used to be average people could call up for basic advice; now most of the show is people calling up with their political opinions. As if there's not enough of that already, on every media outlet! God what a bore. I am definitely a "former" listener. Good riddance to Bob ---

Tom   California

Brinker is overall a very smart guy--but has a huge ego and contradicts himself at times. Just today he claimed that our natl debt is 70% of GDP.I believe it to be closer to 100%.Am I wrong?

liz nickerson   Monterey

Brinker talks a lot but frequently doesn't really have much substantive to say. He's had a few good calls, but his mistakes are not mentioned on his show (for example he missed the 2008 recession, saying it was a 'correction'). He likes people who agree with him, but I noticed during today's show that he often doesn't answer the questions which are asked. I don't know if he's not listening or if he doesn't know the answer and doesn't want to admit it.

John Weirich   Iowa

Bob overall does a great job.
His dollar cost average advise of the last 3 years have in hindsight gave all these Idiot's
and Whiners before me, a brilliant opportunity to make money. I'm hearing of his "Part Time status" or retirement from "Moneytalk". 20 years
of mowing, working in the garage and afternoon
drives listening to the "Moneytalk Guru", will
be missed. I am a better person and investor
because of Mr.Brinker. Thank you, Thank you.

john   arizona

Brinker is a danger to anyone who listens to him. I find it especially sad that so many old folks listen to him and think he has a clue.

It's time for this old loser to retire.

not important   nowhere

This is the genius that used to call Greenspan 'The Wizard', advised one caller to sell her Google stock when it was around $120 per share as I recall and repeatedly told people that buying California state debt was a great idea.

Robert   Jacksonville

Personally I like the buy and hold method of investing, but I've been listening to Bob Brinker for 25 years and value his advise. Some of the comments on this web site about Bob is taken entirely out of context. To sum it up, they don't know their a-- from a hole in the ground.

Frank   Texas

Bob Brinker's show is interesting but he is demeaning to many callers and many times condescending. If he is so sharp why did he miss the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression? His newsletter is no better than average and now he is lost in the advice to handle the current economic situation. Perhaps he is in a nostalgic state of mind. He keeps mentioning the day he started his on-air career and how great his prognostications were back then. It's a case of a 'has-been'.

Bill   IL

Brinker is a total, total, idiot. He consistently "guesses" his way through things, even when the truth is screaming in his ear. He is not properly educated regarding financial markets, and it shows. His mainstay claim is that when pessimism is high, the markets will rally, and that's about it. He continually makes bad calls in his newsletter, then readjusts to make more bad calls without ever admitting that he's an inept, unqualified moron. I actually emailed him at the height of the bull market asking why people shouldn't sell and put money into money markets at over 5 percent for awhile since there was quite a bit of bad news regarding banks, real estate, etc., and stocks were undeniably overvalued across the board. He actually personally replied to my email. Do you know what the idiot said? Yep.

At least 90 percent of his newsletters have been utterly and dangerously wrong over the last several years. He even calls people who are correct names. I cannot believe you people give this man money for a newsletter. How about I sell you my belly-button lint for 185 bucks an ounce? Really, I'm offering a much better deal than this idiot's newsletter.

bartee   los angeles calif

how could Brinker know about all these leading companies like AIG or Leman Bros in trouble or BERNIE MADOFF being in trouble,, impossible ,, the crooks surprised everyone and the downfall began,, impossible for anyone to predict this,,, my advice is to stay in take the ride keep the shares and you will in time get all your losses back ,, if you have time and are not ready for the box,,,,roar roar roar

j. m.r   unkonw

The problem with Bob he depends on the U.S. government's numbers for his projections on the market. He needs to go back to school and learn about macro economics 101. The guy is clueless