Disclosure of Personal Finanical Interest

[Rev22:17]

Bob,

Originally Posted by You

I guess that means Norm has a financial interest is saying good things about RCCL and it various cruise lines. He is not offering an unbiased opinion.

Well, a disclosure of personal interest technically does not necessarily mean that one's opinion is biased, but the law is intended to discourage shenanigans -- people trying to make the company look better than it really is so they can "dump" the stock at a high price (so-called "pump and dump") or, conversely, make the company look worse than it really is so they can buy its shares for less than their true value.

Personally, I'm a "buy and hold long term" investor. Like Warren Buffet, my favorite holding period is forever. Thus, I buy stocks that I expect to provide solid growth for many decades to come. I also ascribe to the investment methodologies described in Beating the Street by Peter Lynch, the former manager who brought Fidelity's Magellan Fund to the top of the charts in the late 1970's and early 1980's. One of his most significant techniques for evaluating investments is to look at the quality of the company's products and service (yes, in addition to its financial reports) -- and not with rose-colored glasses, either. I would not invest in any company if I did not like its product or if I found its service to be materially deficient, and I would liquidate my shares pretty quickly if I found that a company was suddenly producing substandard products or providing substandard service to its customers.

I think that most of my comments on these boards have been pretty objective, and I make a sincere effort to keep them that way. I'm probably as critical as anybody, for example, about Celebrity's frequent failure to enforce the prescribed standard of evening dress, for example. And when people ask which cruise line is the best, I always recommend buying a guidebook and reading the descriptions of all of the cruise lines to see which one seems like the best fit for their personality and style. It would not benefit anybody to recommend somebody to my favorite line who would be much happier on another.

Of course, a disaffected customer bad-mouthing my favorite cruise line is not doing my favorite cruise line any favors, either -- but a lot of people who own an interest in a company would forget that and just try to steer as many people to the company in which they own an interest as possible; hence the federal (SEC) requirements for disclosure.

Originally Posted by You

Not sure the moderators require such a declaration but it is nice to see. Especially since the Royal Champions incident.

No, the moderators do not -- but in some cases the U. S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) can impose stiff fines for failure to do so. Since I don't have a team of lawyers to research all of the nuances of the law, I'm being safe.

Norm.

[fun2cruiz]

Originally Posted by Rev22:17

fun2cruiz,



I made no such suggestion. I'm just trying to ensure compliance with applicable laws regarding disclosure of finanical interests that may be affected by one's public comments. I have made similar disclosures in the past.

Norm.

I do not think that what you provided would have violated any laws regarding financial interests w/out a disclosure....heck people are in discussion of what they paid for cruiseline and other stocks and how they have improved or not improved all the time not counting those that discuss the OBC credit they receive when buying cruiseline stock.... again, no disclosure needed. I think you are being excessively cautious myself, but that is your call. Perhaps if folks understood your post to begin with and it's importance or rationale, less confusion would have occured.

But...thanks for the explanation anyway.

[Rev22:17]

fun2cruiz,

Originally Posted by You

I do not think that what you provided would have violated any laws regarding financial interests w/out a disclosure....heck people are in discussion of what they paid for cruiseline and other stocks and how they have improved or not improved all the time not counting those that discuss the OBC credit they receive when buying cruiseline stock.... again, no disclosure needed.

Actually, I'm not so much concerned with discussion in this thread as with the content of my posts in other threads.

Originally Posted by You

I think you are being excessively cautious myself, but that is your call.

Yes, I am absolutely being cautious -- and indeed perhaps excessively so.

But the alternative would be to hire a lawyer to review everything that I say about the company, which would generate some pretty substantial legal bills. It's much less expensive to just 'fess up.

Originally Posted by You

Perhaps if folks understood your post to begin with and it's importance or rationale, less confusion would have occured.

Yes, I have stated the reason for such disclosures in the past, so I assumed -- obviously wrongly -- that the regular readers of this board would remember. Okay, my bad....

Originally Posted by You

But...thanks for the explanation anyway.

You're welcome!

Norm.