"Street Critique"-Hilary Kramer, Chief Market Strategist at A&G Capital
Wednesday, November 11, 2009PAUL KANGAS: Tonight's "Street Critique" guest sees gold heading to $1,400 an ounce. She's Hilary Kramer, chief market strategist at A&G Capital Research. Hilary, welcome back.
HILARY KRAMER, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, A&G CAPITAL RESEARCH: Paul, thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
KANGAS: A year ago in your 2009 predictions you said gold would make a comeback on the weak U.S. dollar. That's exactly what's happened. Do you think goal is still a good hedge against the market and economic uncertainities?
KRAMER: Paul, absolutely. Gold is an essential part of everyone's portfolio right now. Because the U.S. dollar continued to decrease in value and that will be the case as long as our government continues to spend and spend, somewhat inefficiently, although it has taken us out of the recession. And so you have this relationship. Dollar drops and investors all over the world, out of the U.S. especially, go for gold.
KANGAS: OK, now, despite that rather defensive status, what about stocks? I mean we're headed higher from the March low, still going higher. Should investors take profits here?
KRAMER: I believe investors should be very disciplined and make sure to take some money off the table, especially if you happen to invest in the first quarter of 2009 and you have gains that could be 20 to 50 percent. Have discipline and don't be led by your greed. We invest by fear and by greed. 2008 was about fear. This is the year of greed. Be careful.
KANGAS: Do you still see buying opportunities anywhere in the market?
KRAMER: I absolutely do, Paul. The financial institutions, go where the money is. Invest in the companies that are doing really well and that have the edge, and in this case it's banks. For example, Morgan Stanley, the symbol is MS. Morgan Stanley, the a stock I own because Morgan Stanley doesn't have the competition they did a year ago. There's no more Bear Stearns, no more Lehman Brothers and they are making a transition to a new CEO and I think we'll see Morgan Stanley make its way up to $50 a share in the next 18 months. Now, another stock that I like that I've spoken about all the way up as it's heading toward $200 is Goldman Sachs, symbol is GS. The best talent on the Street, great investors and Goldman Sachs got out their used money when we were at the bottom of the market and they're going to be reaping the benefits for years to come on some of these cheap, cheap bargains that they were able to pick up. And the last financial institution that I love is Blackstone. Ticker symbol is BX on Blackstone. Blackstone is in the $15 range right now, a private equity investor publicly traded and now that the equity markets are open, they're going to be able to make some money on the investments that they've made buying companies over the past years.
KANGAS: We just have 30 seconds left. Any other stock that you would recommend?
KRAMER: Apple (AAPL). Apple is a terrific company to own, going into the holiday season, they're going to surprise us on the up side. It's a hot stock, it's a trendy company. There's quality there. And just look around, everybody likes the Apple products with their iPhones, iPods, and that's one to own and put in your portfolio.
KANGAS: I guess that's the reason why the chart looks just like it looks, very strong. OK.
KRAMER: And it will stay that way.
KANGAS: Hilary, do you own any of the stocks mentioned here or have other disclosures?
KRAMER: Morgan Stanley, MS, I own Morgan Stanley. That's my proxy for owning Wall Street.
KANGAS: OK, Hilary, thank you for sharing your insights with us once again. KRAMER: Thank you, Paul.
KANGAS: My guest Hilary Kramer of A&G Capital Research.
