Wolves in Turtles' Clothing

Investment and management books have an alarming tendency to spend a lot of time advising you to take your life and trading cues from one particular wild animal or another. This month's preference just might be the turtle, and I instantly developed the sneaking suspicion that the turtle is possibly in vogue in reaction to the popularity of Jim Cramer, co-founder of this site and, shall we say, not someone who has achieved renown in the field of business commentary from following a tortoise's take on life.

Sure enough, The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, The Lessons, The Results," (Collins) by Michael W. Covel, does not make it to the back inside cover before it is drawing distinctions between the timeless success of the so-called turtle traders and the "era full of slapdash investing advice and promises of hot stock tips for 'the next big thing,' as popularized by pundits like Jim Cramer of 'Mad Money.'"

The Business Press Maven has, as longtime readers know, been up front with his own quibbles with Cramer, but I'm always suspicious of anyone who defines themselves, as in this case, by what they are not.

And the inside front cover, ironically enough, starts with a real go-go come-on -- nothing any self-respecting turtle would ever write, assuming, of course, that a turtle could write:

"What happens when ordinary people are taught a system to make extraordinary money?"

The second line of the preface draws a parallel with Donald Trump. Again, not one universally recognized as a turtle type. First off, once you start giving momentum play advice, you lose me on the turtle reference. No turtle I know is a momentum player.

Editor's note: To view Marek Fuchs' video take on this column, click here.