'RealMoney' Radio Recap: The Frist Philosophy

U.S. Sen. Bill Frist should be given a Congressional Medal of Investing for being a smart investor, said Jim Cramer on his "RealMoney" radio show Monday.

Cramer said Frist, whose sales of HCA (HCA Quote) are the subject of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission, likely did not trade on information received from management prior to his selling of the stock because if he had, said Cramer, he likely would have been buying. HCA management and Wall Street were overwhelmingly positive at the time of Frist's stock sales, said Cramer. Yet Frist sold anyway, which proved to be smart.

There are lessons to be learned from Frist, said Cramer. First, be skeptical when management and/or Wall Street are enthusiastically positive, said Cramer. Second, don't be a pig -- take profits when a stock is up huge. Third, understand the importance of sector trends. Despite HCA management's and Wall Street's bullishness, hospital trends were weakening at the time of Frist's sales, said Cramer.

So, give Frist the benefit of the doubt, he said. Frist was smart to sell, or at worst, lucky. But, he's most likely not guilty of insider trading because if he had listened to management, he would have been buying, not selling.

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