After finding out an ETF company is betting against his stock picks, television personality Jim Cramer has lashed out with a message to those who take him on. Here’s what he said.
What Happened: Tuttle Capital Management filed two new ETFs on Wednesday that will track the stock recommendations of television personality Jim Cramer.
The ETFs are the Inverse Cramer ETF with ticker SJIM and the Long Cramer ETF with ticker LJIM, representing short Cramer and long Cramer, respectively.
The Inverse Cramer ETF will bet against stock recommendations made by Cramer on Twitter and during his time on air on CNBC, a unit of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA).
“The fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund that seeks to achieve its investment objective by engaging in transactions designed to perform the opposite of the return of the investments recommended by television personality Jim Cramer,” the fund prospectus reads.
The Long Cramer ETF will invest in stocks and ETFs related to positions on which Cramer is positive.
Cramer called out the news of the Inverse Cramer ETF with several tweets Friday morning.
“As always I welcome people betting against me. I have done this for 42 years,” Cramer tweeted. “Those who know that you would have been betting against Apple at 5, Google since inception, Meta at $18, Amazon at ten, Nvidia at $25 and AMD at $5. I welcome all comers.”
Cramer also suggested that he has a good track record in his recommendations outside of stocks with a comment on cryptocurrency.
“I bought a farm with my Bitcoin winnings, all announced, and I bought a boat with Ethereum. All announced.”
Cramer said he has a successful track record for many years: “I want you to bet against me. You do not do this for 42 years and lose money every year.”
Cramer said the new inverse ETF is nothing new in his investing career and won’t last long.
“These will be my only comments about this ‘exciting’ new way for a promoter to make money and I am sure it can be tricked to make me look bad. And it won’t be new long after the wagerers move on to CDs and cash…Good luck…”
Related Link: Bad Dog?! Jim Cramer Shorts Stock He Named His Dog After
Why It’s Important: The comments from Cramer show off the years he has spent in the financial sector as a former hedge fund manager, television show host and founder of TheStreet.
Many on Fintwit have pointed to the quick reversals in Cramer’s opinions on certain stocks and sectors, with some calls often being an indicator to bet against what he is saying.
Cramer supported the meme stock movement with positive comments on AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC) and GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), only to turn on the retail investors later on.
Cramer also called for a 40% rally in Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) before sounding the alarm on all cryptocurrency and warning investors against getting into the space.
Fintwit has been calling for a Cramer inverse ETF for years and one might finally be headed to market. The comments from Cramer welcoming it could also help support a case to have the ETF approved.
Matthew Tuttle of Tuttle Capital Management took to Twitter Friday to respond to Cramer.
“Remember, there is a long side also here,” Tuttle said, highlighting the Long Cramer ETF that would produce positive returns for investors if Cramer’s picks are continual winners.
Tuttle also offered to donate some of the profits from the Cramer ETFs to the charitable trust run by Cramer.
In November 2021, Tuttle launched an ETF that took on Ark Invest and Cathie Wood by betting against the Ark Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK).
While it may not have been a popular call at the time to bet against Wood, who enjoyed a strong run of positive returns, the AXS Short Innovation Daily ETF (NASDAQ:SARK) has been a strong performer, up 60% year-to-date in 2022.
