Betting Against Pundits Is Even Worse Than Listening to Them

Investment products that wager against celebrity stock pickers are a lousy idea

Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, inspired the creation of a fund to bet against her investment strategies. Photo: BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS

The willingness of financial television shows to bring back telegenic pundits who aren’t very good at picking stocks seems almost endless. Viewers nursing losses in their brokerage accounts aren’t always as forgiving.

After past bear markets, many investors either learned their lesson or sought a new guru—maybe a perpetually bearish one who had just gotten it right. Now, though, investors are being offered the chance to actively bet on onetime stars’ comeuppance through purpose-designed funds. They might be almost as bad an idea as following their advice in the first place.

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