trade event

Bear Stearns Tech Conference 2004, + + + +
By AL BERRIOS

Always a ho-hum event at the Grand Hyatt here in New York's Grand Central Station, this event makes me question the point of being an analyst. All year long, an analyst is watching the actions and resulting stock price changes of the same companies. They shoot off countless jargony reports on the conditions in the marketplace affecting the company. And they attend these mind-numbing conferences all over the country to hear the same things by the same people four times per year; a waste of time, considering they already know what's going to be said.

(Imagine your entire career is to live like that guy in "Fight Club", where everything is single-serving, and all your stimulation comes from your laptop.)

Anyway, that's what this conference was like. Between June 14 and 15, 2004, I attended only the presentations given by the consulting firms, which I regret to say weren't informative. At one presentation, the guy in charge of consulting for financial services presented, and he knew very little about his own firm's numbers - probably offered this presentation because no one else wanted to go and he knew numbers, so perfect fit, right? The sad part is that this guy is part of the largest consultancy in the world, with over 100,000 employees consulting in all sorts of boring areas, so his perspective wasn't helpful in deciphering whether or not the rest of the firm made money, how it made it, and whether or not there was potential to keep making it; (all very useful things for me to know). With all I already know about his firm, I could have done a better job, even making suggestions as to what I think they could do better - as any analyst worth his light and slim laptop should.

Anyway, I'll probably go next year, and I'll probably hear that same guy again. And I'll probably leave early again, bored out of my skull. Why? Because, you won't; and that makes me an authority. Overall, this event merited 4 pluses (yes, 4, because I only went to two out of hundreds of presentations).

Write to Al Berrios at editor@alberrios.com

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