Fleckenstein To Shut Short Only Hedge Fund, Steinhardt Says Now A Good Time To Buy

Bill Fleckenstein, Money Central contributor, frequent CNBC guest, author of Greenspan’s Bubble’s (2008), and manager for the last 12 years of a short only hedge fund, Fleckenstein Capital, has decided to close up shop.  Among the reasons given in a post to his subscribers Friday he wrote:

Though I think the stock market still has unfinished business on the downside, I believe that 2009 is the year to prepare for a return to managing money in a more balanced fashion, with longs (and some shorts), as there are currently plenty of interesting ideas that appear to offer a margin of safety.  On the flipside, compelling opportunities on the short side are not as abundant as they were just a few months ago (though there still are plenty).

On Monday, legendary investor Michael Steinhardt, whose theory of Variant Perception is the most accurate statement of true investment philosophy I know of, said at an investment conference in New York: “I think now would be a good cyclical time to go into equities, wouldn’t you?”

Add them to the list of Smart Money that thinks now is a good time to buy stocks.