Monday, May 13, 1996
Can Fooldom Grow Too Big For Its Britches?
By The Freep

From time to time, I read posts here in the Motley Fool asking if, perhaps, Fooldom has grown too powerful for its own good. After all, people say, look at the effect the Fool has on Iomega or, more recently, Zytec. But if, in fact, the moves within the Foolfolio and Borefolio are truly responsible for affecting the market, then it proves one simple thing: the Fool's influence hasn't grown much at all.

"Beg pardon?" I hear you cry.

Well, as the Brothers Gardner constantly state, the goal of the Motley Fool is to educate and inform, to teach us small investors how to think for ourselves. Therefore, the fact that some people blindly follow the moves of the Borefolio or Foolfolio indicates the Fools' mission is far from complete---parroting is not the same as thinking.

A tautology? Call it what you will, but it's that simple. Sorry, Tom and David, but you've got more work to do.

Sure, it's possible that from now on, when any of the Fool portfolios buys or sells a stock, the market will over-react. But so what? Why are you, a Fool, waiting for the Gardners or MF Boring or any future Fool to make a move?

There is such a wealth of information in Fooldom itself that any one of us could find, research, and purchase the stocks that eventually make it into a Foolfolio long before a public MF announcement (temporarily) knocks the stock price out of whack---if it really does affect the price at all. Don't forget, Iomega was talked about and analyzed within these Foolish walls long before the Gardners bought it, and months before it helped bring the Fool portfolio to prominence in the press.

Ironically, the people who accuse the Fool of having too much influence happen to be the very people who have yet to experience the real power of the Motley Fool. The true power of Fooldom comes from the people working in concert to learn, inform, educate, and amuse; it comes from the head Fools' desire to teach the small investor how to gain the confidence and knowledge necessary to make sound decisions about investing.

Since education---not stock-picking---is the true Foolish goal, can Fooldom ever wield too much power?

I've thought this out for myself, thank you. The answer, in a word, is "no."

Transmitted: 5/13/96