Cramer's fund matches the S&P

I was watching CNBC last week, and saw an ad for Cramer’s action alert service. The text of the ad was something about how 2009 was a difficult year in the market, and how despite it all Cramer’s portfolio made more than a 20% return. They went on to suggest that you could share in these great returns by trading with Cramer is you paid for the privilege.

The ad seemed a little funny to me: 2009 was a terrible year for the economy, but not for stocks. I made a lot of money and so did everyone I knew. It turns out the S and P 500 was up 26% and the NASDAQ was up 46%.

Makes you wonder why Cramer would be bragging about 20% and why on earth anyone would pay to match his mediocre performance and why people would listen to his blather every night.