Ethnicity Persian Name Joseph Parnes Net worth US$ 140 million | Years active 1979–present Citizenship American Role Businessperson | |
Born November 23, 1946 (age 77) ( 1946-11-23 ) Kermanshah, Iran Alma mater University of Louisiana at Lafayette Occupation Founder and CEO, Technomart Investment Advisors Education University of Louisiana at Lafayette Residence Balti, Maryland, United States | ||
Joseph Parnes (born November 23, 1946) is an American businessperson and registered Investment Advisor notable for his involvement in short selling. He is president of Technomart Investment Advisors and editor of the market letter Shortex. As an investment advisor, he has distinguished himself as one of the foremost short sellers in the stock market. His investment strategy is known to be contrarian in nature and is a regular contributor to Forbes and Futures Magazine. His short strategy was expressly referenced in Barron's feature article "Now a Word From the Dark Side".
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Early years
Parnes was born in 1946 in Iran. He is the fourth and youngest child. Both of his parents died when he was 12, leaving him on his own and forcing him to take on multiple jobs to support himself, including being a taxi driver. Parnes then emigrated to the U.S. to study electrical engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. There he struggled to support himself while in school, and found himself working and sleeping at nights at the local Catholic hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana. Once he graduated, he moved to New York City and began work at Western Electric, part of AT&T. The early 1970s were detrimental to the stock market, as a result of the Watergate scandal and the oil shortage. This is when Parnes found short positions to be an asset in developing a successful stock portfolio.
Professional career
In 1979, he founded Technomart Investment Advisors, which develops custom accounts for both individual and institutional investors. He also created Shortex, a market letter which selects seven long and seven short positions. Parnes is currently President of the firm, directing all research, analysis, and corporate strategy. He is responsible for supplying the firm's private and institutional clients with actionable investment advice. He has experience across a broad array of industries, with a special focus on growth companies.
Short selling
Joseph Parnes' short-selling ability has led to a recent surge in investment material in the last six years in the market. His contrarian style has branded him as a lone voice in a mass of Wall Street homogeneity, and has led to recent controversy with companies such as American Home Mortgage and Hansen Natural for his public declaration with the CEO on Bloomberg TV of impending devaluation. Often, he is unable to comment on companies based on the perceived negative nature of a short recommendation.
Accomplishments
As of 2014, he has over $180 million. Joseph is a regular contributor to "Forbes.com"., and has been included in Barron's Top Investment Advisor Money Poll. Technomart Investment Advisors has been recognized as one of the top wealth managers in 2004-2012 by Bloomberg Wealth Manager. Joseph was highlighted in the "Baltimore Business Journal" for not losing money in 08. Joseph has been a featured speaker at Reuters Advice Point in 2007, and has been asked to provide his insight and theory into short selling to the Financial Markets Law Committee c/o Bank of England in 2011. Parnes is featured regularly in print publications such as Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, and Forbes. Parnes frequents Bloomberg Television, CNBC, and formerly the Nightly Business Report.