Can you write about stocks that you own?

David Jackson, the CEO of Seeking Alpha, writes about the positives related to writing about stocks that you own.

Jackson writes, “‘Talking your book’ is legal and widespread. Even before Seeking Alpha, many fund managers – including the most prominent and widely respected – talked their book in interviews on CNBC and other TV shows, pitched their ideas to Barron’s and other publications in the hope they’d be published, and publicized their research about their highest conviction positions in conference presentations (think HLF) or by email.

“Investors may want to talk their book for a number of legitimate reasons. If you publish convincing articles about the stocks you know best (usually those you have a position in), you can enhance your reputation and attract clients. Emerging hedge fund managers have told us they attract more LPs on Seeking Alpha than any other platform.

“By publishing research about your stocks on Seeking Alpha, you can ‘stress test’ your investment thesis. Many Seeking Alpha contributors say that the comments and feedback from the SA community have changed their minds about a stock and made them smarter investors.

“What about investors who talk their book to move the price of a stock which they honestly believe is mispriced? Some people think that’s sleazy. I don’t, with one caveat: that their subsequent trading in the immediate aftermath of the article’s publication is consistent with what they wrote in the article.”

Read more here.