Time To Go Short GE?

That's what Adam Seessel, manager of the RiverPark/Gravity Long-Biased Fund thinks you should be doing. TheStreet.com recently interviewed Seessel regarding his position in a number of names, including General Electric GE, Yahoo YHOO, and Iron Mountain IRM. When asked why he was short GE, Seessel said, "GE basically dodged the bullet in the financial crisis, but the day of reckoning is yet to come for them, primarily because they have a very toxic bank that holds a lot of subprime assets, both here in the U.S. and in Europe. They have swept a lot of these problems under the carpet. But, at some point, those bills are going to come due." If you believe that GE's other revenue sources, such as engine building, infrastructure, smart grid and appliances can outweigh the problems of its financial division, then it may be a smart idea to take the opposite side of the bet from Seessel, and go long GE. The board of directors has confidence in Jeffrey Immelt, as it recently raised the dividend on the Conneticut-based conglomerate. I don't think the board would raise the dividend if it felt that the woes of GE's financial divisions would continue to drag on the entire company, and hurt profitability. If you believe that Seessel is wrong in his thesis, then it's time to put your imagination to work, as GE says, and bet on upside in the name. Disclosure: no position in GE