Ann Barnhardt on the Closing of Barnhardt Capital Management Sees 'Full Systemic Collapse'

Ann Barnhardt today sent a letter to her clients announcing the ceasing of operations of Barnhardt Capital Management, after almost six years, urging them to liquidate their positions in stocks, commodoties, futures and options, while expecting a "full systemic collapse". She cited the MF Global fiasco as the deciding factor in her decision. Ms. Barnhardt told Benzinga that none of the existing major candidates for President has a workable solution to fix the underlying economic problems. She sees removal of the Obama administration and several key Congressional leaders, most notably Representative Barney Frank and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as only the first step in cleaning up the mess. While she did leave the door open to returning to money management, Ms. Barnhardt indicated it would take a major overhaul of the goverment and economic system to convince her to restart her company.