HELPFULFACTS.NET

Quoted from Georges Yared:

1. It’s your money and no one cares about it more than you!! You cannot outsource your money. You can outsource the management of it, but you are the final decision-maker. It’s up to you to nurture and monitor its performance. Got it? It’s your money!

2. Do not get emotional about any stock, bond or mutual fund. These are not your kids or spouse. It’s just money. It’s OK to love a company’s products or services as a consumer, and still, take a hard-nosed, emotionally detached approach as an investor.

3. Be patient. Some investments take time to develop or to be discovered by the masses. Patience requires strategy and timing. The key question to ask over and over again: Is the fundamental story intact, improving or regressing?

4. Trust — but verify. Respectfully challenge your broker/advisor’s recommendations with a few key questions: “Why do you like this stock or mutual fund? Tell me more about the track record of the analyst who recommends this stock, or the portfolio manager running this mutual fund.” Get the facts, the figures and the thesis down pat before putting a dollar into anything. Ask questions until satisfied.

5. Think independently. The best investors do not run with the crowd. What products, services, devices, technologies, etc. are winning in the market place? Are they sustainable and priced for mass consumption? Open your eyes and ears to the world around you.

6. Longer-term savings should be in growth investments, either stocks or bonds. Face it, this stock market has expanded 15-fold since 1982. Businesses are built to grow and stock valuations will ultimately reflect that fact. Always has, always will.

7. Investors invest, speculators speculate. If you are sold on a speculative idea, treat it as such. Ask yourself, What is the “key event” I am expecting to happen? If it does not happen, what is the risk profile of the investment? A true investor is strategic and understands the components of his/her portfolio.

8. Define your approach and stick with it. Are you more comfortable with stocks or mutual funds, or a combination? Are you more fixed-income oriented? Are current dividends or interest payments important? What makes your investment clock tick is important to understand, define and implement.

9. Have some fun and don’t beat yourself up. You will miss some easy layups and miss selling some dogs. Go easy on yourself. There is always an opportunity to find a great story to invest in.

10. Do not try to time the bottom or top of any market or stock. Whether you get to the top (or bottom) has a lot to do with luck (good and bad).