Jeff Saut’s latest included some interesting thoughts which I wanted to pass along. Not only is he turning cautious (after really nailing the Q4 rally), but he added some New Year’s resolutions from John Magee the author of Technical Analysis of Stock Trends which I thought readers might enjoy:
With these thoughts in mind, I leave you with the following quip titled “Resolved; An Investor’s New Year’s Resolutions” by John Magee. To wit, resolved, that in the coming year:
- “I will not alienate my friends and antagonize my family by reminding the world on every possible occasion how right I was about the upturn – or downturn – in steels, motors, airlines, or whatever.
- When I buy a stock I will not mobilize all the good news to make it look pretty. I will try to consider both the favorable and unfavorable angles as impartially as I know how.
- I will not close out a stock position that is doing well by me for no other reason than that I have a profit. I will not cut short my gains in a good situation.
- I will not hang on to a stock that is persistently going against me. I will limit my loss and close out any position that seems to have gone really bad before I am in danger of serious trouble.
- I will not be swayed or panicked by news flashes, rumors, tips, or well-meant advice.
- I will not put all my eggs in one basket nor will I be swept off my feet to plunge into some unknown or low-priced stock on a purely emotional basis.
- I will not attempt to tell the market what a stock ought to be worth. I will try to understand what the market has to tell me about what people are willing to pay for it.
- I will never forget that I am not in the market primarily to prove – to my broker, my friends, my wife, etc. – that I am smarter than everybody else, but to protect and, if possible, to augment my capital.”
Source: Raymond James
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.
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