Good luck with that.

Hey Gang,

It’s been quite a year so far, I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving! I thought I’d leave off with some timeless investment advice here before I head off to spend the next 36 hours pretending to like my relatives and cranberry anything.

Here goes:

Always seek out differing opinions and challenge your beliefs. Except when you know you’re right, then that other bullshit just becomes a distraction. Good luck with that.

It is very important to be flexible and open-minded. But invest with set rules and an iron discipline. Good luck with that.

Technical analysis and charts only tell you about what has already happened in the past. It’s much better to use the information from the future that we have when making decisions.  Good luck with that.

Never run with the herd. It’s much better to be all alone on open ground, running in the wrong direction and wholly conspicuous to predators. Good luck with that.

Take your losses quickly. But don’t get scared out of a good position. Good luck with that.

Amateurs trade in the morning, pros trade in the afternoon, junkies trade overnight and lots of guys on TV just trade on paper.  Good luck with that.

Be tactical and stay informed! But don’t try to time the market. Good luck with that.

If you missed the ten best days in the market over the last 50 years, your results suffered. If you didn’t miss the worst ten days in the market over the last 50 years, your results suffered. Good luck with that.

Never listen to someone who is talking their own book. But also never listen to someone who has no skin in the game. Good luck with that.

Don’t fight the Fed. Except when the Fed is wrong.  Good luck with that.

Pigs get slaughtered and no one’s ever been wrong taking a profit! But let your profits run and don’t sell your winners. Good luck with that.

No one ever made money by panicking! But your first loss is your best loss and it’s better to be the first guy out rather than the last guy. Good luck with that.

Know your investments inside and out, study the management team and fundamentals and balance sheets and income statements until you know the company better than anyone. But don’t know it too well – because then you’ve got a “sunk cost” syndrome happening with the amount of time you’ve spent and you’ll be too attached. Good luck with that.

Buy the rumor, sell the news. Except if the rumor is false or the news is just a rumor. Good luck with that.

Buy when there’s blood in the streets. But never catch a falling knife, which could lead to there being more blood in the streets.  Good luck with that.

Look for cheap stocks with cheap valuations. Except when they’re going to get cheaper – that’s not going to be fun.  Good luck with that.

The trend is your friend and stick with what’s working. But skate to where the puck will be and buy what everyone else hates.  Good luck with that.

And don’t get emotional.

Good luck with that.

Anyway, I hope these classic pieces of investment advice were clear as a bell and eminently helpful to you. Happy Thanksgiving, Pilgrims.