Bernard Baruch’s 10 Rules of Investing

You want someone to emulate?

Bernard Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was the son of a South Carolina physician whose family moved to New York City when he was eleven year old. By his mid-twenties, he is able to buy an $18,000 seat on the exchange with his winnings and commissions from being a broker. By age 30, he is a millionaire and is known all over The Street as “The Lone Wolf”.

In his two-volume 1957 memoirs, My Own Story, Baruch left us with the following timeless rules for playing the game:

“Being so skeptical about the usefulness of advice, I have been reluctant to lay down any ‘rules’ or guidelines on how to invest or speculate wisely. Still, there are a number of things I have learned from my own experience which might be worth listing for those who are able to muster the necessary self-discipline:”

1. Don’t speculate unless you can make it a full-time job.

2. Beware of barbers, beauticians, waiters — of anyone — bringing gifts of “inside” information or “tips.”

3. Before you buy a security, find out everything you can about the company, its management and competitors, its earnings and possibilities for growth.

4. Don’t try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. This can’t be done — except by liars.

5. Learn how to take your losses quickly and cleanly. Don’t expect to be right all the time. If you have made a mistake, cut your losses as quickly as possible.

6. Don’t buy too many different securities. Better have only a few investments which can be watched.

7. Make a periodic reappraisal of all your investments to see whether changing developments have altered their prospects.

8. Study your tax position to know when you can sell to greatest advantage.

9. Always keep a good part of your capital in a cash reserve. Never invest all your funds.

10. Don’t try to be a jack of all investments. Stick to the field you know best.

Baruch would later go on from Wall Street to Washington DC as an advisor to both Woodrow Wilson and to FDR during World War II.

Later, he became known as the Park Bench Statesman, owing to his fondness for discussing policy and politics with his acquaintances outdoors.

He lived til a few days shy of his 95th birthday in 1965. You could do worse than to invest and live based on these simple truths.

 

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. double headed glass dildo commented on May 23

    double headed glass dildo

    […]Here are a number of the web pages we advise for our visitors[…]

  2. chocolate vibrators commented on May 24

    chocolate vibrators

    […]we like to honor quite a few other world wide web web-sites around the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  3. how to use rabbit vibrators commented on May 24

    how to use rabbit vibrators

    […]Every when in a while we pick blogs that we study. Listed below would be the most up-to-date web-sites that we decide on […]

  4. sex toy tutorial commented on May 24

    sex toy tutorial

    […]Here is a good Blog You might Come across Intriguing that we Encourage You[…]

  5. MILF Porn commented on May 25

    MILF Porn

    […]we like to honor numerous other world wide web web sites around the net, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages worth checking out[…]

  6. mp3juices commented on May 25

    mp3juices

    […]check below, are some absolutely unrelated websites to ours, however, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  7. best pocket pussy commented on May 25

    best pocket pussy

    […]please visit the web sites we stick to, which includes this a single, because it represents our picks in the web[…]

  8. tubidy commented on May 25

    tubidy

    […]we prefer to honor numerous other online web pages on the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  9. head honcho masturbator commented on May 26

    head honcho masturbator

    […]one of our guests not long ago advised the following website[…]

  10. Triple Pleasure Point commented on May 26

    Triple Pleasure Point

    […]check beneath, are some totally unrelated web-sites to ours, however, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[…]

  11. small pink vibrator commented on May 26

    small pink vibrator

    […]we prefer to honor many other online sites on the net, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Below are some webpages really worth checking out[…]

  12. waterproof rabbit vibrator commented on May 27

    waterproof rabbit vibrator

    […]The data mentioned in the post are a few of the very best obtainable […]

  13. vibrating bullet commented on May 27

    vibrating bullet

    […]that will be the finish of this report. Here you will obtain some web-sites that we assume you will enjoy, just click the links over[…]

  14. php user login script commented on May 28

    php user login script

    […]below you’ll discover the link to some web-sites that we assume you’ll want to visit[…]