For almost 30 years I’ve been intimately involved with markets – all kinds of markets. I’ve traded commodities, both cash and futures for a Fortune 100 company. I hold all kinds of securities licenses and have been a principal in several Registered Investment Advisory firms. Chase Montgomery is not my real name, it’s a “nome de plume,” Or, like stock held in a brokerage account, I’m writing this “In Street Name.” The compliance folks at the broker-dealer that holds my licenses probably wouldn’t approve of this, but there are things that need to be said, and this is as good of forum as there is.

Everyone involved in the financial services arena has an agenda – sometimes, various parties have parallel purposes, sometimes they’re at cross purposes. The investor’s problem is that they may not know what everyone’s agenda is. Here’s a link to a Mark Cuban post on his blog that describes, very cynically, some of the agendas seen on Wall Street. I don’t agree with everything that he says, but there is some truth to it.

I’m writing this blog for this site because I think that I have something to offer, as does this site. If you manage your own investments, the people involved with this site have some valuable insight that you can use to meet your investment goals. If you use a broker (or brokers) or investment advisors or money managers or any intermediary to help you achieve your goals, I can offer an inside view and almost 30 years of experience.

Jimmy Buffet puts it nicely:

“I’ve read dozens of books about heroes and crooks, and I learned much from both of their styles.”

The philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard adds a thought about life that perfectly describes investing:

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”

With that in mind, here’s one thing that you must remember – no one cares about your portfolio more than you do. If you are not involved in, understand and keep constant watch on what goes on with your money, someone else’s goals will be met, not yours. So here are some nuggets, hard earned wisdom, distilled over the last 30 years. These “rules” have no particular order, one is no more important than the other, whatever is most important and applies right now, is the most important.

  • The most important things are always simple.
  • Simple things are always hard.
  • Do not mistake an event for a trend.
  • It’s better to be approximately right than precisely wrong.
  • Remember, your money might be managed by the lowest bidder.
  • Priorities are man made.
  • Don’t invest with someone who is braver than you are.
  • Know when it is time to get out of Dodge.
  • Know how to get out of Dodge.
  • Whenever you try an untested strategy – particularly a “trend” or “fad” – the window to get out is much smaller than the door to get in.
  • The market will continue to reward good ideas.
  • Being diversified and informed will improve your odds.
  • There is no secret to success, but the key to failure is standing pat.
  • The more things that need to go right for your best case to happen, the less likely it is to occur.
  • There are no certainties in investing, only probabilities.
  • Risk cannot be eliminated, it can only be reduced and quantified through preparation, vigilance and action.
  • No one is always right – “Everyone” is almost always wrong.
  • ”NIH” kills. (“Not Invented Here”).
  • It doesn’t matter how many pails of milk you lose as long as you don’t lose the cow.
  • It is easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble.
  • The map is not the territory.
  • Dice have no memory.
  • A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.
  • Different isn’t always better, but better is almost always different.
  • Sometimes it’s risky not to take a risk.
  • Make sure that your mind has already gone where your portfolio is about to go.
  • If you are not careful, logic will overcome reality.
  • Change is certain; progress is not.
  • No plan survives contact with the enemy.

I hope you find this interesting and that they provoke some thought. We’ll talk in depth about each of these as we go forward.