Conclusion

 

Nothing endures but change.

 
 --—Heraclitus (Greek philosopher)

This book would have been slightly different if written two years ago or a few years from now. Some investor behavior is timeless; other predictable patterns break down as markets adapt and change. Investors need a healthy degree of vigilance, a desire to understand the dominant trends and themes of the day, and enough humility to admit that no one ever knows it all. The markets will always contain a large element of chance.

What's more, there's no one right way to trade, whether you like instincts or systems, short-term or long-term trades, growth or value. Every investor needs to find a comfortable style.

 

You have to know what you are, and not try to be what you're not. If you are a day trader, day-trade. If you are an investor, then be an investor. It's like a comedian who gets up on stage and starts singing. What's he singing for? He's a comedian.

 
 --—STEVE COHEN, in Stock Market Wizards

Plenty of smart, generous traders and investors share their views via the media and blogosphere. The key is to cut through the clutter, find an approach that makes sense, and forge ahead.

I've always been a sucker for lists that help boil down the essence of a well-considered market approach. Dennis Gartman, who has written The Gartman Letter daily since 1987, has his own "Not-So-Simple Rules of Trading." These rules can be found on the Internet in short form, or in John Mauldin's book Just One Thing, where Gartman lays out ...

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