Words of Wisdom from Peter Lynch
Know what you own. If you can't understand what the company does, don't buy it. Lynch was never a big technology enthusiast. It is futile to predict the economy, interest rates and the stockmarket. He's fond of saying "If you could predict the bond market six times correctly, you could turn $10,000 into a billion dollars. There's always something to worry about. The upshot: keep investing, irrespective. You have plenty of time. You don't need to be in at the beginning to reap all the rewards. Many companies continued growing for years after their IPOs. (He had some names but most have now become so big they've stopped growing.) When to sell? You sell when the story (on why you bought the stock) changes. You can't predict management. Put Bill Gates or Jack Welch in a lousy company. It will still be a lousy company. Pick companies that do things that are easy to manage. The 10 most dangerous things people say about stock prices: 1. "If it's gone down this much already, it can't go much lower." 2. "If it's gone this high already, how can it possibly go higher?" 3. "Eventually they always come back." 4. "It's $3. What can I lose?" 5. "It's always the darkest before the dawn." 6. "When it rebounds to $10, I'll sell." 7. "What, me worry? Conservative stocks don't fluctuate much." 8. "Look at all the money I've lost. I didn't buy it." 9. "I missed that one. I'll catch the next one." 10. "The stock has gone up -- so I must be right." Or, "The stock has gone down -- so I must be wrong."
