Bob Farrell’s 10 Timeless Investing Guides

When in investing in the financial markets, particularly in the stock markets, there are times which necessitates contrarian positioning and their are occasions which require crowd following.

Retired wall street veteran and stock market guru Bob Farrell in his 10 “Market Rules to Remember” lays out when we should assume on such positions: (bold mine)

1. Markets tend to return to the mean over time
2. Excesses in one direction will lead to an opposite excess in the other direction
3. There are no new eras — excesses are never permanent
4. Exponential rapidly rising or falling markets usually go further than you think, but they do not correct by going sideways
5. The public buys the most at the top and the least at the bottom
6. Fear and greed are stronger than long-term resolve
7. Markets are strongest when they are broad and weakest when they narrow to a handful of blue-chip names
8. Bear markets have three stages — sharp down, reflexive rebound and a drawn-out fundamental downtrend
9. When all the experts and forecasts agree — something else is going to happen
10. Bull markets are more fun than bear markets.

Explanations of the above can be found in Stockcharts.com, Investment Postcards and Marketwatch.com