Any time you speak to people about their posture, you learn about their most recent investment activity. When someone just bought stocks, they tend to be bullish; someone who just sold is bearish.

Any investment bought via credit always runs the risk of margin calls and, eventually, liquidation.

Truth be told, most financial television bores me. Two or more people discussing the latest economic trends or hot stocks is not especially entertaining.

In the investment business, you must expect to be wrong.

It is important for investors to understand what they do and don't know. Learn to recognize that you cannot possibly know what is going to happen in the future, and any investment plan that is dependent on accurately forecasting where markets will be next year is doomed to failure.

Investors tend to discover 'hot' mutual fund managers just after a successful run and just before the inescapable force of mean reversion is about to kick in.