© Elliot Essman 2005. All rights reserved.

These pages contain the complete 2005 revised text of Building Yourself, public speaking trainer Elliot Essman's guide to living the successful life.

Elliot Essman Public Speaking Training
Building Yourself Table of Contents
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• Obviously, a man's judgment cannot be better than the information on which he has based it. Arthur Hays Sulzberger (1891–1968)

Assuming you're not planning to become a professional stock picker or investment analyst, your goal is not to make a “killing.” You can't expect to find a hot stock or unrecog­nized opportunity unless you're an insider. But if you're aware, you can pick up on trends before most people and do a few percentage points better than most people. A few percentage points don't seem like much, until they start compounding. A truly intelligent investor with a small edge, consistently applied over many years, can do very well.

What kind of news affects securities markets and invest­ments? Obviously, the financial and business news. You need to know something about interest rates, the economy and inflation rates. Try to follow trends in employment and industry. National and international items are also important. For one‑stop shopping on international trends I recommend a newsmagazine called The Economist; it's expensive but worth every penny. It'll give you a good sense of the comings and goings in today's world. And you need that. It's also written with style and humor. You need that too.

None of the news information you need to absorb to become an informed investor is particularly difficult to grasp, if you make a habit of it. Take it in easy‑to‑swallow doses. Being informed will become second nature to you.

More specifically, you'll keep informed about the changing investment vehicles. New ones keep being invented (certainly new mutual funds). Tax laws keep changing. But once again, if you're consistent, and take it all in small steady doses, you can handle the information load. The alternative of ignorance in this area is very expensive. And do you really think an investment advisor is going to look after your interests while you sit back and collect butterflies?

Advisors are only useful to informed investors. If you use one or subscribe to an investment newsletter, you'll start with your well‑informed base and add the advisor's expertise. But as the final investment will be yours, the final judgment must also be yours. Let it be an intelligent one.

Stock market pundits and gurus come and go. Listen to them with extreme caution. Even if you find you agree with them, apply their advice sparingly. Remain diversified and hedge your bets. In many cases, by the time a popular commentator recommends a stock, the insiders in the market have already bid up the price. Amateurs follow in droves, but at a market high, then start to lose money. In your case, you'll analyze the expert's reasoning carefully, but you'll probably pass on the investment. You'll use what you learn at some other time to quietly make money. You're in it for the long term. You know there'll always be other good investments.