* The game can successfully be played by long term investors.

* Short term investors (<2 yrs) are better served somewhere else.

* The market reflects all known information and insight.

* While the market may be wrong, no one has EVER consistently beat the market on the occassions when the market is incorrectly priced.

* Anyone who claims to be able to time the market, decide when to get in or out, or outsmart the market is either fooling themselves or trying to fool you.

* Ignore the market experts on TV, stock broker’s recommendations, brokerage house special research reports, stock researchers, etc.   “Where are the Customers’ Yachts?”

* Broadly diversify your holdings to reduce risk.  No load index mutual funds are an effective and inexpensive way to diversify.  Vanguard is a leader in retail index funds.  DFA is a leader in advisor index funds.  ETF's are another possibility.

* Small cap outperforms large cap.  Value outperforms growth.  Include real estate and international.  All of these categories have separate inexpensive index mutual funds.  A variety of categories is best.

* Short bonds reduce risk.  Long bonds increase risk.

* Rebalance to your plan in a disciplined, non emotional way. 

* Change the allocation of bonds and equities as you get older.

* Inflation matters.

* Income taxes matter.

* Costs matter.  Use a discount broker.  But even there, costs are much more expensive than just the commission.  Ask for and understand all the full details no matter who you use.

* Do not buy funds with front loads or back loads.  These are commission products.  Any mutual fund followed by -A or -B is a commissioned product.  Loads benefit the broker, not you.

* Absolutely never agree to an investment contract with a surrender charge. 

* Insurance annuities are a particularly poor investment.  They are high commission (which in realty you pay), with high surrender charge, long surrender periods, and convert low tax capital gain into high tax ordinary income.