Investing rules to live by

As I come to the end of Smarter Investing, I thought I would post some of the great lists and quotes from the book.  The lists below pretty much summarise what the book is about.

This is a list of "eye-openers to get you thinking", from the introduction:

1. It is not too hard to be a great investor. 
2. The market beats the 'average' investor.
3. The average investor is terrible at investing.
4. The market beats most professionals.
5. Industry costs are excessive.
6. Past performance tells you almost nothing.
7. Picking winners is hard.
8. Many will be poor in their retirements.
9. You can easily avoid these pitfalls.

In Chapter 2, he gives the reader 10 points of focus:

1. Make better evidence-based decisions.
2. Accept that higher returns come with more risk.
3. Spread your investments around.
4. Use history and research wisely.
5. Understand your portfolio.
6. Obsessively seek to minimise costs.
7. Try to keep your emotions in check.
8. Plan for inflation.
9. Understand the power of time.
10. Harness the power of compounding.

Chapter 3 has 20 tips for smarter investing:

1. Start investing now.
2. [Decide on your] investment period.
3. The mix of instruments is the most critical decision you will make.
4. [Use] rules of thumb for defining your mix.
5. Be conservative in your estimates of future returns.
6. Diversify using funds or equivalent baskets of instruments.
7. Don't try to beat the market, be the market.
8. Own the broad (total) equity market.
9. Own high-quality domestic bonds.
10. Reduce costs at all times.
11. Don't buy products you don't understand.
12. Beat the taxman -- legally of course.
13. [Use rules of thumb to decide] how much to contribute.
14. [Practise] lifecycle investing.
15. [Limit the] income [you take] from your portfolio.
16. Maintain the mix.
17. Stick with your mix through thick and thin and avoid chasing returns.
18. Don't look at your portfolio too often.
19. Avoid the noise.
20. Pay for truly independent advice if you need it.

Hale, T. (2009). Smarter investing. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.