You can find investing inspiration just about any place if you put your mind to it. I don't remember why, but I recently challenged myself to find some financial pearls of wisdom from Zsa Zsa Gabor quotations. And lo and behold -- there they were!
Husbands are like fires. They go out when unattended.
If I were married, I might be able to utter a knowing "amen!" But this still seems like a reasonable observation to me. Why would a relationship thrive if at least one party is being ignored? How can a garden thrive if it's not being fed and watered (either by the gardener or Mother Nature)? And how can we expect our portfolios to do well if they're unattended?
Too many times, we find some exciting stock, load up on it, and then ignore it. That's a dangerous way to go about investing. If you really want to ignore your portfolio and do well, consider a simple broad-market index fund, such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. But if you want to do better than that, you'll need to monitor your holdings at least quarterly, if possible, to make sure they're still firing on all cylinders.
A man in love is incomplete until he has married -- then he's finished.
This seems to have been true for her husbands -- and she's had nine of them. At Wikipedia, I found this list:
- Burhan Belge, political operative, writer, and diplomat (1937-1941)
- Conrad Hilton, Hilton hotel magnate (1942-1946)
- George Sanders, actor (1949-1954)
- Herbert Hutner, financial consultant (1964-1966)
- Joshua S. Cosden Jr., oil heir and businessman, (1966-1967)
- Jack Ryan, inventor associated with the Barbie and Chatty Cathy dolls, (1975-1976)
- Michael O'Hara (1977-1982)
- Felipe de Alba was an invalid marriage; it was bigamous, Zsa Zsa was still married to Michael O'Hara, and it was performed by a ship's captain at sea, but not in international waters. An annullment was received. (1982)
- Frederick Prinz von Anhalt, (since 1986)
From an investing perspective, this looks like day-trading, where those who are more speculator than investor quickly jump into and out of securities. The string of weddings did eventually end, though, some 20 years ago, suggesting that Ms. Gabor may have finally found what she was looking for. This happens to us investors, too, when -- after investing ineffectively for a long time -- we hit upon sensible strategies.
When I'm alone, I can sleep crossways in bed without an argument.
This suggests the value of contrarian thinking. If you're doing things the way you're expected to, you might be missing out on opportunities. Many great investors owe their success to standing by their beliefs, which may often go against the tide. If everyone is selling a certain stock, it might be a good time to buy it.
Being contrarian has paid off for Philip Durell, who heads up our Motley FoolInside Value newsletter. A little more than a year ago, for example, he recommended Intuit
Philip saw prodigious free cash flow, plenty of cash, and no debt. He applauded the firm's stock buybacks ("an excellent proxy for a dividend"), while noting that it had been rather excessive in its employee stock grants. He noted the company's development of accounting software for businesses and its merchant account services, processing debit, and credit cards. These offered the promise of growth.
Then there was Microsoft
That wasn't much more than a year ago; since then, Intuit is up 49%. Philip also recently recommended a steel company that shot up some 40% in just a few months. Not every recommendation does so well, but his overall record is quite positive. (Try the newsletter for free and you can see all recommendations and how they've done, and access all past issues as well.)
We were both in love with him. I fell out of love with him, but he didn't.
In the above quotation, she's referring to her third ex, George Sanders. It makes me think of how often we allow our love for companies and stocks to cloud our thinking. Imagine that you love your iPod so much that you've invested in Apple. But maybe there are studies coming out showing that music causes brain damage. Maybe books are making a comeback and people are increasingly walking, driving, exercising and so on -- all while reading books. In such a scenario, you might be hanging onto your Apple shares even though selling might be in order.
It might not be good to fall out of love with people, but it is good to fall out of love with stocks. Be as objective as you can, even if the shares were left to you by your wonderful Aunt Thelma.
I feel like Zsa Zsa Gabor's fifth husband. I know what I'm supposed to do but I don't know if I can make it interesting.
That quotation isn't from Ms. Gabor, but rather about her. It's from Vice President Al Gore, when he was the 23rd speaker at a political dinner. It makes me think of the financial and investing media, which can often wax boring. That's why we at the Fool are always trying to keep our conversations lively. I think I might prefer to think of us as Zsa Zsa Gabor's sixth husband, Jack Ryan. He certainly sounds like he was interesting. After graduating from Yale as an engineer, he worked for Raytheon and then Mattel, where he designed toys. In other words, he seems to have mixed business and fun with a flair for success.
Get more contrarian ideas
If you'd like more recommendations of companies worth a closer look for investment, take a free trial of our Inside Value newsletter. Philip Durell studies companies in depth, looking for factors such as strong management, great prospects, compelling valuations, and margin of safety. In less than two years, the newsletter's recommendations are up an average of 14%, vs. 10% for the S&P 500. Some 14 of them are up more than 20%. A free trial will give you access to all past issues and to lots of other goodies, too, such as interviews with CEOs, reviews of terrific books, and special reports with money-saving tax tips and 10 costly blunders that can threaten your wealth.
Whether you invest on your own or with pointers from us, here's to big profits in your future!
Selena Maranjian 's favorite discussion boards include Book Club, The Eclectic LibraryandCard & Board Games. She owns shares of Microsoft. Mattel is also an Inside Value recommendation. For more about Selena, viewher bio and her profile. You might also be interested in these books she has written or co-written:The Motley Fool Money GuideandThe Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens. The Motley Fool is Fools writing for Fools.
