That's Not To Say There's

There's No Use Diversifying Into Unknown Companies Just For The Sake Of Diversity. A Foolish Diversity Is The Hobgoblin Of Small Investors. That Said, It Isn't Safe To Own Just One Stock, Because In Spite Of Your Best Efforts, The One You Choose Might Be The Victim Of Unforeseen Circumstances. In Small Portfolios, I'd Be Comfortable Owning Between Three And Ten Stocks.

Never Buy Anything That You Can't Illustrate On The Back Of A Napkin.

I Talk To Hundreds Of Companies A Year And Spend Hour After Hour In Heady Pow-wows With Ceos, Financial Analysts And My Colleagues In The Mutual-fund Business, But I Stumble Onto The Big Winners In Extracurricular Situations, The Same Way You Do.

Avoid Hot Stocks In Hot Industries.

You Only Need A Few Good Stocks In Your Lifetime. I Mean How Many Times Do You Need A Stock To Go Up Ten-fold To Make A Lot Of Money? Not A Lot.