Sir John Templeton gave 16 rules for investment success. He summed up his message by reminding us of Will Rogers’ famous advice.

“Don’t gamble” he said. “Buy some good stock. Hold it till it goes up and then sell it. If it doesn’t go up, don’t buy it!”

Sir John’s rules can are as follows:

1. Invest for maximum total real return
2. Invest – don’t trade or speculate
3. Remain flexible and open-minded about types of investment
4. Buy low
5. When buying stocks, search for bargains among quality stocks
6. Buy value, not market trends or the economic outlook
7. Diversify. in stocks and bonds, as in much else, there is safety in numbers
8. Do your homework or hire wise experts to help you
10. Don’t panic
11. Learn from your mistakes
12. Begin with a prayer
13. Outperforming the market is a difficult task
14. An investor who has all the answers doesn’t even understand all the questions
15. There’s no free lunch
16. Do not be fearful or negative too often