The trick of successful investors is to sell when they want to, not when they have to.

Value investors should completely exit a security by the time it reaches full value; owning overvalued securities is the realm of speculators.

Don't short many stocks. Instead they hedge for tail risk with CDS and options. They are happy to incur illiquidity

Costs and liabilities are rarely overstated.

We continue to adhere to a common-sense view of risk - how much we can lose and the probability of losing it. While this perspective may seem over simplisticor even hopelessly outdated, we believe it provides a vital clarity about the true risks in investing.

Warren Buffett likes to say that the first rule of investing is "Don't lose money," and the second rule is, "Never forget the first rule." I too believe that avoiding loss should be the primary goal of every investor. This does not mean that investors should never incur the risk of any loss at all. Rather "don't lose money" means that over several years an investment portfolio should not be exposed to appreciable loss of principal.

All an investor can do is follow a consistently disciplined and rigorous approach; over time the returns will come