Thursday, November 5, 1998

Stocks On the Rocks
by George Stateham ([email protected])

I was in a new job a few years ago and living in an apartment until I moved the family. Cooking for one is no fun and eating by yourself a bit lonely, so I developed the habit of stopping by a nearby restaurant for dinner and a little conversation at the bar.

One evening, the place was almost deserted. The only other bar patron and I got into a discussion of a stock -- Home Depot -- which we both owned. After the other patron departed, the young bartender, a college senior, said that he was about to graduate and go to work. He wanted to start investing as soon as he got an income stream started. He had overheard our conversation and asked me for advice on investing.

I thought for a minute and gave what might have been the best advice I have ever given. I said, "Never get investment advice from a stranger in a bar." I went on to add, "If you ignore that piece of advice, then here is the next: buy a no-load index fund. Professional money managers almost never outperform the market over the long haul."

All that occurred before I had heard of The Motley Fool, so I didn't know how Foolish I was being at the time.

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