Seven Rules of Wall Street ─ Time-Tested Investment Strategies That Beat the Market

“Sell in May, and then go away.”

It's an old saying, but this Wall Street adage is as relevant today as when it was first uttered. It worked once again during the market decline that began in 2008. In The Seven Rules of Wall Street, Sam Stovall, master investment strategist and expert on stock market history, presents seven familiar sayings that not only convey enduring truths but also serve as superb investment strategies.

In this engaging guide, Stovall subjects his chosen sayings to the facts of history and to his own personal experience. When it comes to building a portfolio, for instance, should you “let your winners ride, but cut your losers short”? Absolutely. “On average,” Stovall writes, “the 'winners' beat the market by a near two-to-one margin. The winners also beat the losers most years: seven out of every 10 years.”

Other Wall Street one-liners that emerge as timeless truisms include:

• As goes January, so goes the year
• Don't get mad--get even
• Don't fight the Fed
• There's always a bull market someplace

To support his conclusions, Stovall complements his sharp insight with the results of detailed back-testing, as well as tables and charts drawing on decades of stock market data.

A fun and lively read, The Seven Rules of Wall Street provides an abundance of wisdom in remarkably few words--proving that investing books can be as entertaining as they are educating.

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at Standard & Poor's Equity Research, serves as chairman as the S&P Investment Policy Committee, where he focuses on market history and valuations. He is the author of The Standard & Poor's Guide to Sector Investing and “Stovall's Sector Watch,” a column featured on www.spoutlook.com.