"Keep up the good work on Fullermoney. Markets are at a very interesting crossroads currently. The attached might be of interest to subscribers- all very sensible stuff- a pity we all forget it too often."

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this insightful list of home truths by John Templeton. Here are two that are particularly relevant:

No. 5 WHEN BUYING STOCKS, SEARCH FOR BARGAINS AMONG

QUALITY STOCKS
Quality is a company strongly entrenched as the sales leader in a growing market. Quality is a company that's the technological leader in a field that depends on technical innovation. Quality is a strong management team with a proven track record.

Quality is a well-capitalized company that is among the first into a new market. Quality is a well known trusted brand for a high-profit-margin consumer product. Naturally, you cannot consider these attributes of quality in isolation. A company may be the low-cost producer, for example, but it is not a quality stock if its product line is falling out of favor with customers. Likewise, being the technological leader in a technological field means little without adequate capitalization for expansion and marketing.

Determining quality in a stock is like reviewing a restaurant. You don't expect it to be 100% perfect, but before it gets three or four stars you want it to be superior.

No. 6 BUY VALUE, NOT MARKET TRENDS OR THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

A wise investor knows that the stock market is really a market of stocks. While individual stocks may be pulled along momentarily by a strong bull market, ultimately it is the individual stocks that determine the market, not vice versa. All too many investors focus on the market trend or economic outlook. But individual stocks can rise in a bear market and fall in a bull market.

The stock market and the economy do not always march in lock step. Bear markets do not always coincide with recessions, and an overall decline in corporate earnings does not always cause a simultaneous decline in stock prices. So buy individual stocks, not the market trend or economic outlook.