Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of equity research at Standard & Poor’s, is focusing on his weaknesses in his new book, “The Seven Rules of Wall Street: Crash-Tested Investment Strategies That Beat the Market.”

Stovall says that while most people wisely focus on their strengths, it’s really Clint Eastwood who said it best in Magnum Force: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” By looking at their weaknesses, Stovall says, investors can avoid becoming their own worst enemies.

Stovall’s weaknesses, he says, are indecision, impatience and being emotional. These weaknesses have spilled over into his investment choices: he can’t decide, and when he does decide, he wants to see immediate results. When those results don’t materialize, he becomes upset with his decision.

In looking to improve upon his weaknesses, Stovall has compiled strategies and shortcuts to success – his “crash-tested” rules.

We especially like the section where he endorses exchange traded funds (ETFs) for all the reasons we would: transparency, intraday trading, their low cost, and so on. While Stovall’s rules apply to both ETFs and sector-specific open

Stovall’s Seven Rules are:

1. Let Your Winners Ride, but Cut Your Losers Short
2. As Goes January, So Goes the Year
3. Sell in May, Then Go Away
4. There’s No Free Lunch on Wall Street (Oh Yeah, Who Says?)
5. There’s Always a Bull Market Someplace
6. Don’t Get Mad, Get Even!
7. Don’t Fight the Fed

Intrigued? Grab a copy of Stovall’s book and learn more about the the strategies to beat Wall Street that one of the brightest minds in investing today uses.

Tags: ETF 101, ETF Book