Patrick McKeough

Wise investors always value dividends, but many investors don’t realize that share buybacks can be just as valuable as dividends, and in some cases, more so. Dividends are in fashion with investors, and that’s a good thing. But it’s odd that while investors periodically crave cash dividends, they rarely get excited about stock buybacks.

Look on weakness in a stock as cause for concern and further investigation. But don’t sell just because a stock went down.

In investing, pay attention to the boom-bust pattern to avoid being too eager when prices and risk are peaking, and too timid when they have dropped.