When the choice of an investment is being 
considered, it is better to select a comparatively 
unknown security, because in such a stock the 
probability of securing a real bargain is far 
greater than amongst stocks that are in every 
body’s mouth. And just as consumers should 
always give a wide berth to all largely ad 
vertised articles, which have not already 
positively proved themselves to be the best 
of their kind, so investors should shun every 
stock which is much written and fllked about 
at the moment, unless the past records of that 
stock prove it to be safe, sound and cheap at 
the ruling quotation.* 
The argument frequently advanced that 
investors should only interest themselves in 
stocks which command a free and ready 
market, proves to be quite fallacious on close 
investigation. The difference between a stock 
in which there is a free market and one in 
which the dealings are not frequent really 
consists in the difference between the buying, 
and selling prices. 
It is true that some stocks can be bought 
and sold at a difference of 5s. in every £100, 
whilst in other stocks this difference amounts 
* The present author has dealt exhaustively with this 
subject in the Popular Financial Booklet No. 17 (The Money 
Market Article and the Private Investor), published by the same 
publishers.