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  everybody’s ­
  mouth.  And  just  as  consumers  should
always  give  a  wide  berth  to  all  largely  advertised ­
  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.