Ian, you began advising clients over 17 years ago and established Naismith Capital Strategies in 1996. With this substantial experience behind you what have you discovered about the skill-sets required to become a successful money manager?

Know how to act disciplined when a trade is not going your way. No matter if you are trading stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, currencies, etc. - begin with a predisposed plan of action when the trade is moving against your desired outcome. There are really effective ways of accomplishing this discipline - whether it be hedging techniques, trailing stop loss orders, selling at predisposed profit targets, etc. These all are logical and practical, but the meaningful part is pushing the button once a confirmation has sounded. In addition, when the markets are too volatile for trading, simply sit aside and watch.