“You’re either a contrarian or a victim”

Global Resource Investments founder Rick Rule maintains a “contrarian or victim” philosophy—one is either a contrarian or a victim. That is, one either invests with the masses and becomes a victim along with them, or one is a contrarian investor. Rule popularized “contrarian or victim” by at least 2006-2007.
 
   
Wikipedia: Contrarian investing
In finance, a contrarian is one who attempts to profit by investing in a manner that differs from the conventional wisdom, when the consensus opinion appears to be wrong.
 
A contrarian believes that certain crowd behavior among investors can lead to exploitable mispricings in securities markets. For example, widespread pessimism about a stock can drive a price so low that it overstates the company’s risks, and understates its prospects for returning to profitability. Identifying and purchasing such distressed stocks, and selling them after the company recovers, can lead to above-average gains. Conversely, widespread optimism can result in unjustifiably high valuations that will eventually lead to drops, when those high expectations don’t pan out. Avoiding (or short-selling) investments in over-hyped investments reduces the risk of such drops. These general principles can apply whether the investment in question is an individual stock, an industry sector, or an entire market or any other asset class.
 
Global Resource Investments Ltd.
Rick Rule | Founder
Rick has dedicated his entire life to all aspects of the natural resource industry. His contacts and knowledge of this market are unmatched. At Global he leads a team that features professionals trained in resource related disciplines, such as geology and engineering, who work together to evaluate investment opportunities.
 
Founder of Global Resource Investments, Ltd. Rick began his career in the securities business in 1974, and has been principally involved in natural resource security investments ever since. He is a leading American retail broker specializing in mining, energy, water utilities, forest products and agriculture. His research and brokerage capabilities are frequently recommended by distinguished financial newsletter writers such as Bob Bishop, Doug Casey, Adrian Day, Richard Maybury, Paul Van Eeden, Mark Skousen, Jack Pugsley and others.
   
LewRockwell.com
September 11, 2006
Geezer Investing
by Doug French
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Global Resources Investments Chairman Rick Rule said investors have a choice between being contrarians or victims.
 
The Daily Reckoning
Three Rules for Buying Resources Stocks
By The Daily Reckoning • July 27th, 2007
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“The resource business is not a cyclical industry. It is an extremely cyclical business. More cyclical than you can imagine,” says our old friend, Rick Rule.
 
“In natural resources you only have two choices,” he continues. “You can be a contrarian or you can be a victim. And yet, many people still buy resource companies after they have been run-up. They still sell them when they get disgusted after they have fallen down. That is no way to make money.”
 
The Daily Reckoning
Contrarian or Victim
By Daily Reckoning Contributor
09/05/07 Here at The DR, it’s no secret that we consider ourselves contrarians…not ‘gloom and doomers’ mind you, but perhaps just not as closely aligned with the ideas of the government and the mainstream media as Joe Average American.
 
It’s not an easy stance to take…and in today’s guest essay, Rick Rule explains why being a contrarian is hard work.
 
“In natural resource investment markets, one can be a contrarian or one can be a victim, and the choice is one’s own,” he writes.
 
“Having once been a victim, I chose the other path. Natural resource industries are cyclical, volatile, emotional, over-regulated and capital-intensive. That’s the good news. If you accept markets for what they are, while other speculators operate in ignorance, you have an advantage in the market. Being a contrarian is hard. That’s the other good news. Most speculators cannot act in contrarian fashion, for reasons we discuss later.”
 
Rick Rule
September 5, 2007
 
Gold Speculator
Rick Rule: “Its better to be a contrarian than it is to be a victim.”
By Quotes
Published: July 23, 2008
 
Stocks on Wall Street
Which One Are You? Contrarian or Victim investor?
James | May 27, 2011
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“You’re either a contrarian or a victim.  The choice is yours.” says legendary resources investor, Rick Rule
 
Moneylife
Investing lessons: Be a contrarian
June 16, 2011 02:16 PM
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As Rick Rule, founder of Global Resource Investments (GRI), puts it, “You are either a contrarian or a victim.”