To Celebrate Shakespeare's 450th Birthday: Investing Tips From the Bard

From time to time* we've borrowed from Mr. S.
Most recently, last Sunday, unaware of the impending Apr. 23 anniversary, it was "default, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings".
 (sorry)
From Fortune's The Buzz blog:

Most people don't pick up Shakespeare's plays when they're looking for investing advice, but the Bard of Avon did write frequently about money matters.

Consider that the word "rich" appears more than 150 times in his plays. "Gold" gets over 200 mentions, and "debt" about 40.

There are even college courses on "Bardonomics" like Duke University's "Shakespeare and Financial Markets."

As the world celebrates the 450th birthday of English literature's leading man this week, we took a look at his top financial recommendations.

1. Read the terms of any deal carefully, especially loans

"Go with me to a notary, seal me there
Your single bond; and, in a merry sport,
If you repay me not on such a day,
In such a place, such sum or sums as are
Express'd in the condition, let the forfeit
Be nominated for an equal pound
Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken
In what part of your body pleaseth me."
 -- Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Act I, Scene 3

There are many famous Shakespearean scenes, but Shylock demanding his pound of flesh from Antonio in a courtroom is up there on the all time greats. These lines come earlier in the play when the deal is struck. Much like a subprime mortgage, the terms look good upfront: Shylock isn't charging any interest. He just wants to be repaid.

But there's a big catch. Shylock sells it as "merry sport" as if it's just a joke, but he says he will take a pound of flesh if the money isn't repaid on time. It's a reminder to read all the terms of any deal.

2. Patience often pays off

"How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?"
-- Iago in Othello in Act 2, Scene 3

Sure, Iago is sort of like a stereotypical used car salesman ... or even a gangster. He spends most of the play trying to rip off his boss, Othello, and his "friend" Rodrigo. But his advice to Rodrigo to be patient would ring true to Warren Buffett and many other long-term value investors.

3. Don't spend money you don't have

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."
-- Polonius in Hamlet Act I, Scene 3

Hamlet is more often thought of as a psychological tome than an economic one, but Polonius' advice to his son Laertes to stay out of the loan business is a telling reminder that debt can make it harder to sleep at night....MORE

*As the run in the Nikkei was gathering steam I tried to go all Avon on dear reader:
While You Were Sleeping: Nikkei Up 2.28% Overnight

...There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures....

Some of our other Shakespeare posts:
"Shakespeare: tax evader and food hoarder? "
William Shakespeare: Annuity Beneficiary
Shakespeare on Congress, AIG
Scholars Doubt Authenticity of New Shakespeare Portrait