1. Look for companies with earnings and profit power. Return on equity is a good tool for that.
   
2. Make it your goal to find and only buy the kind of stock that you expect to go up for the next five years based on increased earnings and sales. Even value investors admire growth; they simply insist on getting it at a fair price.
3. Think about the business, its strategy, its management, its competition and industry. This is what investing is all about, owning a slice of a good business. Those with a wide moat and strong sustainable competitive advantage give you the highest margin of safety.
   

Jag