8 Pieces of Timeless Advice from the Sage of Wall Street

Warren Buffett might seem one of a kind -- and, of course, he is -- but he is not the first famous financier to be held in universally high esteem by peers on Wall Street, politicians in Washington, and the typical person on Main Streets throughout America. That accolade goes to Henry Clews, a New York-based broker and investment banker who got his first break marketing federal bonds during the Civil War.

While Clews went on to amass a fortune, he never lost the ability to offer advice to both policymakers and other investors/speculators in a folksy style mirroring that of the modern-day Oracle of Omaha.Nowhere is this more apparent than Clews' memoir,Fifty Years in Wall Street. Published after the infamous Panic of 1907, the book traces the tumultuous financial history of the Gilded Age and includes lessons and anecdotes about the stock market that are no less valuable today than they were over a century ago

Here are eight of the most prescient pieces of Clews' wisdom that I believe can help people become better investors still today:

1. What it takes to be a great investor/speculator

2. Embrace volatility and use it to your advantage

3. Be wary of the financial media

4. Information can be a double-edge sword

5. The need for humility when it comes to investing

6. Leave stock speculation to the experts

7. Always keep a cash reserve

8. History matters because there is nothing new on Wall Street

The article 8 Pieces of Timeless Advice from the Sage of Wall Street originally appeared on Fool.com.