Share traders say the trend is their friend, but that means following the herd even when it's heading the wrong way. For investing and building wealth the true trends are outside the box. They'll ultimately triumph over whatever one-off influences might push a stock one way or another. Even then, identifying and profiting from them can be two different things. Take the unmistakable decline of Australian manufacturing. You'd want to avoid whatever industries are still standing which make something, right? Not necessarily. "Manufacturing is going backwards yet of the 100 most profitable Australian companies in 2013, 21 were in manufacturing – that's one in five!," leading trend spotter and economic forecaster Phil Ruthven, chairman of IBISworld, says. "So you can have the worst growth and be the most profitable. Clever manufacturers are doing just fine," he adds. Retailers are another case in point. "There's no real reven...