The Case for Simplicity & Low Costs

“By periodically investing in an index fund...the know-nothing investor can actually outperform most investment professionals.” Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

“Don't look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack.” John Bogle Founder, Vanguard Group

“Both large and small investors should stick with low-cost index funds.” Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

“The surest way to find an actively managed fund that will have top-quartile returns is to look for a fund that has bottom-quartile expenses.” Burton Malkiel Princeton Economist & Financial Author

The Illusion of Forecasting & Stock Picking

“All the time and effort that people devote to picking the right fund, the hot hand, the great manager, have in most cases led to no advantage.” Peter Lynch Legendary Mutual Fund Manager

“Forecasts may tell you a great deal about the forecaster; they tell you nothing about the future.” Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

“The only value of stock forecasters is to make fortune tellers look good.” Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

“Pundits forecast not because they know, but because they are asked.” John Kenneth Galbraith Harvard Economist & Academic Author

“There are two kinds of investors, be they large or small: those who don’t know where the market is headed and those who don’t know that they don’t know.” William Bernstein Neurologist & Financial Author

“Nobody knows which company will prove a good long-term investment.” Michael Lewis Author, Liar's Poker & The Big Short

“I don’t try to be clever at all. The idea that I could see what no one else can is an illusion.” Daniel Kahneman Nobel Laureate & Behavioral Psychologist

Market Efficiency & Price Metrics

“Everybody has some information. The function of the markets is to aggregate that information, evaluate it, and get it incorporated into prices.” Merton Miller Nobel Laureate in Economics

“Most people might just as well buy a share of the whole market, which pools all the information, than delude themselves into thinking they know something the market doesn’t.” Merton Miller Nobel Laureate in Economics

“The market is smarter than we are and no matter how smart we get, the market will always be smarter than we are.” Kenneth French Dartmouth Financial Economist

“Almost all of us should act as if prices are right.” Kenneth French Dartmouth Financial Economist

“I take the market-efficiency hypothesis to be the simple statement that security prices fully reflect all available information.” Eugene Fama Nobel Laureate in Economics

“The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.” Milton Friedman Nobel Laureate in Economics

Wall Street Salesmanship & Investor Temperament

“There’s been far, far, far more money made through salesmanship abilities than through investment abilities. And the people you pay to help identify [stock winners] don’t know how to identify them. They do know how to sell you.” Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

“You make more money selling advice than following it. It’s one of the things we count on in the magazine business—along with the short memory of our readers.” Steve Forbes Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Magazine

“Number one rule of Wall Street: I don't care if you're Warren Buffett or if you're Jimmy Buffet, nobody knows if a stock is gonna go up, down, sideways or in circles, least of all stock-brokers.” Mark Hannah Wall Street Narrative Commentary

“I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.” Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway

“The important thing about an investment philosophy is that you have one you can stick with.” David Booth Founder, Dimensional Fund Advisors

“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.” John Maynard Keynes Foundational Economist & Author

“Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas.” Paul Samuelson Nobel Laureate in Economics

“Wall Street’s favorite scam is pretending luck is skill.” Ron Ross Financial Research Author

“Everything in life, individually or socially, is a trade-off. We determine the risk levels we’re willing to tolerate.” Robert Merton Nobel Laureate in Economics

Sources: see Appendix.

Famous Quotes

Famous Quotes

How We Help

Knowledge Center

Legal & Disclosures

Famous Quotes

Footer

How We Help

Knowledge Center

Legal & Disclosures