30 quotes
It is often said that a monkey could run an index fund. Nothing could be further fro the truth. Precisely tracking an index requires a very high degree of market savvy, discipline and nerve.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
The brokerage and mutual fund business form a financial colossus that bestrides modern financial, and increasingly, social and political life.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
At a very early stage in history we are encountering "survivorship bias" - the fact that only the best results tend to show up in the history books.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
And lest I offend art lovers, it should be pointed out that even an old master, bought from the the artist for $100 and sold 350 years later for $10,000,000, has returned only 3.34% per year.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
We tend to think of the stock and bond markets as relatively recent historical phenomena, but, in fact, there have been credit markets since human civilization first took root in the Fertile Crescent.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
Value stock returns are impossible to estimate using the traditional methods, because most of the excessive return arises from the slow improvement in valuations that occurs as doggy stocks become less doggy over time.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
Journalism attracts people with exceptional linguistic talent, but I have found that very few have the mathematical sophistication to appreciate the difference between skill and luck.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
In other words, since you cannot successfully time the market or select individual stocks, asset allocation should be the major focus of your investment strategy, because it is the only factor affecting your investment risk that you can control.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
Wealthy investors should realize that they are the cash cows of the investment industry, and that most of the exclusive investment vehicles available to them - separate accounts, hedge funds, limited partnerships, and the like - are designed to bleed them with commissions, transactional costs, and other fees.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)
In fact, the nation's biggest investment pools are the retirement funds of the large corporations and governmental bodies, such as the California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS), which manages an astounding $170 billion. These plans receive a level of professional management that even the nations wealthiest investors can only dream of.
The Four Pillars of Investing (2002)