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The purpose of investing is not to simply optimise returns and make yourself rich. The purpose is not to die poor.

William J. Bernstein

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William J. Bernstein
Age: 76
Born: 1948
Born: January 1
Author
Chemist
Economist
Neurologist
Writer
Make
Returns
Investing
Return
Simply
Rich
Dies
Poor
Purpose

More quotes by William J. Bernstein

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When it comes to fund managers and market strategists, this year's hero usually turns into next year's zero.
William J. Bernstein
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For the taxable investor, indexing means never having to say you're sorry.
William J. Bernstein
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Market risk is like taking a plunge into a cool pool ... a lot of people are finding out right now what their risk tolerance is.
William J. Bernstein
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The reason that 'guru' is such a popular word is because 'charlatan' is so hard to spell.
William J. Bernstein
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It's human nature to find patterns where there are none and to find skill where luck is a more likely explanation (particularly if you're the lucky manager).
William J. Bernstein
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The definition of investment is the deferring ofpresent consumption for future consumption. So, you dohave to be willing to defer. And there are a couple of tricks that you can use to save money. One of them is simply to pay yourself first.
William J. Bernstein
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The key thing about any fund is to make sure its expenses are low. You know, if you look at the funds in your plan and you see that they're all charging 1.5 and 2 percent,you've gota bad plan.
William J. Bernstein
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There are two kinds of investors, be thay 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 J. Bernstein
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All the things that make us human make us terrible investors and you have to understand what they are and how to avoid them.
William J. Bernstein
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It's bad enough that you have to take market risk. Only a fool takes on the additional risk of doing yet more damage by failing to diversify properly with his or her nest egg. Avoid the problem-buy a well-run index fund and own the whole market.
William J. Bernstein
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The typical fund company services 401k plan participants in the same way that Baby Face Nelson serviced banks.
William J. Bernstein
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Mutual fund manager performance does not persist and the return of stock picking is zero.
William J. Bernstein
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No one in his right mind would walk into the cockpit of an airplane and try to fly it, or into an operating theater and open a belly. And yet they think nothing of managing their retirement assets. I've done all three, and I'm here to tell you that managing money is, in its most critical elements even more demanding than the first two.
William J. Bernstein
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The key aspect of an index fund is that many of them, not all of them, but many of them are extremely cheap.
William J. Bernstein
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If your broker or investment advisor is not familiar with the concept of standard deviation of returns, get a new one.
William J. Bernstein
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Bluntly put, there's no chance that your doctor, dentist, or attorney is a high-school dropout. Your stockbroker, however, just might be.
William J. Bernstein
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The essence of effective portfolio construction is the use of a large number of poorly correlated assets.
William J. Bernstein
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Wall Street is littered with the bones of those who knew just what to do, but could not bring themselves to do it.
William J. Bernstein
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Do the math. Expect catastrophes. Whatever happens, stay the course.
William J. Bernstein
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A fast food job, for most people, should be an entry level position. If you see no path for advancement beyond that, it's time to take a real fast look at your human capital and learn a skill that will make you more money.
William J. Bernstein