Quote

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 what they don't know. Then again, there is a third type of investor: the investment professional, who indeed knows he doesn't know, but whose livelihood depends upon appearing to know.

William J. Bernstein

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William J. Bernstein
Age: 76
Born: 1948
Born: January 1
Author
Chemist
Economist
Neurologist
Writer
Depends
Third
Type
Thirds
Small
Investment
Investor
Upon
Kinds
Livelihood
Doesn
Indeed
Appearing
Two
Market
Headed
Kind
Large
Investors
Whose
Professional

More quotes by 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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The essence of effective portfolio construction is the use of a large number of poorly correlated assets.
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 deeper one delves, the worse things look for actively managed funds.
William J. Bernstein
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You have to ask yourself, what are the things that matter to you most in your life? If you have to have a latte every day that'snice to have right now, but if you take that latte every day right now, you may wind up eating cat food when you are 70. And you have to decide which is worse.
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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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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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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You have to understand what market history looks like. What market history tells you is that the very, very best investments are made when things look the worst.
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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Investment success accrues not so much to the brilliant as to the disciplined.
William J. Bernstein
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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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Do the math. Expect catastrophes. Whatever happens, stay the course.
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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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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Mutual fund manager performance does not persist and the return of stock picking is zero.
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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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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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
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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