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
Kinds
Livelihood
Upon
Appearing
Doesn
Indeed
Headed
Two
Market
Investors
Kind
Large
Professional
Whose
Third
Depends
Thirds
Type
Investment
Investor
Small

More quotes by 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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Investment success accrues not so much to the brilliant as to the disciplined.
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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For the taxable investor, indexing means never having to say you're sorry.
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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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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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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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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99% of fund managers demonstrate no evidence of skill whatsoever.
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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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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