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

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

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

More quotes by William J. Bernstein

Image
99% of fund managers demonstrate no evidence of skill whatsoever.
William J. Bernstein
Image
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
Image
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
Image
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
Image
If your broker or investment advisor is not familiar with the concept of standard deviation of returns, get a new one.
William J. Bernstein
Image
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
Image
The essence of effective portfolio construction is the use of a large number of poorly correlated assets.
William J. Bernstein
Image
Mutual fund manager performance does not persist and the return of stock picking is zero.
William J. Bernstein
Image
The deeper one delves, the worse things look for actively managed funds.
William J. Bernstein
Image
When it comes to fund managers and market strategists, this year's hero usually turns into next year's zero.
William J. Bernstein
Image
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
Image
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
Image
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
Image
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
Image
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
Image
Do the math. Expect catastrophes. Whatever happens, stay the course.
William J. Bernstein
Image
The typical fund company services 401k plan participants in the same way that Baby Face Nelson serviced banks.
William J. Bernstein
Image
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
Image
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
Image
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