William J. Bernstein Quotes

William J. Bernstein is an American financial theorist and neurologist. His research is in the field of modern portfolio theory and he has published books for individual investors who wish to manage their own equity portfolios. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

His bestselling books include The Birth of Plenty and A Splendid Exchange. Wikipedia  

✵ 1948
William J. Bernstein: 29   quotes 0   likes

Famous William J. Bernstein Quotes

“when a famous investor publishes a newsletter, it's a sure tip-off that his techniques have stopped working.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 3, The Market Is Smarter Than You Are, p. 88.

“Owning a portfolio of value stocks is the equivalent of wearing a Nehru jacket over a pair of bell bottom trousers.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 1, No Guts, No Glory, p. 37.

“It is one thing to coolly design a portfolio strategy on a sheet of paper or computer monitor, and quite another to actually deploy it.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 4, The Perfect Portfolio, p. 115.

“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.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 1, No Guts, No Glory, p. 8.

William J. Bernstein Quotes

“In fact, using entirely reasonable assumptions, you can make the Dow's discounted market value almost anything you want it to be.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 2, Measuring The Beast, p. 53.

“When the barbarians are at the gates, interest rates rise and bond prices fall precipitously.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 1, No Guts, No Glory, p. 13.

“If markets were truly efficient, then you shouldn't be able to make any money rebalancing.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 14, Getting Started, Keeping It Going, p. 290.

“In finance as in life, there is often a huge chasm between what is expected and what actually transpires.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 2, Measuring The Beast, p. 71.

“Human beings are not very good at taking losses or admitting failure.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 7, Misbehavior, p. 177.

“Investing is not a destination. It is an ongoing journey through its four continents - theory, history, psychology and business.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 15, A Final Word, p. 297.

“We tend to think of technological progress as an ever accelerating affair, but it just isn't so.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 5, Tops: A History Of Manias, p. 130.

“The worst possible time to invest is when the skies are the clearest.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 2, Measuring The Beast, p. 66.

“The advent of modern communication technology has simply facilitated the rapid dissemination of increasingly trivial information.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 5, Tops: A History Of Manias, p. 131

“The wealthy are different than you and I: they have many more ways of having their wealth stripped away.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 7, Misbehavior, p. 179.

“Most great financial innovators come from humble circumstances - nothing arouses fascination with financial assets quite like their absence.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 3, The Market Is Smarter Than You Are, p. 76.

“The Gordon Equation is as close as being a physical law, like gravitation or planetary motion, as we will ever encounter in finance.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 2, Measuring The Beast, p. 54.

“Investment planning and execution are two completely different animals.”

Source: The Four Pillars of Investing (2002), Chapter 14, Getting Started, Keeping It Going, p. 293.

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