Index funds do not trade from security to security and, thus, they tend to avoid capital gains taxes.

The surest way to find an actively managed fund that will have top-quartile returns is to look for a fund that has bottom-quartile expenses.

Index funds are... tax friendly, allowing investors to defer the realization of capital gains or avoid them completely if the shares are later bequeathed. To the extent that the long-run uptrend in stock prices continues, switching from security to security involves realizing capital gains that are subject to tax. Taxes are a crucially important financial consideration because the earlier realization of capital gains will substantially reduce net returns.

Historically, the stock market is like a gambling casino with the odds in your favor. Over the long pull, stocks are given something like nine and a half to ten percent compounded per year. The banks have probably given you something in the order of four to five.

Trust in time rather than timing.

I have become increasingly convinced that the past records of mutual fund managers are essentially worthless in predicting future success. The few examples of consistently superior performance occur no more frequently than can be expected by chance.

We conclude that hedge funds are far riskier and provide much lower returns than commonly supposed.