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. BernsteinIt'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. BernsteinBluntly put, there's no chance that your doctor, dentist, or attorney is a high-school dropout. Your stockbroker, however, just might be.
William J. BernsteinThe 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. BernsteinWall Street is littered with the bones of those who knew just what to do, but could not bring themselves to do it.
William J. BernsteinYou have to understand your own psychology. You have to understand that human beings weren't really designed to invest. We have all these emotions that are appropriate responses if you're being chased by a tiger, but they're terrible responses if you've got a 30-year time horizon to think about investment or when you're trying to manage investment over 30 years.
William J. Bernstein