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. BernsteinNo 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. BernsteinMarket 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. BernsteinIf your broker or investment advisor is not familiar with the concept of standard deviation of returns, get a new one.
William J. BernsteinThe key aspect of an index fund is that many of them, not all of them, but many of them are extremely cheap.
William J. BernsteinThere 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