A biography for Barry Ritholtzhasn’t been written yet.
“If your investing approach requires that you become Nostradamus to succeed, then you are destined to fail.”
“Getting more and more of our news from the social network is having significant repercussions for markets - and your money.”
“Any investment bought via credit always runs the risk of margin calls and, eventually, liquidation.”
“Any Wall Street advertising that does not go into the boring details of methodology is most likely to be pushing past performance.”
“The electronics industry expanded rapidly and the seeds for the semiconductor and software revolution were planted. The postwar period also saw the suburbanization of America, the rise of the homeowner, the build-out of the interstate highway system, and the rise of automobile culture. Credit availability expanded dramatically.”
“There is a shortage of doctors, and the American Medical Association is aiming to keep it that way.”
“Outcome is simply the final score: Who won the game; what numbers came up in a roll of the dice; how high did a stock go. Outcome is the result, regardless of the method used to achieve it. It is not controllable.”
“I have been a member of the Microsoft-bashing society for quite some time.”
“Commissions add up, taxes are a big drag, margin ain't cheap. A good accountant costs money as well. The math on this one is obvious, yet investors often fail to recognize it: Keep your costs low and your turnover lower, and you will win in the end.”
“When markets are rallying, cash in the portfolio is a drag on performance, returning about zero.”
“Most of the time, economic data is fairly benign. I don't wish to imply it is meaningless, but it is not a driver of stock markets. Indeed, the correlation between economic noise and how equity markets perform has been wildly overemphasized.”
“Asset managers have different approaches, and I don't wish to suggest there is only one way to run money. There are many ways one can attempt to reduce risk, improve performance, lower drawdowns and reduce volatility.”
“Any time you speak to people about their posture, you learn about their most recent investment activity. When someone just bought stocks, they tend to be bullish; someone who just sold is bearish.”
“Mutual fund managers want your money in their funds. They get paid based on assets under management.”
“Hedge fund managers charge so much more than mutual fund managers; alpha is even harder to come by. They end up selling a variety of things beyond mere outperformance.”
“As investors, we want to believe we are smart, insightful and uniquely talented - even though we often fail to do the heavy lifting, put in the long hours, and make the uncomfortable but necessary decisions to achieve success.”
“A well-designed 401(k) plan is an enormous competitive edge when recruiting and retaining employees.”
“If you have read me for any length of time, you know I am less than enthralled with much of what passes for financial news.”
“Investing is about making probabilistic decisions with limited information about an unknowable future. The variables are well known, as are the possible outcomes.”
“Narrative drives most of economics. Everything seems to be part of a story, and how that story is told often leads to critical error.”