The goal of an investor is to accumulate wealth through the intelligent investing of their surplus capital. A key prerequisite is the ongoing and permanent accumulation of wisdom. If you agree with me, I encourage you to bookmark this page. I will regularly update this webpage with pithy quotes from investors and non-investors which condense wisdom from all disciplines. I hope to improve my own mental models and increase my wisdom from this multidisciplinary exercise. Perhaps others can benefit as well from my collection of wisdom quotes.
Wisdom Quotes
The following quotes are not organized by importance or topic, simply date added to the list. I will organize the quotes in reverse historical order. This way the newest quote will always be at the top of the list when you refer back for future reference.
At the end of each quote is the author or speaker’s name. I will do my best to link to the source where I found the quote, and embed that link in the author’s name.*
“I’d rather pay 100 bps for an S&P 500 index fund trading at 12 times normalized earnings than 5 basis points for the same market trading at 25 times earnings…” – Patrick O’Shaughnessy
(Published March 7, 2016)
“We start with a weight of zero in every stock, not with the market weight. Stocks are guilty until proven innocent.” – Patrick O’Shaughnessy
(Published April 8, 2016)
“Position sizing should never have defined or rigid rules. As your conviction grows in a company, own more of it.” – Ian Cassel
(Published: November 30, 2014)
“Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night, it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort that I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.”
“Your margin is my opportunity.” – Jeff Bezos*
(Source uncertain)
“Anything worth doing well is worth doing poorly at first.” – Joshua Sheats
(My Analysis) (Published: February 24, 2016)
“Frugality is the cornerstone of wealth.” – Joshua Sheats
(My Analysis) (Published: January 8, 2018)
“Accumulating money is like playing the piano or riding a bike. It can be learned.” – Joshua Kennon
(My Analysis) (Published: October 20, 2012)
“…net worth does not equal self worth.” – Vicki Robin*
(My Analysis) (Published: December 10, 2008)
“The difference between prosperity and poverty lies in our degree of gratitude.” – Vicki Robin*
(My Analysis) (Published: December 10, 2008)
“It is the performance of the business that matters. It is hard enough to figure out the future of the business. Do not try to figure out the future of the country or the world, focus on the business.” – Mohnish Pabrai
(My Analysis) (Published: January 16, 2017)
*Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please do not spend any money on any linked book or product unless you feel that it will help you achieve your goals.
