Richard Thaler Quotes

What's so seductive about the efficient markets hypothesis is that it applies nine years out of ten. A lot of the time it works. But when it stops working, you blow up.

The world of derivatives is full of holes that very few people are really aware of. It's like hydrogen and oxygen sitting on the corner waiting for a little flame.

Risk managers and investment bankers and actually, all kinds of investors took on more risk than they expected. So there was a failure of risk management. There was a failure to recognize how much risk there was in some of these securities that people bought.

The starting point of my career in money management in 1973-74 was the time of the only true bear market any living non-Japanese investor has seen in major markets. Equities, real estate, you name it, everyone got run over.

In questioning initially whether I am a great investor, I open the door to question whether other similarly esteemed public icons like Bill Miller are as well. It seems, perhaps, that the longer and longer you keep at it in this business the more and more time you have to expose your Achilles heel - wherever and whatever that might be.

If your investing approach requires that you become Nostradamus to succeed, then you are destined to fail.

A financial crisis is a great time for professional investors and a horrible time for average ones.

The euphoria around economic booms often obscures the possibility for a bust, which explains why leaders typically miss the warning signs.

I have a million dollars in the stock market, because if I lose a million dollars, I don't personally care.

I could never gamble on stocks and shares because I saw my father get hurt that way - he lost quite a lot of money when the stock market collapsed in 2001.

If you were approaching the TARP investments from a pure investment standpoint, then there's no doubt in my mind the taxpayer lost, and probably lost big.

I have no complaints about losing money I put in high-risk investments. I did some of that when I had real money; my informed choice, my measured gamble.

Investors don't like uncertainty.

Investors have few spare tires left. Think of the image of a car on a bumpy road to an uncertain destination that has already used up its spare tire. The cash reserves of people have been eaten up by the recent market volatility.

What I invest in, while not risky for me, may be too risky for most people.

I've got a huge, huge position in mortgage-backed securities. I started accumulating them in 2009, when the market was really down and things were really scary.

I don't really like hedging. To me, if something needs to be hedged, you shouldn't have a position in it.

In some industries, we refer to risk taking as 'research and development.' At financial institutions, we often take risk by investing in securities.

The actions of hedge fund managers in exercising their fiduciary responsibilities to their investors is not the reason why Chrysler is in jeopardy.

I think it is crucial to diversify one's portfolio.

When you see a 'Shark fight' erupt, we aggressively want to understand what we are committing our money toward.

Where you really get in trouble is if the market is dropping and the economy's slowing down and you don't take action.

In our view, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction carrying dangers that, while latent, are potentially lethal.

I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.

Thousands of people have tried, and the evidence is clear: The more you trade, the less you keep.