10 useful finance quotes for your daily conversations
Hi guys,
While preparing for my upcoming interviews, I go through my list of quotes and pick out these ten quotes in finance to share. It seems like being able to quote famous people is a common skill among professionals to assist them in daily conversations. For example, I asked a money manager the other day on the street: "Where do you think the U.S stock market is going?" Instead of giving me a clear answer with numbers or facts, he simply told me: "The market goes up and down." Another time, when I brought up the fintech topic with an older friend who is an equity analyst, he smartly avoided the topic by quoting Warren Buffet: "Stay in your circle of competence" or "I don't solve difficult problems, I avoid them." Anyway, these are the 10 quotes (most of these I collect from brainyquote.com):
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Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship - Benjamin Franklin
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Sometimes, your best investments is the ones you don't make - Donald Trump
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Inflation is taxation without legislation - Milton Friedman
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Go for a business that any idiot can run because, sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it - Peter Lynch
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In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes - Benjamin Franklin
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Security depends not so much upon how much you have, as upon how much you can do without - Joseph Wood Krutch
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Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction - Warren Buffet
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I have never cared what something costs, I care what it's worth - Ari Emanuel
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You and I come by road or rail, but economists travel on infrastructure - Margaret Thatcher
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There's more honor in investment management than in investment banking - Charlie Munger
I don't particularly agree with the last quote by Charlie but you know... it's Charlie Munger.
What do you think about people who quote frequently? Does it make them appear smarter? Also, please feel free to share any inspirational, humorous, or finance-related quotes/saying you know. I would love to hear them.
I have met people like those in your examples. Some of them were all talk and no action. They had no clue if the quotes even applied to their situations. Quote people at your discretion or you would sound like an idiot
A smart quote once in a while can make a person seem smarter. However, I know a few people that use quotes all the time and everyone, myself included, think that they are overcompensating
I agree guys. What really bugs me is when I discuss with pure value investors who stick to Warren Buffet and Benjamin Graham's principles. I respect these legends but their disciples/followers sometimes wrongly apply their principles. It drives me nuts when debating valuation with these people as they only quote but don't look at the difference between asset classes or various modern valuation techniques
From my experience with debates, the best, annoying question to ask them is "Why?" More often than not they will over explain and their "logic" will tie them into knots. In addition, you don't give them any ground for them to poke holes in.
The most common answer I often hear from mutual fund sales reps' is: "the market may be up or down but over the long term it will be up. It's a fact for the last 30 years and numbers don't lie. Don't even worry about fundamentals, macroeconomic environment, or political risks."
Ask them "why?" and they will have another quote for you haha. That's the thing about value investors' buy and hold style. It makes them neglect what's going on with the market and their investment
Mutter it softly to remove yourself from uncomfortable situations. It's particularly nonsensical now-a-days.
Your video doesn't work Craig
"As you all know there's going to be a lot of heat coming down from what Farrowtech did yesterday so be smart on the phone, calm people down, the stock's dropped eighty six percent from yesterday's close. I don't want people dumping their shares."
"...show him a three percentage return and he'll trust you to watch his kids for the weekend"
"Hey guys listen up. HEY! Shut the fck up! Just got word from Michael, rip on FarrowTech is now $3."
*insert loud, cheerful screaming.
Can't find this excitement or money in cubicles in the FO of Wall Street banks.
"Don't find a business. Find a problem. Then, solve the problem. This is everything!"
"The sky is your limit". This world has way too many problems to count...
What kind of daily conversations are you having? Please tell me you're not going to use these at a bar
I think you can quote anywhere if it's suitable to do so. I'm sure bar goers will be impressed to hear some Peter Lynch or Benjamin flying around
Quoting something without understanding the basis of it and how to defend it is meaningless. It only takes one person to ask you to elaborate further and challenge you on a point before you sound like a moron. Also, I'm also for interesting quotations, but understand the motivations behind them; they are not always in your best interest. Moreover, often the quotes are so ridiculously broad that they offer nothing truly meaningful or actionable.
Ex. Buffet - "Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction." This is idiotic if you're applying it holistically. Yes, CDOs can wreak havoc. But call and put options are derivatives, and their specific function is to alter the risk/return meter. They are incredibly useful tools used by hundreds of money managers over time with great success. Does this mean options are 'weapons of mass destruction.' Also, what the fck are you supposed to do with this advice? You have to understand, Buffet never offers real insight into his thinking/investments because it is not in his best interest to do so; he is not in the business of creating his own competition. Any idiot can say "derivatives can be bad" or "buy companies at cheap prices relative to their fair value." Great, but how can you act upon this? Throwing out quotes without thinking about it from all angles is pointless. I guarantee this will trip and fck you along the line, and if nothing else, shows you are incapable of original thought and critical thinking.
You are absolutely right. I have studied Buffet and agree that his comments/advice are very general. The problem occurs when average investors or those who don't adequately understand asset classes start quoting Buffet's books (tap dancing to work, snowball, etc.) like their bible. When I start arguing with them, it looks like I'm arguing against Buffet.
Do you have any interesting quotes to share?
Yes, I do. "Life is hard. Life is even harder when you're stupid" - John Wayne
"Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." - Buffet
CLASSIC!
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