Latest news with #Wealthfront
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Finance legend Burt Malkiel is still working at 92. He tells BI why people should retire later.
A Wall Street legend says career paths can be winding, and people should retire later if they can. Burt Malkiel went from Wall Street to the Army, teaching economics and advising the president. "The rest of us probably will feel much better by working longer, and the economy will be stronger," he said. A 92-year-old Wall Street veteran says young people should be open-minded about their career paths, and workers should retire later. In a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider, Burt Malkiel said he could have never predicted his winding career trajectory. In addition to being Wealthfront's chief investor and the author of the regularly revised "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," Malkiel is a former Princeton economics professor, investment banker, US Army lieutenant, and economic advisor to President Gerald Ford. If someone had told him that he would become an academic when he was growing up poor in Boston, he would have told them they were "absolutely crazy," he said. 'Put a little aside each week' As a young child, Malkiel planned to spend his whole career on Wall Street. "I loved the stock market even though I never had a dollar to invest," he said, adding that he paid as much attention to General Motors' stock price as he did "Ted Williams' batting average." Malkiel eventually landed a job at Smith Barney, a storied wealth manager, but, after a few years, took a leave of absence to complete an economics Ph.D. at Princeton. He abandoned plans to return to banking after he was recruited to teach at the university and to be a director at Prudential Financial. When it comes to their chosen career, young people should "be flexible and realize that you could very well change your mind," Malkiel said. "Don't close off any opportunities," he continued, adding that unexpected detours can make life "richer." Malkiel, an evangelist for passive investing via index funds, also said young people should "put a little aside each week" to invest in a diversified portfolio of "index-type securities." That's "something that you will be very happy that you did later in life," he said. Working later in life Malkiel told BI he's still "spending a fair amount of time each day working" despite being in his 90s, and he believes many older Americans without physically demanding jobs should remain in the workforce for longer. The US is "wasting an enormous amount of talent by encouraging earlier and earlier retirement," he said. Continuing to work "absolutely" contributes to a person's "feeling of worth" and being interested and engaged in "what's going on," he added. "I'm sure that the rest of us probably will feel much better by working longer, and the economy will be stronger," Malkiel said. He said the government should raise the retirement age "very gradually" and predicted that this might be necessary to avoid bankrupting the Social Security system. What keeps him awake at night Asked what kept him up at night, Malkiel chuckled and said his Cavapoo, Lucy, who was barking in the background. He described her as a "hellion" — but an "extremely sweet" one. Answering the question less literally, Malkiel said he's a "card-carrying Republican," but still "quite concerned" about Donald Trump's actions as president. He said that tariffs would make the US and its trade partners worse off, an immigration crackdown could magnify the threat of an ageing population, and Trump's "apparent hatred" for universities and efforts to withhold research funding from them will hurt the country. "I don't see how you make America great by weakening some of our greatest institutions that are the envy of the world," he added. But Malkiel said he was optimistic the US would overcome its challenges in the long run, despite "stumbles along the way." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Finance legend Burt Malkiel is still working at 92. He tells BI why people should retire later.
A Wall Street legend says career paths can be winding, and people should retire later if they can. Burt Malkiel went from Wall Street to the Army, teaching economics and advising the president. "The rest of us probably will feel much better by working longer, and the economy will be stronger," he said. A 92-year-old Wall Street veteran says young people should be open-minded about their career paths, and workers should retire later. In a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider, Burt Malkiel said he could have never predicted his winding career trajectory. In addition to being Wealthfront's chief investor and the author of the regularly revised "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," Malkiel is a former Princeton economics professor, investment banker, US Army lieutenant, and economic advisor to President Gerald Ford. If someone had told him that he would become an academic when he was growing up poor in Boston, he would have told them they were "absolutely crazy," he said. 'Put a little aside each week' As a young child, Malkiel planned to spend his whole career on Wall Street. "I loved the stock market even though I never had a dollar to invest," he said, adding that he paid as much attention to General Motors' stock price as he did "Ted Williams' batting average." Malkiel eventually landed a job at Smith Barney, a storied wealth manager, but, after a few years, took a leave of absence to complete an economics Ph.D. at Princeton. He abandoned plans to return to banking after he was recruited to teach at the university and to be a director at Prudential Financial. When it comes to their chosen career, young people should "be flexible and realize that you could very well change your mind," Malkiel said. "Don't close off any opportunities," he continued, adding that unexpected detours can make life "richer." Malkiel, an evangelist for passive investing via index funds, also said young people should "put a little aside each week" to invest in a diversified portfolio of "index-type securities." That's "something that you will be very happy that you did later in life," he said. Working later in life Malkiel told BI he's still "spending a fair amount of time each day working" despite being in his 90s, and he believes many older Americans without physically demanding jobs should remain in the workforce for longer. The US is "wasting an enormous amount of talent by encouraging earlier and earlier retirement," he said. Continuing to work "absolutely" contributes to a person's "feeling of worth" and being interested and engaged in "what's going on," he added. "I'm sure that the rest of us probably will feel much better by working longer, and the economy will be stronger," Malkiel said. He said the government should raise the retirement age "very gradually" and predicted that this might be necessary to avoid bankrupting the Social Security system. What keeps him awake at night Asked what kept him up at night, Malkiel chuckled and said his Cavapoo, Lucy, who was barking in the background. He described her as a "hellion" — but an "extremely sweet" one. Answering the question less literally, Malkiel said he's a "card-carrying Republican," but still "quite concerned" about Donald Trump's actions as president. He said that tariffs would make the US and its trade partners worse off, an immigration crackdown could magnify the threat of an ageing population, and Trump's "apparent hatred" for universities and efforts to withhold research funding from them will hurt the country. "I don't see how you make America great by weakening some of our greatest institutions that are the envy of the world," he added. But Malkiel said he was optimistic the US would overcome its challenges in the long run, despite "stumbles along the way." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
03-08-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Finance legend Burt Malkiel is still working at 92. He tells BI why people should retire later.
A 92-year-old Wall Street veteran says young people should be open-minded about their career paths, and workers should retire later. In a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider, Burt Malkiel said he could have never predicted his winding career trajectory. In addition to being Wealthfront's chief investor and the author of the regularly revised "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," Malkiel is a former Princeton economics professor, investment banker, US Army lieutenant, and economic advisor to President Gerald Ford. If someone had told him that he would become an academic when he was growing up poor in Boston, he would have told them they were "absolutely crazy," he said. 'Put a little aside each week' As a young child, Malkiel planned to spend his whole career on Wall Street. "I loved the stock market even though I never had a dollar to invest," he said, adding that he paid as much attention to General Motors' stock price as he did "Ted Williams' batting average." Malkiel eventually landed a job at Smith Barney, a storied wealth manager, but, after a few years, took a leave of absence to complete an economics Ph.D. at Princeton. He abandoned plans to return to banking after he was recruited to teach at the university and to be a director at Prudential Financial. When it comes to their chosen career, young people should "be flexible and realize that you could very well change your mind," Malkiel said. "Don't close off any opportunities," he continued, adding that unexpected detours can make life "richer." Malkiel, an evangelist for passive investing via index funds, also said young people should "put a little aside each week" to invest in a diversified portfolio of "index-type securities." That's "something that you will be very happy that you did later in life," he said. Working later in life Malkiel told BI he's still "spending a fair amount of time each day working" despite being in his 90s, and he believes many older Americans without physically demanding jobs should remain in the workforce for longer. The US is "wasting an enormous amount of talent by encouraging earlier and earlier retirement," he said. Continuing to work "absolutely" contributes to a person's "feeling of worth" and being interested and engaged in "what's going on," he added. "I'm sure that the rest of us probably will feel much better by working longer, and the economy will be stronger," Malkiel said. He said the government should raise the retirement age"very gradually" and predicted that this might be necessary to avoid bankrupting the Social Security system. What keeps him awake at night Asked what kept him up at night, Malkiel chuckled and said his Cavapoo, Lucy, who was barking in the background. He described her as a "hellion" — but an "extremely sweet" one. Answering the question less literally, Malkiel said he's a "card-carrying Republican," but still "quite concerned" about Donald Trump's actions as president. He said that tariffs would make the US and its trade partners worse off, an immigration crackdown could magnify the threat of an ageing population, and Trump's "apparent hatred" for universities and efforts to withhold research funding from them will hurt the country. "I don't see how you make America great by weakening some of our greatest institutions that are the envy of the world," he added. But Malkiel said he was optimistic the US would overcome its challenges in the long run, despite "stumbles along the way."
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
An investing guru explains why you shouldn't cash out if you think a crash is coming
Burt Malkiel warns investors against trying to time the market in a new letter. The author and economist advocated for long-term, passive investing in broad-based index funds. He told BI it's "invariably the wrong decision" to cash out when stocks are tumbling. As tech stocks propel the market to record highs, Wall Street legend Burt Malkiel is glad he invested in Nvidia — but only through index funds. The chipmaker's share price has surged 12-fold since the start of 2023, supercharging its valuation to an unmatched $4.4 trillion. Malkiel told Business Insider that he's happy to have owned the stock as part of the S&P 500, as the idea of investing directly in Nvidia a couple of years ago — when it was trading at more than 100 times forward earnings — "would have scared the hell out of me." Malkiel, 92, the chief investor of Wealthfront, a robo-advisor with over $80 billion of client assets, warned against selling stocks with a plan to reinvest once prices retreat from all-time highs. The retired Princeton economics professor — a renowned advocate of passive investing — told BI the "biggest unforced error" that investors make is trying to time when to sell and when to get back in, adding it is "virtually impossible" to get both right. Malkiel said he understands people feel pressure to sell when stocks are dropping and they're watching their life savings shrink. "Boy, I know the emotions, I know how hard it is," he said. But cashing out is "invariably the wrong decision," he added. Malkiel argued this in a Thursday letter titled "Don't Miss the Market Rebound," cowritten with Wealthfront's investment-research boss, Alex Michalka. In the letter, Malkiel said that the 10 best days for US stocks in the last 50 years closely followed significant market declines. Five were during the global financial crisis, three were at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one was after Black Monday. The final and third-best day on the list was April 9 this year, when the S&P rebounded 10% to register its largest one-day gain in 17 years. The index had fallen 12% between April 2 and April 8 in reaction to Donald Trump unveiling his tariff plans. Emotions, concentration, and memes Malkiel recommended that people invest part of every paycheck into a diversified index fund, a strategy called "dollar-cost averaging." This "set it and forget it" approach minimizes advisory and transaction fees, and helps investors avoid making hasty decisions and missing out on returns, he said. He criticized leveraged ETFs that promise a multiplied return on a stock or index. "These are just sort of pure speculative pieces of paper, and that bothers me," he said. Meme stocks, which are having a renaissance, "invariably lead you astray," Malkiel said. "Like any gambler, you can have some hits and make some money, but over the long run, you're going to lose money." The market's long-term performance remains "damn hard to beat," he said, adding that believing you know better is "likely to be a recipe for disaster." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
31-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
An investing guru explains why you shouldn't cash out if you think a crash is coming
The chipmaker's share price has surged 12-fold since the start of 2023, supercharging its valuation to an unmatched $4.4 trillion. Malkiel told Business Insider that he's happy to have owned the stock as part of the S&P 500, as the idea of investing directly in Nvidia a couple of years ago — when it was trading at more than 100 times forward earnings — "would have scared the hell out of me." Malkiel, 92, the chief investor of Wealthfront, a robo-advisor with over $80 billion of client assets, warned against selling stocks with a plan to reinvest once prices retreat from all-time highs. The retired Princeton economics professor — a renowned advocate of passive investing — told BI the "biggest unforced error" that investors make is trying to time when to sell and when to get back in, adding it is "virtually impossible" to get both right. Malkiel said he understands people feel pressure to sell when stocks are dropping and they're watching their life savings shrink. "Boy, I know the emotions, I know how hard it is," he said. But cashing out is "invariably the wrong decision," he added. Malkiel argued this in a Thursday letter titled "Don't Miss the Market Rebound," cowritten with Wealthfront's investment-research boss, Alex Michalka. In the letter, Malkiel said that the 10 best days for US stocks in the last 50 years closely followed significant market declines. Five were during the global financial crisis, three were at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one was after Black Monday. The final and third-best day on the list was April 9 this year, when the S&P rebounded 10% to register its largest one-day gain in 17 years. The index had fallen 12% between April 2 and April 8 in reaction to Donald Trump unveiling his tariff plans. Emotions, concentration, and memes Malkiel recommended that people invest part of every paycheck into a diversified index fund, a strategy called " dollar-cost averaging." This "set it and forget it" approach minimizes advisory and transaction fees, and helps investors avoid making hasty decisions and missing out on returns, he said. He criticized leveraged ETFs that promise a multiplied return on a stock or index. "These are just sort of pure speculative pieces of paper, and that bothers me," he said. Meme stocks, which are having a renaissance, "invariably lead you astray," Malkiel said. "Like any gambler, you can have some hits and make some money, but over the long run, you're going to lose money."
