Marketplace All-in-One "Nobody can time the market"
Apr 10, 2026
Burton Malkiel, Princeton economist and author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street, explains why beating the market is so tough. He discusses why index funds often win and why trying to time the market usually backfires. He also covers rebalancing, fleeting market inefficiencies, and his long-running influence on personal investing.
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Index Funds Outperform Most Active Managers
- Burton Malkiel argues index funds outperform most active managers over decades because the market's collective judgment trumps individual picks.
- He cites 50 years of data showing simple funds that buy the whole market beat professional money managers overall.
Care For Your Portfolio But Don’t Time The Market
- Malkiel tells investors to monitor and rebalance portfolios but not try to time the market.
- He emphasizes routine care — checking allocations and rebalancing — rather than attempting to get in and out on news swings.
Tariff Announcement Caused A Short Market Collapse
- Malkiel recalls a market collapse when a president announced huge tariffs, then reversal sent stocks back up a week later.
- He uses this episode to illustrate how political noise leads to whipsawing that defeats timing attempts.
