Fred Schwed
8 key ideas, each explained in our own words.
Where Are the Customers' Yachts?
- IDEA 1
The customers had no yachts
Schwed tells of a visitor to New York who admired the yachts of bankers and brokers, then asked where the customers' yachts were. The joke captures his point that Wall Street profits more than its clients.
- IDEA 2
Nobody can forecast markets
Schwed argues with humour that predictions about markets are mostly guesses dressed up as expertise. Even confident professionals cannot reliably say what prices will do. He compares forecasters to fortune tellers.
- IDEA 3
Many brokers mean well
Schwed suggests that most people on Wall Street are not villains but ordinary people who believe their own theories. Their sincerity does not make their advice correct. Confidence and accuracy are very different things.
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