20 timeless money rules

Money Magazine collected the best advice from some of the smartest investors (and other people) who have ever lived.

It's the portfolio, stupid
Brian Singer
5. It's the portfolio, stupid
Asset allocation...is the overwhelmingly dominant contributor to total return.
--Gary Brinson, Brian Singer and Gilbert Beebower


Most investors concentrate on trying to choose the best stock and pick the perfect moment to buy or sell. It's a waste. What really matters to your long-term returns is asset allocation--that is, how you split up your portfolio.

Since researchers dropped this bombshell 20 years ago, experts have debated the size of the asset-allocation factor. Some say it accounts for 40% of the variation in investors' returns; others (like the original researchers) say 90%. But no one refutes that it's major. For help getting the best mix for your goals and risk tolerance, see the Asset Allocator tool.

Confucius

Friedrich von Schiller

Benjamin Franklin

Miguel de Cervantes

Gary Brinson, Brian Singer and Gilbert Beebower

Warren Buffett

Edwin Lefevre

Peter Lynch

Jack Bogle

Coco Chanel

Warren Buffett

St. Augustine

Harry Truman

Eleanor Roosevelt

John Kenneth Galbraith

Stanley Kunitz

Pablo Picasso

John Maynard Keynes

Martin Luther King Jr.

Jonathan Swift
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.