Gordon Murray died at 60 from brain cancer. He was formerly a bond salesman at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and First Boston. He authored "The Investment Answer." He is another in the growing list of former Wall Street people who came to see the value of indexing. His thesis conforms with Warren Buffet's remark that, "Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees.Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals."Mr. Murray once said, “It’s American to think that if you’re smart or work hard, then you can beat the markets." And this highlights a major hurdle for many who think about investing. How is investing different from other endeavors? We know that, if we work hard and/or are smarter than others, we will go further in our careers. Why isn't investing like that? What is it about the flow of information and how it affects prices that makes investing different?
Books like Mr. Murray's shed light on this question.
Very sad. My prayers are with his family.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad - but did he work too hard and neglect his health? 60 is very young!
ReplyDelete60 is young but brain cancer can get you at any age.
ReplyDeleteI don't think brain cancer just happens.
ReplyDeleteGood nutrition, exercise, work-life balance and prayer all help to avoid it.