A Random Walk Down Wall Street

Business and economics

First published: 1973
Print length: 455 pagesW. W. Norton, 2007

Description

A Random Walk Down Wall Street examines whether stock prices can be predicted reliably and whether investors can consistently outperform broad market averages. Burton G. Malkiel introduces the random-walk hypothesis and the efficient-market view, explaining their implications for investment decisions. The book also uses the dot-com crash as a cautionary example of the difficulties involved in managing portfolios through turbulent markets. Alongside its discussion of forecasting limits, it offers a life-cycle approach that recognizes how investment needs change with age. The result is a guide combining an accessible account of market behavior with a framework for thinking about portfolios across different stages of an investor’s life.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Conversational · Direct · Essayistic · Technical

Pace

Measured

Tone

Cerebral · Earnest · Warm

Structure

Argumentative

Focus

Argument · Ideas · Information

Emotional intensity

1 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 4 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

AgingKnowledge and truthWealth

About Burton Gordon Malkiel

Burton Gordon Malkiel is an American economist and investment writer best known for A Random Walk Down Wall Street. A longtime Princeton professor with experience in investment banking, economic policy, and institutional oversight, he writes at the meeting point of academic research and everyday financial decision-making. His characteristic method is to translate work on asset pricing and market behavior into direct, practical guidance, using research synthesis and case studies without losing sight of costs, taxes, or individual circumstances. Malkiel is closely associated with the efficient-market hypothesis and the argument that reliably forecasting prices or repeatedly beating broad market averages is extraordinarily difficult. That view underlies his preference for diversified, low-cost index funds held over the long term. Yet his position is not absolute: he acknowledges that markets can display inefficiencies and allows a limited role for active management around a largely indexed portfolio. Across A Random Walk Down Wall Street and The Random Walk Guide to Investing, his recurring concern is disciplined investing under uncertainty.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: W. W. Norton
Language: English
ISBN: 9780393330335

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