In his highly influential best seller, first published in 1973, Burton Malkiel demolishes the idea that investment âexpertsâ can predict stock price changes and âbeat the market.â Since all information that could affect the value of a companyâs shares is known almost instantly to all investors, Malkiel argues, shares quickly find the price that reflects that information.
He recommends buying a broad range of stocks to reflect the market price level as a wholeâinvesting in an index fundâand holding on to them. This, he argues, will achieve the same performance as the stock market as a whole, which always goes up over time.