Top 209 Quotes & Sayings by George Soros - Page 2

There is very little difference between speculation and investment. The only difference is basically that investments are successful speculations because if you successfully anticipate the future you make a speculative profit.

Investors operate with limited funds and intelligence, they do not need to know everything. As long as they understand something better than others, they have an edge.

To others, being wrong is a source of shame; to me, recognizing my mistakes is a source of pride.

To be successful, you need leisure. You need time hanging heavily on your hands.

Fundamental analysis seeks to establish how underlying values are reflected in stock prices, whereas the theory of reflexivity shows how stock prices can influence underlying values

Money values do not simply mirror the state of affairs in the real world; valuation is a positive act that makes an impact on the course of events. Monetary and real phenomena are connected in a reflexive fashion; that is, they influence each other mutually. The reflexive relationship manifests itself most clearly in the use and abuse of credit.

I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong.

I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong...I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes.

The prevailing wisdom is that markets are always right. I take the opposite position. I assume that markets are always wrong.

Revolutions usually start with enthusiasm and end in tears.

My sense of insecurity keeps me alert, always ready to correct my errors.

Although I have made a fortune in the financial markets, I now fear that the untrammeled intensification of laissez-faire capitalism and the spread of market values into all areas of life is endangering our open and democratic society. The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat.

Outperforming the market with low volatility on a consistent basis is an impossibility. I outperformed the market for 30-odd years, but not with low volatility.

In certain circumstances, financial markets can affect the so-called fundamentals which they are supposed to reflect. When that happens, markets enter into a state of dynamic disequilibrium and behave quite differently from what would be considered normal by the theory of efficient markets. Such boom/bust sequences do not arise very often, but when they do, they can be very disruptive, exactly because they affect the fundamentals of the economy.

Market prices are always wrong in the sense that they present a biased view of the future.

Start by assuming the market is always wrong, so if you copy everybody else on Wall Street, you're doomed to do poorly.

The scope for improvement is infinite, precisely because perfection is unattainable.

Find the trend whose premise is false, and bet against it.

My approach works not by making valid predictions but by allowing me to correct false ones.

When a long-term trend loses it’s momentum, short-term volatility tends to rise. It is easy to see why that should be so: the trend-following crowd is disoriented.

Once a trend is established it tends to persist and to run it’s full course.

No individual anonymous participant can influence the prices and therefore you really can speculate in the market without paying attention to morality. That's one of the positive features of markets. That's why they function.

America needs to follow the policies it has introduced in Germany. We have to go through a certain de-Nazification process.

The hardest thing to judge is what level of risk is safe.

Unfortunately, the more complex the system, the greater the room for error.

Political debate is more interested in manipulating the truth, than finding the truth.

I rely a great deal on animal instincts.

The only thing that could hurt me is if my success encouraged me to return to my childhood fantasies of omnipotence - but that is not likely to happen as long as I remain engaged in the financial markets, because they constantly remind me of my limitations.

By creating the European Central Bank, the member states exposed their own government bonds to the risk of default. Developed countries that issue bonds in their own currency never default, because they can always print money. Their currency may depreciate, but the risk of default is absent.

We [at Soros Fund Management] use options and more exotic derivatives sparingly. We try to catch new trends early and in later stages we try to catch trend reversals. Therefore, we tend to stabilize rather than destabilize the market. We are not doing this as a public service. It is our style of making money.

Short term volatility is greatest at turning points and diminishes as a trend becomes established

If I had to sum up my practical skills, I would use one word: survival. And operating a hedge fund utilized my training in survival to the fullest.

Most of the poverty and misery in the world is due to bad government, lack of democracy, weak states, internal strife, and so on.

As an anonymous participant in financial markets, I never had to weigh the social consequences of my actions ... I felt justified in ignoring them on the grounds that I was playing by the rules.

I fancied myself as some kind of god or an economic reformer like Keynes

The generally accepted view is that markets are always right -- that is, market prices tend to discount future developments accurately even when it is unclear what those developments are. I start with the opposite view. I believe the market prices are always wrong in the sense that they present a biased view of the future.

I am not a Zionist, nor am I am a practicing Jew, but I have a great deal of sympathy for my fellow Jews and a deep concern for the survival of Israel.

The strength of this country lies in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights and the freedom of speech and thought.

Discount the obvious, bet on the unexpected

Making an investment decision is like formulating a scientific hypothesis and submitting it to a practical test.

Studying economics is not a good preparation for dealing with it.

I don't panic. The same thing applies to me as to everybody else, so I'm given to euphoria and despair. And I would say that I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes.

Market prices are always wrong.

I am for maximum supervision and minimum regulation.

The financial markets play an active role in determining what's going to happen, how the economy is going to function.

Whenever there is a conflict between universal principles and self-interest, self-interest is likely to prevail.

Markets can influence the events that they anticipate.

Every bubble consists of a trend that can be observed in the real world and a misconception relating to that trend. The two elements interact with each other in a reflexive manner.

When money is free, the rational lender will keep on lending until there is no one else to lend to.

When interest rates are low we have conditions for asset bubbles to develop, and they are developing at the moment. The ultimate asset bubble is gold.

As I discovered, there is a great deal of similarity between a boom-bust process in the financial markets and the rise and fall of the Soviet system.

The integration of Europe was very much led by a Germany that was always willing to pay a little bit extra to reach a compromise that everybody accepted, because Germany was so eager to get European support for reunification. That was called the "farsighted vision," which created the European Union.

Misconceptions play a prominent role in my view of the world.

Making an investment decision is like formulating a scientific hypothesis and submitting it to a practical test. The main difference is that the hypothesis that underlies an investment decision is intended to make money and not to establish a universally valid generalization.

I called gold the ultimate bubble, which means it may go higher. But it’s certainly not safe and it’s not going to last forever.

Hedge funds are a very efficient way of managing money. But there are clearly some risks. Hedge funds use credit and credit is a source of instability. Transactions involving credit should be regulated.

There is always a divergence between our perception and what actually exists.

What works for Germany can't work for the rest of Europe: No country can run a chronic surplus without others running deficits.

My conceptual framework, which basically emphasizes the importance of misconceptions, makes me extremely critical of my own decisions. I know that I am bound to be wrong, and therefore am more likely to correct my own mistakes.

At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But it will also need additional revenues. Should the government not receive them, we will all get punished with higher interest rates.