RIP David Swensen

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matjen
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RIP David Swensen

Post by matjen »

Very sad news. A true legend.

David Swensen
https://president.yale.edu/president/st ... id-swensen
David’s ideas reverberated beyond Yale as he revolutionized the landscape of institutional investing. His approach, which has become known as the “Yale Model,” is now the standard for many university and foundation endowments. A natural teacher, he prepared a generation of institutional investors who have gone on to lead investment offices at other colleges and universities, further extending the scope of David’s influence. As the author of two books (Pioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment and Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment), he shared his insights and experiences with a wide readership.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by nisiprius »

Oh, no. I'm sad to hear that.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by sc9182 »

Very sad to hear - May God Bless his Soul! RIP !
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by UpperNwGuy »

RIP..
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Cernel »

RIP, Prayers for David and his family.
Many, many people benefited from his knowledge.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by index2max »

Sorry to read that he passed away. He wrote a nice forward in Jack Bogle's 2009 2nd edition of "Common Sense on Mutual Funds".

He did a great job investing for his alma mater.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Random Walker »

Very sad, only about 67 years old. His book Unconventional Success influenced me greatly. I liked the man based only on the tone of his writing.

Dave
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Warsad »

Very sad to hear this news. Such a bright mind! Prayers for his family.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by alluringreality »

I liked his comments for individual investors including Unconventional Success, so I also hope for the best for his family.
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David Swensen, Yale's Chief Investment Officer, Is Dead

Post by Taylor Larimore »

[Thread merged into here --admin LadyGeek]

Bogleheads:

David Swensen, Yale's famous investment officer, died yesterday from cancer.

Although I never met him, Mr. Swensen was one of my teachers. His book, Unconventional Success, was praised by Mr. Bogle on its cover. He wrote : "Mutual fund managers and marketers are not going to like David Swensen's thoughtful and intelligently opinionated analysis of their 'colossal failure' resulting from the industry's "systemic exploitation of investors."

These are some of the valuable quotes I took from Mr. Swensen's book which I call "Investment Gems":
"Without a rock-solid belief in the fundamental principles that undergird an intelligently crafted portfolio, weak-kneed investors face the likelihood of a disastrous whipsaw."

"Poor asset allocation, ill-considered active management, and perverse market timing lead the list of errors made by individual investors."

"Asset-allocation decisions play a central role in determining investor results."

"From March 2000 to May 2003, bond market returns bested stock market returns by a whopping 68.7 percentage points."

"Instead of concentrating on the central issue of creating sensible long-term asset-allocation targets, investors too frequently focus on the unproductive diversions of security selection and market timing."

"The behavioral benefits of diversification loom larger than the financial benefits."

"Only by regularly rebalancing portfolios to long-term targets do investors realize the results that correspond to the policy asset-allocation decision."

"Rational market participants take maximum advantage of tax-advantage investing."

"Overly precise estimates of the future may prove of little use, while more general concepts might serve a useful purpose."

"Survivorship bias represents a pervasive problem for gathers of historical return data."

"Roger Ibbotson's 78 years of data show stocks earning 10.4% per annum. No other asset class possesses such an impressive record of long-term performance."

"Sensible investors prepare for a future that differs from the past, with diversification representing the most powerful protection against errors in forecasts of expected asset-class attributes."

"Investor surveys show that a large majority of individual investors fail to grasp even the most basic elements of bond math."

"No other asset type comes close to matching the diversifying power created by long-term, noncallable, default-free, full-faith-and-credit obligations of the U.S. government."

"TIPS constitute a compeling addition to the tool-set available to investors."

"By following a disciplined policy of maintaining a well-diversifed set of portolio exposures, regardless of market zigs and zags, investors establish the conditions for long-run success."

"Sensible investors avoid speculating on currencies."

"A modest allocation to emerging markets stocks contains the potential to enhance the risk and return characteristics of most investment portfolios."

"As the preeminent practitioner of indexing for individual investors, Vanguard stands atop the industry in terms of excellence in tracking a wide variety of markets."

"With its inflation-sensitive nature, real estate provides powerful diversification to investor portfolios."

"Thousands upon thousands of professionally managed funds routinely fall short of producing even market-matching results."

"Overconfidence contributes to a litany of investor errors, including inadequate diversificatin, overzealous security selection, and counterproductive market timing."

"Sensible investors avoid non-core asset classes."

"As a general rule of thumb, the more complexity that exists in a Wall Street creation, the faster and farther investors should run."

"Foreign bonds offer little of value to U.S. Investors."

"Buying yesterday's winners and selling yesterday's losers inevitably hurts tomorrow's performance."

"When markets make radical moves, investors demonstrate either the courage or cowardice of their convictions."

"Regression to the mean, one of the most powerful influences in the world of finance, explains the tendency for reversal of fortune."

"Rebalancing to long-term policy targets plays a central role in the portfolio management process."

"Individuals who attempt to compete with resource-rich money management organizations simply provide fodder for large institutional cannon."

"Sensibly constructed indices, such as the S&P 500 and the Wilshire 5000, exhibit low implementation costs and high tax efficiency."

"ETFs promise real-time pricing and superior tax efficiency, but suffer from the necessity of dealing with the brokerage industry to make purchases and sales."

"Unfortunately, as asset size increases, active portfolio management becomes increasingly difficult."

"The transactions cost advantage enjoyed by index funds joins a long list of reasons to prefer the rock-solid certainty of market-mimicking returns over the will-o'-the-wisp possibility of market-beating results."
Thank you, Mr. Swensen.

Best wishes.
Taylor
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Re: David Swensen, Yale's Chief Investment Officer, Is Dead

Post by Valuethinker »

Taylor Larimore wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 9:08 am Bogleheads:

David Swensen, Yale's famous investment officer, died yesterday from cancer.
https://president.yale.edu/president/st ... stream=top

Extracting the part about his investment career, below.

A great light has gone out of this world.
Date:
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Dear Members of the Yale Community,

I write with profound sadness to share the news that David Swensen, Yale’s chief investment officer, died yesterday evening after a long and courageous battle with cancer. David served our university with distinction. He was an exceptional colleague, a dear friend, and a beloved mentor to many in our community. Future generations will benefit from his dedication, brilliance, and generosity.

After receiving his Ph.D. in economics from Yale in 1980, David worked for Salomon Brothers and Lehman Brothers before returning to Yale in 1985 to lead our investments office. With his guidance, Yale’s endowment yielded returns that established him as a legend among institutional investors. Over the years, he lectured in Yale College and the School of Management. On Monday, he and long-time friend and colleague Dean Takahashi taught the last class of the term for Investment Analysis, a seminar they co-instructed for thirty-five years. ...

David’s ideas reverberated beyond Yale as he revolutionized the landscape of institutional investing. His approach, which has become known as the “Yale Model,” is now the standard for many university and foundation endowments. A natural teacher, he prepared a generation of institutional investors who have gone on to lead investment offices at other colleges and universities, further extending the scope of David’s influence. As the author of two books (Pioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment and Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment), he shared his insights and experiences with a wide readership.

David believed deeply in Yale’s mission of education and research, and he dedicated his professional life to stewarding and growing the university’s endowment so it could support Yale’s vital work in the world.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by TomatoTomahto »

Best wishes to his family. Very sad event.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Ependytis »

I read Dave Swensen’s book Unconventional Success. It was a real eye-opener in terms of providing data for What he asserted, namely the investment industry was ripping off the individual investor. I adopted his portfolio and use it to this day. With his recommendations, prodding of a mentor in my twenties, and the help of the bogleheads, I am in a position to retire at 2 times my annual current spending plus taxes plus healthcare if I choose. I have recommended his book to a number of people. RIP.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by MarkNYC »

About 8 or 9 years ago, I had the good fortune of being seated next to him at a luncheon in honor of Jack Bogle. He was very personable and engaging, and freely shared his views on a variety of issues. Swensen's accomplishments were significant, and his personal investing book Unconventional Success was one of the best. He will be missed.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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MarkNYC wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 11:45 am About 8 or 9 years ago, I had the good fortune of being seated next to him at a luncheon in honor of Jack Bogle. He was very personable and engaging, and freely shared his views on a variety of issues. Swensen's accomplishments were significant, and his personal investing book Unconventional Success was one of the best. He will be missed.
That is nice. I had the good fortune to attend a lecture of David Swensen’s. I cherished the event and learned so much.

Tony
Last edited by abuss368 on Thu May 06, 2021 11:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
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Re: David Swensen, Yale's Chief Investment Officer, Is Dead

Post by Portfolio7 »

His writings had a big influence on my investment approach. RIP Mr Swensen.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by MariaT »

Sorry to hear the sad news. May he rest in peace.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by LadyGeek »

I merged Taylor Larimore's thread into the ongoing discussion.

RIP, Mr. Swensen.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by DS03 »

Rest In Peace.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by grok87 »

Rip David Swensen.
RIP Mr. Bogle.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Robert T »

.
Sad news indeed.

His book Pioneering Portfolio Management changed the way I thought about fixed income. He had thoughtful and independent views on portfolio management, and seemed like a genuine person. His wisdom will endure. I am pleased the I have both his books.

RIP

Robert
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by make_a_better_world »

I took an online course from Robert Schiller about a decade ago and he brought in Swenson as a guest lecture, which was very good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRdx7kV ... aleCourses

RIP
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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grok87 wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 2:03 pm Rip David Swensen. His book Unconventional Success has been a big influence for me.
RIP Mr. Bogle.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by matjen »

make_a_better_world wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 3:21 pm I took an online course from Robert Schiller about a decade ago and he brought in Swenson as a guest lecture, which was very good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRdx7kV ... aleCourses

RIP
Wonderful lecture. Thank you for posting.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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May St. Jack greet David Swensen to welcome him Home. And may his memory for us, as for his family, be as a blessing.
Last edited by Rooster on Thu May 06, 2021 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by abuss368 »

Rooster wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 5:01 pm May St. Jack greet David Swenson to welcome him Home. And may his memory for us, as for his family, be as a blessing.
That was very respectful and well said.

Tony
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by abuss368 »

The investment world lost a titan!

Tony
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by willthrill81 »

I'm sorry to hear that. :(

He was only 67. It reminds me that even if life expectancy calculators say that I'm likely to live to between 92 and 101, there's a good chance that I'll never even get close.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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willthrill81 wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 5:46 pm I'm sorry to hear that. :(

He was only 67. It reminds me that even if life expectancy calculators say that I'm likely to live to between 92 and 101, there's a good chance that I'll never even get close.
I couldn’t help but take a peek at that as well. He went too young, I hope he enjoyed life and financial freedom as much as he empowered others to do so.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Random Walker »

mrspock wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 6:23 pm
willthrill81 wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 5:46 pm I'm sorry to hear that. :(

He was only 67. It reminds me that even if life expectancy calculators say that I'm likely to live to between 92 and 101, there's a good chance that I'll never even get close.
I couldn’t help but take a peek at that as well. He went too young, I hope he enjoyed life and financial freedom as much as he empowered others to do so.
I took note of the above as well. I get the impression that he did enjoy life a lot. In Winning The Loser’s Game Charles Ellis wrote that investing helps keep a person young, and I get the feeling that’s how it was for Mr. Swensen. Combine that with teaching and I’m sure it was an amazing life. Apparently he was diagnosed with renal cell cancer in 2012. He was diagnosed at my current age. He appears to have lived an amazing 9 years after his diagnosis. A model for all of us.

Dave
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

May he rest in peace. I have his book Unconventional Success on my bookshelf and it did influence me in my own investing.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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RIP. I learned a lot from his books.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by fishnskiguy »

So sad. He was too young. What a titan in the financial world.

Of all the quotes Taylor listed above my favorite is, "The behavioral benefits of diversification loom larger than the financial benefits." That is why our 7-8% allocation to VG's old Precious Metals and Mining fund, and now GLD and a small bit of SLV have helped us stay the course through thick and thin.

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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by index245 »

I'm so sorry to read this. Unconventional Success truly resonated with me. Swensen, along with John Bogle, truly looked out for individual investors.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by dh »

index245 wrote: Thu May 06, 2021 8:18 pm I'm so sorry to read this. Unconventional Success truly resonated with me. Swensen, along with John Bogle, truly looked out for individual investors.
RIP David Swensen
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by averagedude »

Sad and unexpected news for me. He will be remembered as one of the greats of investing, especially when it comes to endowments. He was a big believer in having a diversified equity heavy portfolio for the long term.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by dru808 »

RIP, David
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Northern Flicker »

It seems that he battled his cancer with grace and dignity, teaching his last class at Yale on Monday, two days before his death, which was an incalculable loss.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by aj76er »

Such sad news. I learned a lot from “Unconventional Success” and think of the ideas presented in it often when thinking of my own portfolio.

He will be remembered.

RIP
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Oregano »

Swensen's legacy unfortunately includes the trillions of dollars of under-performance that resulted from the many pension consultants and investment advisors who tried to copy his approach, but only ended up with higher fees and lower returns. So while many such as the Bogleheads benefited from the advice in Unconventional Success, Pioneering Portfolio Management (though also excellent) mostly led to behavior that enriched the middlemen at the expense of the end investors.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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Oregano wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 1:05 pm Swensen's legacy unfortunately includes the trillions of dollars of under-performance that resulted from the many pension consultants and investment advisors who tried to copy his approach, but only ended up with higher fees and lower returns. So while many such as the Bogleheads benefited from the advice in Unconventional Success, Pioneering Portfolio Management (though also excellent) mostly led to behavior that enriched the middlemen at the expense of the end investors.
De mortuis nil nisi bonum
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by bish0p »

RIP David Swensen.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by jginseattle »

Unconventional Success had a huge influence on me.

Rest In Peace.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Orangutan »

I wasn’t expecting this. RIP David Swenson.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Oregano »

AlwaysLearningMore wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 3:30 pm
Oregano wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 1:05 pm Swensen's legacy unfortunately includes the trillions of dollars of under-performance that resulted from the many pension consultants and investment advisors who tried to copy his approach, but only ended up with higher fees and lower returns. So while many such as the Bogleheads benefited from the advice in Unconventional Success, Pioneering Portfolio Management (though also excellent) mostly led to behavior that enriched the middlemen at the expense of the end investors.
De mortuis nil nisi bonum
Disagree with that sentiment, but not my point anyway. It's not Swensen's fault that so many others could not match his skill. As for the many salespeople, they didn't even care - they had a nice idea to follow Swensen that would get them paid.

Simple platitudes don't do much good in analyzing a multi-faceted world. Swensen was great for Yale, but the truth is not so pretty for everyone else.
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by AlwaysLearningMore »

Oregano wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 8:14 pm
AlwaysLearningMore wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 3:30 pm
Oregano wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 1:05 pm Swensen's legacy unfortunately includes the trillions of dollars of under-performance that resulted from the many pension consultants and investment advisors who tried to copy his approach, but only ended up with higher fees and lower returns. So while many such as the Bogleheads benefited from the advice in Unconventional Success, Pioneering Portfolio Management (though also excellent) mostly led to behavior that enriched the middlemen at the expense of the end investors.
De mortuis nil nisi bonum
Disagree with that sentiment, but not my point anyway. It's not Swensen's fault that so many others could not match his skill. As for the many salespeople, they didn't even care - they had a nice idea to follow Swensen that would get them paid.

Simple platitudes don't do much good in analyzing a multi-faceted world. Swensen was great for Yale, but the truth is not so pretty for everyone else.
The failures of others are not the failure of David Swensen, and their legacies have those failures, not those of David Swensen. The legacy of the originator should not contain the failures of those who copied him.
Retirement is best when you have a lot to live on, and a lot to live for. * None of what I post is investment advice.* | FIRE'd July 2023
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Re: RIP David Swensen

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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by abuss368 »

Oregano wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 1:05 pm Swensen's legacy unfortunately includes the trillions of dollars of under-performance that resulted from the many pension consultants and investment advisors who tried to copy his approach, but only ended up with higher fees and lower returns. So while many such as the Bogleheads benefited from the advice in Unconventional Success, Pioneering Portfolio Management (though also excellent) mostly led to behavior that enriched the middlemen at the expense of the end investors.
Words can not describe. Why would we even consider adding this to this thread.

Rest In Peace Dr. Swensen. I will always be thankful for attending one of your lectures.

Tony
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
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Re: RIP David Swensen

Post by Oregano »

abuss368 wrote: Sat May 08, 2021 6:10 pm
Oregano wrote: Fri May 07, 2021 1:05 pm Swensen's legacy unfortunately includes the trillions of dollars of under-performance that resulted from the many pension consultants and investment advisors who tried to copy his approach, but only ended up with higher fees and lower returns. So while many such as the Bogleheads benefited from the advice in Unconventional Success, Pioneering Portfolio Management (though also excellent) mostly led to behavior that enriched the middlemen at the expense of the end investors.
Words can not describe. Why would we even consider adding this to this thread.

Rest In Peace Dr. Swensen. I will always be thankful for attending one of your lectures.

Tony
The only reason people are fawning over him on this website is because of those books! But those books have almost certainly caused a lot more bad than good for investors.
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