Index funds as a portfolio core
Malkiel recommends making passively managed index funds the core of an investment portfolio rather than relying on attempts to select winning securities.
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Burton G. Malkiel
Finance & Money
Economist and author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street, known for his research on financial markets and index investing.
Biography
Burton G. Malkiel is an economist whose work examines financial markets, asset prices and investment management. Princeton University identifies him as the Chemical Bank Chairman’s Professor of Economics. He received his doctorate from Princeton in 1964 and joined its faculty that year, following studies at Harvard and work in investment banking.
His book A Random Walk Down Wall Street, first published in 1973, argues for passively managed index funds as the core of an investment portfolio. His research also covers interest rates, international monetary arrangements, emerging markets and investor education.
Alongside his academic work, Malkiel served on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1975 to 1977 and was dean of the Yale School of Organization and Management from 1981 to 1988. His career includes corporate board service at Vanguard, Prudential Financial and the American Stock Exchange, as well as teaching and university leadership at Princeton.
Books by Burton G. Malkiel
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
First published in 1973, A Random Walk Down Wall Street draws on research into asset returns and investment-manager performance to explain the case for passively managed index funds as the core of an investment portfolio.
Publicly documented ideas
Buy and hold a market
An index fund buys and holds the securities in a particular investment market. Malkiel’s work helped bring this market-wide approach to a broader investing audience.