The 15 best quotes about money and investing

On Patience and Compound Interest

"The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient."

— Warren Buffett

Anyone who held the S&P 500 for any 20-year period has never lost money. Anyone who tried to time the market almost always underperformed. Patience isn't one of many investing qualities — it's the most important one. (→ What Happens If You Miss the 10 Best Days)

"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it."

— Attributed to Albert Einstein

CHF 500/month at 7%: CHF 87,000 after 10 years. CHF 263,000 after 20. CHF 610,000 after 30. Half your wealth is created in the last 10 years. Starting early matters more than starting big. (→ The Power of a Savings Plan)

"Buy shares, take sleeping pills, and after many years you'll see: you're rich."

— André Kostolany

Lived to 93, spent 70 years in markets. His advice never changed: buy, hold, don't look. Sounds simple — emotionally, it's extremely hard. That's exactly why automated savings plans work so well. (→ Start a savings plan)

On Risk and Emotions

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing."

— Warren Buffett

The biggest risk isn't a crash. It's buying something you don't understand. Knowledge reduces risk. Ignorance amplifies it.

"Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."

— Warren Buffett

Easy to quote, nearly impossible to follow. In March 2020, most investors sold. Those who bought instead sat on 80%+ gains a year later. Your instinct says "get out!" — that's exactly when you should stay. (→ The Cost of Emotions When Investing)

"The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent."

— John Maynard Keynes

A warning to everyone who thinks they know the perfect moment. Even if you're right, the market can move against you for months. Time in the market beats timing the market.

On Quality and Long-Term Thinking

"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."

— Warren Buffett

This quote marks Buffett's shift from pure value investing to quality investing. A cheap company with poor fundamentals often stays cheap. A quality company with high margins and growing earnings becomes more valuable over time. That's the arvy approach. (→ How Quality Investing Works)

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."

— Blaise Pascal (1654)

Most investing mistakes happen not because people do the wrong thing — but because they do anything at all. Rebalancing on a "feeling." Selling on bad news. The best strategy is often: do nothing.

"Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre."

— Warren Buffett

A quality company gets more valuable over time: stronger brand, wider moat, higher profits. A poor company gets worse. That's why arvy invests in the 30 best quality companies, not 1,500.

On Simplicity and Fees

"Investing is simple, but not easy."

— Warren Buffett

The rules are simple: buy good companies, hold them long, reinvest, keep costs low. Doing it for 20–40 years through crashes and euphoria — that's the hard part.

"In investing, you get what you don't pay for."

— John C. Bogle

Every franc in fees is a franc not working for you. Over 30 years, 1.5% fees consume a third of your wealth. (→ arvy Fees)

On Wealth-Building and Thinking

"Seek specific knowledge that can't be taught through training."

— Naval Ravikant

Real wealth doesn't come from a high salary, but from leverage — code, media, and capital. Investing is one of those levers: your money works for you 24/7. (→ FIRE in Switzerland)

"Go to bed smarter than when you woke up."

— Charlie Munger

Buffett's partner, died 2023 at 99. A lifelong-learning fanatic. Read every day, think every day, get slightly better every day. This quote hangs in the arvy office.

"Wealth is what you don't see."

— Morgan Housel

From "The Psychology of Money." People with the flashiest cars often aren't the wealthiest. The truly wealthy tend to live modestly and invest the rest. Visible spending ≠ actual wealth. (→ The 10 Best Investing Books)

"The best time to invest was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

— Chinese proverb

There's always a reason not to start. The truth: the perfect moment doesn't exist. But every day your money is invested brings you closer to compound interest.