--- title: "8 Assets Quotes By Seth Klarman" description: "8 Assets quotes by Seth Klarman. Plus more from Seth Klarman and more Assets sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/seth-klarman-1979_amount_if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelih_765836.png" --- > [If an asset has cash flow or the likelihood of cash flow in the near term and is not purely dependment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelihood-of-cash-flow-in-the-near/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/seth-klarman-1979_amount_if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelih_765836.png) > [When excesses such as lax lending standards become widespread and persist for some time, people are lulled into a false sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/when-excesses-such-as-lax-lending-standards-become-widespread-and/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/seth-klarman-1979_assets_when-excesses-such-as-lax-lending-standa_955988.png) > [Beware leverage in all its forms. Borrowers - individual, corporate, or government - should always match fund their liabilities against the duration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/beware-leverage-in-all-its-forms-borrowers-individual-corporate-or/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/seth-klarman-1979_assets_beware-leverage-in-all-its-forms-borrowe_978665.jpg) > [There's no such thing as a value company. Price is all that matters. At some price, an asset is a buy, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-value-company-price-is-all-that-matters-at/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/seth-klarman-1979_assets_there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-value-company_1605858.png) > [Flexible approach - will look at ALL asset classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/flexible-approach-will-look-at-all-asset-classes/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/934/seth-klarman-1979_approach_flexible-approach-will-look-at-all-asset_2514598.png) > [The average person can’t really trust anybody. They can’t trust a broker, because the broker is interested in churning commissions. They can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/the-average-person-can-t-really-trust-anybody-they-can-t-trust-a/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/seth-klarman-1979_assets_the-average-person-can-t-really-trust-an_2613100.png) > [Financial innovation can be highly dangerous, though almost no one will tell you this. New financial products are typically created for sunny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/financial-innovation-can-be-highly-dangerous-though-almost-no-one/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/seth-klarman-1979_almost-perfect_financial-innovation-can-be-highly-dange_2933868.png) > [Value investors will not invest in businesses that they cannot readily understand or ones they find excessively risky. Hence few value investors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investors-will-not-invest-in-businesses-that-they-cannot/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/seth-klarman-1979_assets_value-investors-will-not-invest-in-busin_3095052.png) ## Other authors on Assets ## More by Seth Klarman > [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Because investors are not usually penalized for adhering to conventional practices, doing so is the less professionally risky strategy, even though it virtually guarantees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/because-investors-are-not-usually-penalized-for-adhering-to/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Be focused on process and not outcome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/be-focused-on-process-and-not-outcome/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [There is an old saying, "How did you go bankrupt?" And the answer is, "Gradually, and then suddenly." The impending fiscal crisis in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/there-is-an-old-saying-how-did-you-go-bankrupt-and-the-answer-is/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [In a rising market, everyone makes money and a value philosophy is unnecessary. But because there is no certain way to predict what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/in-a-rising-market-everyone-makes-money-and-a-value-philosophy-is/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Ultimately, nothing should be more important to investors than the ability to sleep soundly at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/ultimately-nothing-should-be-more-important-to-investors-than-the/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [The best protection against risk is knowing what you are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/the-best-protection-against-risk-is-knowing-what-you-are-doing/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Warren Buffett once wrote that value investing is like an inoculation--it either takes or it doesn't--and when you explain to somebody what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/warren-buffett-once-wrote-that-value-investing-is-like-an-inoculation/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [It is important to remember that value investing is not a perfect science. It is an, with an ongoing need for judgment, refinement, patience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/it-is-important-to-remember-that-value-investing-is-not-a-perfect/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Value investing is at its core the marriage of a contrarian streak and a calculator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-at-its-core-the-marriage-of-a-contrarian-streak/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [The avoidance of loss is the surest way to ensure a profitable outcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/the-avoidance-of-loss-is-the-surest-way-to-ensure-a-profitable-outcome/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Do not suffer interim losses, relish and appreciate them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/do-not-suffer-interim-losses-relish-and-appreciate-them/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Ratings agencies are highly conflicted, unimaginative dupes. They are blissfully unaware of adverse selection and moral hazard. Investors should never trust them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/ratings-agencies-are-highly-conflicted-unimaginative-dupes-they-are/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [It is crucial to have a strategy in place before problems hit, precisely because no one can accurately predict the future direction of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/it-is-crucial-to-have-a-strategy-in-place-before-problems-hit/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assets/seth-klarman/#itemlist", "name": "8 Assets Quotes By Seth Klarman", "numberOfItems": 8, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If an asset has cash flow or the likelihood of cash flow in the near term and is not purely dependment on what a future buyer might pay, then it's an investment. If an asset's value is totally dependent on the amount a future buyer might pay, then its purchase is speculation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Klarman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelihood-of-cash-flow-in-the-near/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/seth-klarman-1979_amount_if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelih_765836.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/seth-klarman-1979_amount_if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelih_765836.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/seth-klarman-1979_amount_if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelih_765836.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If an asset has cash flow or the likelihood of cash flow in the near term and is not purely dependment on…” — Seth Klarman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When excesses such as lax lending standards become widespread and persist for some time, people are lulled into a false sense of security, creating an even more dangerous situation. In some cases, excesses migrate beyond regional or national borders, raising the ante for investors and governments. These excesses will eventually end, triggering a crisis at least in proportion to the degree of the excesses. Correlations between asset classes may be surprisingly high when leverage rapidly unwinds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Klarman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/when-excesses-such-as-lax-lending-standards-become-widespread-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/seth-klarman-1979_assets_when-excesses-such-as-lax-lending-standa_955988.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/seth-klarman-1979_assets_when-excesses-such-as-lax-lending-standa_955988.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/seth-klarman-1979_assets_when-excesses-such-as-lax-lending-standa_955988.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When excesses such as lax lending standards become widespread and persist for some time, people are lulled…” — Seth Klarman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beware leverage in all its forms. Borrowers - individual, corporate, or government - should always match fund their liabilities against the duration of their assets. Borrowers must always remember that capital markets can be extremely fickle, and that it is never safe to assume a maturing loan can be rolled over. Even if you are unleveraged, the leverage employed by others can drive dramatic price and valuation swings; sudden unavailability of leverage in the economy may trigger an economic downturn.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Klarman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/beware-leverage-in-all-its-forms-borrowers-individual-corporate-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/seth-klarman-1979_assets_beware-leverage-in-all-its-forms-borrowe_978665.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/seth-klarman-1979_assets_beware-leverage-in-all-its-forms-borrowe_978665.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/seth-klarman-1979_assets_beware-leverage-in-all-its-forms-borrowe_978665.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Beware leverage in all its forms. Borrowers - individual, corporate, or government - should always match…” — Seth Klarman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's no such thing as a value company. Price is all that matters. At some price, an asset is a buy, at another it's a hold, and at another it's a sell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Klarman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-value-company-price-is-all-that-matters-at/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/seth-klarman-1979_assets_there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-value-company_1605858.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/seth-klarman-1979_assets_there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-value-company_1605858.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/seth-klarman-1979_assets_there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-value-company_1605858.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's no such thing as a value company. Price is all that matters. 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They can’t trust a broker, because the broker is interested in churning commissions. They can’t trust a mutual fund, because the mutual fund is interested in gathering a lot of assets and keeping them. And now it’s even worse because even the most sophisticated people have no idea what’s going on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Klarman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/the-average-person-can-t-really-trust-anybody-they-can-t-trust-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/seth-klarman-1979_assets_the-average-person-can-t-really-trust-an_2613100.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/seth-klarman-1979_assets_the-average-person-can-t-really-trust-an_2613100.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/seth-klarman-1979_assets_the-average-person-can-t-really-trust-an_2613100.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The average person can’t really trust anybody. They can’t trust a broker, because the broker is interested…” — Seth Klarman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Financial innovation can be highly dangerous, though almost no one will tell you this. New financial products are typically created for sunny days and are almost never stress-tested for stormy weather. Securitization is an area that almost perfectly fits this description; markets for securitized assets such as subprime mortgages completely collapsed in 2008 and have not fully recovered. Ironically, the government is eager to restore the securitization markets back to their pre-collapse stature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Klarman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/financial-innovation-can-be-highly-dangerous-though-almost-no-one/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/seth-klarman-1979_almost-perfect_financial-innovation-can-be-highly-dange_2933868.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/seth-klarman-1979_almost-perfect_financial-innovation-can-be-highly-dange_2933868.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/seth-klarman-1979_almost-perfect_financial-innovation-can-be-highly-dange_2933868.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Financial innovation can be highly dangerous, though almost no one will tell you this. New financial…” — Seth Klarman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Value investors will not invest in businesses that they cannot readily understand or ones they find excessively risky. Hence few value investors will own the shares of technology companies. Many also shun commercial banks, which they consider to have unanalyzable assets, as well as property and casualty insurance companies, which have both unanalyzable assets and liabilities.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Klarman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investors-will-not-invest-in-businesses-that-they-cannot/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/seth-klarman-1979_assets_value-investors-will-not-invest-in-busin_3095052.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/seth-klarman-1979_assets_value-investors-will-not-invest-in-busin_3095052.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/seth-klarman-1979_assets_value-investors-will-not-invest-in-busin_3095052.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Value investors will not invest in businesses that they cannot readily understand or ones they find…” — Seth Klarman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assets/seth-klarman/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assets/seth-klarman/", "name": "Assets Quotes by Seth Klarman", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assets/seth-klarman/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa7/seth-klarman-1979_amount_if-an-asset-has-cash-flow-or-the-likelih_765836.png" }, "description": "8 Assets quotes by Seth Klarman. 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