--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is an unfortunate fact that great and…" description: "\"It is an unfortunate fact that great and foolish excess can come into prices of common stocks in the aggregate. They are valued partly like bonds, base..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/charlie-munger-458_cash_it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and_1697669.jpg" --- # It is an unfortunate fact that great and foolish excess… ![“It is an unfortunate fact that great and foolish excess can come into prices of common stocks in the aggregate. They are valued partly like bonds, based on roughly rational projections of use value in producing future cash. But they are also valued partly like Rembrandt paintings, purchased mostly…” quote by Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/charlie-munger-458_cash_it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and_1697669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/charlie-munger-458_cash_it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and_1697669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/charlie-munger-458_cash_it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and_1697669.jpg) > “It is an unfortunate fact that great and foolish excess can come into prices of common stocks in the aggregate. They are valued partly like bonds, based on roughly rational projections of use value in producing future cash. But they are also valued partly like Rembrandt paintings, purchased mostly because their prices have gone up, so far.” [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stocks can be priced like bonds or like art; they may be overvalued due to speculative excess. **In simple terms:** Stocks sometimes get priced like art, leading to overvaluation. Key Takeaway Beware of speculative bubbles in markets. Themes valuation speculation investment Mood cautious analytical Type financial educational When to use this quote - portfolio review - risk assessment - investment education - financial planning Key Concepts behavioral finance market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate rational from speculative price moves? - What safeguards can protect against overvaluation? A Different Perspective Market sentiment can shift quickly, making valuations volatile. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Projection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projection/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [The model I like to sort of simplify the notion of what goes on in a market for common stocks is the pari-mutuel system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-model-i-like-to-sort-of-simplify-the-notion-of-what-goes-on-in-a/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Projections are put together by people who have an interest in a particular outcome, have a subconscious bias, and its apparent precision makes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/projections-are-put-together-by-people-who-have-an-interest-in-a/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Believing that fundamental conditions of the country are sound and there is nothing in the business situation to warrant the destruction of values that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/believing-that-fundamental-conditions-of-the-country-are-sound-and/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [I don't think it makes any sense for an individual to invest in common stocks unless they know the company, work at the company,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/i-don-t-think-it-makes-any-sense-for-an-individual-to-invest-in/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [A price decline is of no real importance to the bona fide investor unless it is either very substantial say, more than a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/a-price-decline-is-of-no-real-importance-to-the-bona-fide-investor/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [“We recommended that the investor divide his holdings between high-grade bonds and leading common stocks; that the proportion held in bonds be never less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/we-recommended-that-the-investor-divide-his-holdings-between-high/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [The history of the past fifty years, and longer, indicates that a diversified holding of representative common stocks will prove more profitable over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-history-of-the-past-fifty-years-and-longer-indicates-that-a/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [You shouldn't own common stocks if a 50 per cent decrease in their value in a short period of time would cause you acute distress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/you-shouldn-t-own-common-stocks-if-a-50-per-cent-decrease-in-their/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [The genuine investor in common stocks does not need a great equipment of brain and knowledge, but he does need some unusual qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-genuine-investor-in-common-stocks-does-not-need-a-great-equipment/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [“While from 1922 to 1929 real wages in manufacturing went up per capita 1.4 percent a year, the holders of common stocks gained 16.4…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/while-from-1922-to-1929-real-wages-in-manufacturing-went-up-per/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If you are shopping for common stocks, choose them the way you would buy groceries, not the way you would buy perfume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/if-you-are-shopping-for-common-stocks-choose-them-the-way-you-would/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [It always seemed, and still seems, ridiculously simple to say that if one can acquire a diversified group of common stocks at a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/it-always-seemed-and-still-seems-ridiculously-simple-to-say-that-if/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [The distinction between investment and speculation in common stocks has always been a useful one and its disappearance is cause for concern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-distinction-between-investment-and-speculation-in-common-stocks/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks (shares') is through an index fund that charges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/most-investors-both-institutional-and-individual-will-find-that-the/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Most of the time common stocks are subject to irrational and excessive price fluctuations in both directions as the consequence of the ingrained tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/most-of-the-time-common-stocks-are-subject-to-irrational-and/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) ## More by Charlie Munger > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Acquire worldly wisdom and adjust your behavior accordingly. If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/acquire-worldly-wisdom-and-adjust-your-behavior-accordingly-if-your/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I think time and time again, in reality, psychological notions and economic notions interplay, and the man who doesn't understand both is a damned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-think-time-and-time-again-in-reality-psychological-notions-and/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The tax code gives you an enormous advantage if you can find some things you can just sit with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-tax-code-gives-you-an-enormous-advantage-if-you-can-find-some/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The great lesson in microeconomics is to discriminate between when technology is going to help you and when it's going to kill you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-great-lesson-in-microeconomics-is-to-discriminate-between-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Some years ago one oil company bought a fertilizer company, and every other major oil company practically ran out and bought a fertilizer company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/some-years-ago-one-oil-company-bought-a-fertilizer-company-and-every/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [ They \[Mc Donalds\] take people and give them a first job, which enables them to get a second job. They do a very good… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/they-mc-donalds-take-people-and-give-them-a-first-job-which-enables/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [What good is envy? It’s the one sin you can’t have any fun at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/what-good-is-envy-it-s-the-one-sin-you-can-t-have-any-fun-at/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We believe that almost all really good investment records will involve relatively little diversification. The basic idea that it was hard to find good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-believe-that-almost-all-really-good-investment-records-will/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [It is way less certain to be a wonderful business in the future. The threat is alternative mediums of information. Every newspaper is scrambling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-way-less-certain-to-be-a-wonderful-business-in-the-future-the/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [We have to have a special insight, or we'll put it in the 'too tough' basket. All of you have to look for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/we-have-to-have-a-special-insight-or-we-ll-put-it-in-the-too-tough/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I've heard that one-half of the students at elite schools want to go into private equity or hedge funds. They want to keep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-ve-heard-that-one-half-of-the-students-at-elite-schools-want-to-go/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Explore all 544 Charlie Munger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) ## More Cash quotes > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [Nothing knits man to man like the frequent passage from hand to hand of cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-sickert/nothing-knits-man-to-man-like-the-frequent-passage-from-hand-to-hand/) [Walter Sickert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-sickert/) > [“It’s me,” he says softly. “Stop listening to everything else. Remember the way you feel when I’m kissing you and touching you. Don’t think with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/it-s-me-he-says-softly-stop-listening-to-everything-else-remember-the/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) > [After I graduated, I carried on with my academic work, via grants but I often had a market stall on Camden Market selling hand-painted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/after-i-graduated-i-carried-on-with-my-academic-work-via-grants-but-i/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [You might be a redneck if you have a picture of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, or Elvis over your fireplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/you-might-be-a-redneck-if-you-have-a-picture-of-johnny-cash-willie/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [American forces in Iraq found $650 million in American cash sealed in a hidden cottage. See, this is why President Bush wants to invade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/american-forces-in-iraq-found-650-million-in-american-cash-sealed-in/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I feel a lot better when I've got a bit of cash on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-doherty/i-feel-a-lot-better-when-i-ve-got-a-bit-of-cash-on-me/) [Pete Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-doherty/) > [If our financial industry regarded security the way the health-care sector does, I would stuff my cash in a mattress under my bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-rubin/if-our-financial-industry-regarded-security-the-way-the-health-care/) [Avi Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-rubin/) > [Why, just a couple of economic seasons ago, was idle cash considered an indication of bad management or lazy management? Because it meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/why-just-a-couple-of-economic-seasons-ago-was-idle-cash-considered-an/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [The only issue cash presents you is the independence of not stressing about funds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/the-only-issue-cash-presents-you-is-the-independence-of-not-stressing/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [It's funny about men and women. Men pay in cash to get them and pay in cash to get rid of them. Women pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hedy-lamarr/it-s-funny-about-men-and-women-men-pay-in-cash-to-get-them-and-pay-in/) [Hedy Lamarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hedy-lamarr/) > [ I mean, you take a look at this, it's one way. \[Mexicans\] get the jobs, they get the factories, they get the cash, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-mean-you-take-a-look-at-this-it-s-one-way-mexicans-get-the-jobs/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [It was really starting to get pathetic, everyday they would come in looking for one thing or another. 'Zach, can you give me some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/it-was-really-starting-to-get-pathetic-everyday-they-would-come-in/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [One of my officers said to me that Trinidad and Tobago is seen like an ATM card... you come in with the card and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamla-persad-bissessar/one-of-my-officers-said-to-me-that-trinidad-and-tobago-is-seen-like/) [Kamla Persad-Bissessar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamla-persad-bissessar/) Browse all 1,141 Cash quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is an unfortunate fact that great and foolish excess can come into prices of common stocks in the aggregate. They are valued partly like bonds, based on roughly rational projections of use value in producing future cash. But they are also valued partly like Rembrandt paintings, purchased mostly because their prices have gone up, so far.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charlie Munger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and-foolish-excess-can-come-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cash" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and-foolish-excess-can-come-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/charlie-munger-458_cash_it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and_1697669.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/charlie-munger-458_cash_it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and_1697669.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/768/charlie-munger-458_cash_it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and_1697669.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is an unfortunate fact that great and foolish excess can come into prices of common stocks in the…” — Charlie Munger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charlie Munger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is an unfortunate fact that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and-foolish-excess-can-come-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-is-an-unfortunate-fact-that-great-and-foolish-excess-can-come-into/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```