--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Derivatives in and of themselves are not…" description: "\"Derivatives in and of themselves are not evil. There's nothing evil about how they're traded, how they're accounted for, and how they're financed, like..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/james-chanos-20532_derivatives_derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not_994948.png" --- # Derivatives in and of themselves are not evil. There's… ![“Derivatives in and of themselves are not evil. There's nothing evil about how they're traded, how they're accounted for, and how they're financed, like any other financial instrument, if done properly.” quote by James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/james-chanos-20532_derivatives_derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not_994948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/james-chanos-20532_derivatives_derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not_994948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/james-chanos-20532_derivatives_derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not_994948.png) > “Derivatives in and of themselves are not evil. There's nothing evil about how they're traded, how they're accounted for, and how they're financed, like any other financial instrument, if done properly.” [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Derivatives themselves are neutral tools; their moral value depends on usage and regulation. **In simple terms:** Derivatives are not inherently bad. Key Takeaway Use responsibly. Themes finance ethics risk management Mood analytical concerned Type informative cautionary When to use this quote - investment strategies - hedging - portfolio diversification - policy making Key Concepts economics regulation Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards ensure ethical use? - How can transparency be improved? A Different Perspective Complex derivatives can obscure risk and cause systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ## Related quotes > [We've used derivatives for many, many years. I don't think derivatives are evil, per se, I think they are dangerous. ...So we use lots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/we-ve-used-derivatives-for-many-many-years-i-don-t-think-derivatives-2/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [We've used derivatives for many, many years. I don't think derivatives are evil, per se, I think they are dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/we-ve-used-derivatives-for-many-many-years-i-don-t-think-derivatives/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I would argue that no financial instrument counted as regulatory capital should be allowed to receive any protection from losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/i-would-argue-that-no-financial-instrument-counted-as-regulatory/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [In major industrial countries, it is a requirement that the students in grade school learn English. The financial instrument of choice internationally is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-wright-jr/in-major-industrial-countries-it-is-a-requirement-that-the-students/) [Isaac Wright Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-wright-jr/) > [The marginal people on the trading desks, there's no skill set. If they don't trade derivatives, I don't know what they can do. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/the-marginal-people-on-the-trading-desks-there-s-no-skill-set-if-they/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I mean, we've always had gold bugs, but now we sort of realize that Treasure Bills might be in the same category. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-engle/i-mean-we-ve-always-had-gold-bugs-but-now-we-sort-of-realize-that/) [Robert F. Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-engle/) > [From the 1990s onward, the financial sector created a vast array of instruments designed to separate investors from their money, financial derivatives of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-casti/from-the-1990s-onward-the-financial-sector-created-a-vast-array-of/) [John L. Casti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-casti/) > [Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil but then also do no evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-abraham/hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil-see-no-evil-but-then-also-do-no-evil/) [Amit Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-abraham/) > [Evil, what is evil? There is only one evil, to deny life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dh-lawrence/evil-what-is-evil-there-is-only-one-evil-to-deny-life/) [DH Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dh-lawrence/) > [There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/there-is-no-safety-for-honest-men-except-by-believing-all-possible/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Evil, as evil, can never be chosen; and though evil is often the effect of our own choice, yet we never desire it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/evil-as-evil-can-never-be-chosen-and-though-evil-is-often-the-effect/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/those-to-whom-evil-is-done-do-evil-in-return/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I'd have to say, and I think that most Christians would hold the view, that there is such a thing as evil, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hollingworth/i-d-have-to-say-and-i-think-that-most-christians-would-hold-the-view/) [Peter Hollingworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hollingworth/) > [“He was not Evil, for even Evil has a certain vitality — Bel-Shamharoth was the flip side of the coin of which Good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/he-was-not-evil-for-even-evil-has-a-certain-vitality-bel-shamharoth/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“When you repay evil with evil, you become evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/when-you-repay-evil-with-evil-you-become-evil/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) ## More by James Chanos > [Dubai was a property bubble. Plain and simple. Go to Dubai and see what happened. It was... what I call it the 'Edifice complex'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/dubai-was-a-property-bubble-plain-and-simple-go-to-dubai-and-see-what/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [And so it can be very much in the interest of bank A to sell-short bank B shares, or buy CDSes on bank B,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/and-so-it-can-be-very-much-in-the-interest-of-bank-a-to-sell-short/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [Our concerns about what we saw in Australia: an economy clearly tied to China has hitched its wagon to the tail of the tiger.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/our-concerns-about-what-we-saw-in-australia-an-economy-clearly-tied/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [So you know, everyone points out Greece's default record, but the history of a lot of sovereign nations is not a good one when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/so-you-know-everyone-points-out-greece-s-default-record-but-the/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I've seen a lot more go to zero than infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-ve-seen-a-lot-more-go-to-zero-than-infinity/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [Chinais a world class if not the world class property bubble, primarily high-rise buildings, offices and condos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/chinais-a-world-class-if-not-the-world-class-property-bubble/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [There's almost 70 billion in square feet under construction in high rises in commercial, residential and light manufacturing. And we estimate about 30 billion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/there-s-almost-70-billion-in-square-feet-under-construction-in-high/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [What people don't realize is that China papered over its last two credit bubbles, those in 1999 and 2004. The banks were never bailed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/what-people-don-t-realize-is-that-china-papered-over-its-last-two/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [The U.S. healthcare system is probably the most interesting large group of companies that are heading for major problems that we've seen in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/the-u-s-healthcare-system-is-probably-the-most-interesting-large/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I call it the Rule of Three. If you read a company's financial statements three times, and you still can't figure out how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-call-it-the-rule-of-three-if-you-read-a-company-s-financial/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [Healthcare is growing now at about 10 per cent per annum in the U.S. top line, versus 3 per cent for the economy. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/healthcare-is-growing-now-at-about-10-per-cent-per-annum-in-the-u-s/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [It's very difficult in the technology space when you have been leapfrogged to prosper again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/it-s-very-difficult-in-the-technology-space-when-you-have-been/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I've learned there's a big difference between a long-focused value investor and a good short-seller. That difference is psychological and I think it falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-ve-learned-there-s-a-big-difference-between-a-long-focused-value/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [What American people and what the markets want is a fair and level playing-field, where the rules are clearly elucidated, where the referees are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/what-american-people-and-what-the-markets-want-is-a-fair-and-level/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I'll always understand the Schadenfreude aspect to short-selling. I get that no one will always like it. I'm also convinced to the deepest part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-ll-always-understand-the-schadenfreude-aspect-to-short-selling-i/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) [Explore all 30 James Chanos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) ## More Derivatives quotes > [From the 1990s onward, the financial sector created a vast array of instruments designed to separate investors from their money, financial derivatives of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-casti/from-the-1990s-onward-the-financial-sector-created-a-vast-array-of/) [John L. Casti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-casti/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [I think it's really good and helpful to have the people you most admire in some other discipline than what you work in. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [I turn away with fright and horror from the lamentable evil of functions which do not have derivatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hermite/i-turn-away-with-fright-and-horror-from-the-lamentable-evil-of/) [Charles Hermite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hermite/) > [There is a simple rule here, a rule of legislation, a rule of business, a rule of life: beyond a certain point, complexity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/there-is-a-simple-rule-here-a-rule-of-legislation-a-rule-of-business/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Everything is derivative. Everything is a remix, and we all stand on the shoulders of giants - a great phrase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/everything-is-derivative-everything-is-a-remix-and-we-all-stand-on/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/that-hegel-s-theory-is-derivative-from-fichte-s-does-not-prevent-it/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry- architecture being perhaps the least banal derivative of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [ We \[at Soros Fund Management\] use options and more exotic derivatives sparingly. We try to catch new trends early and in later stages we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/we-at-soros-fund-management-use-options-and-more-exotic-derivatives/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Clever derivatives broke dozens of companies. It killed them. Bankrupt. We don't need these kinds of innovation in finance. It's OK to be boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/clever-derivatives-broke-dozens-of-companies-it-killed-them-bankrupt/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-planck/i-regard-consciousness-as-fundamental-i-regard-matter-as-derivative/) [Max Planck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-planck/) > [But how can you understand a war without any knowledge of the society where it happens? It's like trying to understand birth without knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/but-how-can-you-understand-a-war-without-any-knowledge-of-the-society/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [There's nothing terribly wrong with The November Man in a serviceable late-night cable TV sort of way but neither is there anything terribly right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-berardinelli/there-s-nothing-terribly-wrong-with-the-november-man-in-a-serviceable/) [James Berardinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-berardinelli/) > [Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fantasy-remains-a-human-right-we-make-in-our-measure-and-in-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The power of Kings and Magistrates is nothing else, but what is only derivative, transferrd and committed to them in trust from the People,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-power-of-kings-and-magistrates-is-nothing-else-but-what-is-only/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) Browse all 170 Derivatives quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Derivatives in and of themselves are not evil. There's nothing evil about how they're traded, how they're accounted for, and how they're financed, like any other financial instrument, if done properly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Chanos" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not-evil-there-s-nothing-evil/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Derivatives" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not-evil-there-s-nothing-evil/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/james-chanos-20532_derivatives_derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not_994948.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/james-chanos-20532_derivatives_derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not_994948.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/james-chanos-20532_derivatives_derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not_994948.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Derivatives in and of themselves are not evil. There's nothing evil about how they're traded, how they're…” — James Chanos", "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": "James Chanos", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Derivatives in and of themselves are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not-evil-there-s-nothing-evil/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not-evil-there-s-nothing-evil/#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 } } ] } ```