--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be greedy when others are fearful and…" description: "\"“Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.' Easier said than done for the vast majority of stock traders. ... On every stoc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/m-e-thomas-2-56909_beating-the-market_be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fe_1629705.jpg" --- # Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others… ![“Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.' Easier said than done for the vast majority of stock traders. ... On every stock trade there is someone who wants to sell and someone who wants to buy, at least at a particular price. ...the person who is selling thinks that…” quote by M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/m-e-thomas-2-56909_beating-the-market_be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fe_1629705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/m-e-thomas-2-56909_beating-the-market_be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fe_1629705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/m-e-thomas-2-56909_beating-the-market_be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fe_1629705.jpg) > ““Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.' Easier said than done for the vast majority of stock traders. ... On every stock trade there is someone who wants to sell and someone who wants to buy, at least at a particular price. ...the person who is selling thinks that she is getting out just in time while the person buying thinks that he is about to make good money. ... The truth is that the market doesn't really reflect some magical perfect valuation of a stock under the efficient market hypothesis. It reflects the mass consensus of how actual individual investors value the stock. It is the sum total of everyone's hopes and fears...”” [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote advises adopting a contrarian stance in markets, buying when others are fearful and selling when they are greedy, highlighting that market prices reflect collective sentiment rather than intrinsic value. **In simple terms:** Buy low, sell high by following crowd emotions. Key Takeaway Use sentiment as a signal, not a rule. Themes investment psychology contrarianism market dynamics behavioral finance Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - stock trading - real estate investing - cryptocurrency markets - portfolio rebalancing - economic forecasting Key Concepts crowd psychology valuation theory risk management Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure true market sentiment? - When should you trust fundamentals over crowd behavior? A Different Perspective Contrarian moves can be risky if sentiment shifts rapidly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Easier said than done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier-said-than-done/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hopes and fears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopes-and-fears/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Sociopath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociopath/) [Sociopathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociopathy/) [Stock market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stock-market/) [Stocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stocks/) [Trading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trading/) ## Related quotes > [“What the efficient market hypothesis doesn't account for is that people are not always rational. Just ask any divorce lawyer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coreen-t-sol/what-the-efficient-market-hypothesis-doesn-t-account-for-is-that/) [Coreen T. Sol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coreen-t-sol/) > [Obama hates selling. He thinks people should just accept the right thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/obama-hates-selling-he-thinks-people-should-just-accept-the-right/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [Unfortunately, skill in evaluating the business prospects of a firm is not sufficient for successful stock trading, where the key question is whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/unfortunately-skill-in-evaluating-the-business-prospects-of-a-firm-is/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“While I don't think sociopaths have any sort of moral urge to do good things, I think they can and do act morally in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/while-i-don-t-think-sociopaths-have-any-sort-of-moral-urge-to-do-good/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [“I'm an 'intelligent' sociopath. I don't have problems with drugs, I don't commit crimes, I don't take pleasure in hurting people, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/i-m-an-intelligent-sociopath-i-don-t-have-problems-with-drugs-i-don-t/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [“I regularly comment on my desire to exploit my admirers or to kill babies and cute animals, and I don't even need to laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/i-regularly-comment-on-my-desire-to-exploit-my-admirers-or-to-kill/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [A hedge fund manager whose clients demand monthly performance reports has different needs than any individual investors with a 20-year time horizon. The needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/a-hedge-fund-manager-whose-clients-demand-monthly-performance-reports/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Our standard prescription for the know-nothing investor with a long-term time horizon is a no-load index fund. I think that works better than relying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/our-standard-prescription-for-the-know-nothing-investor-with-a-long/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [The amount of data and analysis available for free is a true example of information explosion has leveled the playing field for individual investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/the-amount-of-data-and-analysis-available-for-free-is-a-true-example/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [My biggest prediction for the future is that people are going to start looking after individual investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-bogle/my-biggest-prediction-for-the-future-is-that-people-are-going-to/) [John C. Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/) > [Individual investors have become far more powerful than anyone gives them credit for. Today, 85 million Americans invest in stocks. Collectively, that kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/individual-investors-have-become-far-more-powerful-than-anyone-gives/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [My best advice to individual investors can readily be summed up into two closely linked precepts. Be patient and don't be greedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cundall/my-best-advice-to-individual-investors-can-readily-be-summed-up-into/) [Peter Cundall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cundall/) > [Individual investors predictably flock to stocks in companies that are in the news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/individual-investors-predictably-flock-to-stocks-in-companies-that/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Unless an investor has access to “incredibly high-qualified professionals,” they “should be 100 percent passive - that includes almost all individual investors and most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/unless-an-investor-has-access-to-incredibly-high-qualified/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) > [Where you want to be is always in control, never wishing, always trading, and always first and foremost protecting your ass. That's why most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/where-you-want-to-be-is-always-in-control-never-wishing-always/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) ## More by M. E. Thomas > [“I'm an 'intelligent' sociopath. I don't have problems with drugs, I don't commit crimes, I don't take pleasure in hurting people, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/i-m-an-intelligent-sociopath-i-don-t-have-problems-with-drugs-i-don-t/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [“I regularly comment on my desire to exploit my admirers or to kill babies and cute animals, and I don't even need to laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/i-regularly-comment-on-my-desire-to-exploit-my-admirers-or-to-kill/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [“What is it like being self-aware without a self-construct? Much of my self-awareness is the result of indirect observation of the effects I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/what-is-it-like-being-self-aware-without-a-self-construct-much-of-my/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [“While I don't think sociopaths have any sort of moral urge to do good things, I think they can and do act morally in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/while-i-don-t-think-sociopaths-have-any-sort-of-moral-urge-to-do-good/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [“Everybody slips up becaues we're not perfect; that's what mercy is for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/everybody-slips-up-becaues-we-re-not-perfect-that-s-what-mercy-is-for/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) [Explore all 6 M. E. Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) ## More Customer quotes > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) Michael Fishman > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [The best way to hold customers is to constantly figure out how to give them more for less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/the-best-way-to-hold-customers-is-to-constantly-figure-out-how-to/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [Perhaps the most important reason to be skeptical of government inflation numbers is that the government, like a fox campaigning to guard a hen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/perhaps-the-most-important-reason-to-be-skeptical-of-government/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [Damn inflation, full speed ahead,' Greenspan has said in both action and word. I think an investor should believe him and invest accordingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gross/damn-inflation-full-speed-ahead-greenspan-has-said-in-both-action-and/) [Bill Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gross/) > [“When companies get big, they devote most of their care and feeding to the business that got them big. This is as it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/when-companies-get-big-they-devote-most-of-their-care-and-feeding-to/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 9,257 Customer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.' Easier said than done for the vast majority of stock traders. ... On every stock trade there is someone who wants to sell and someone who wants to buy, at least at a particular price. ...the person who is selling thinks that she is getting out just in time while the person buying thinks that he is about to make good money. ... The truth is that the market doesn't really reflect some magical perfect valuation of a stock under the efficient market hypothesis. It reflects the mass consensus of how actual individual investors value the stock. It is the sum total of everyone's hopes and fears...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M. E. Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fearful-when-others-are-greedy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Customer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fearful-when-others-are-greedy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/m-e-thomas-2-56909_beating-the-market_be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fe_1629705.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/m-e-thomas-2-56909_beating-the-market_be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fe_1629705.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/m-e-thomas-2-56909_beating-the-market_be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fe_1629705.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.' Easier said than done for the vast…” — M. E. Thomas", "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": "M. E. Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Be greedy when others are fearful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fearful-when-others-are-greedy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/be-greedy-when-others-are-fearful-and-fearful-when-others-are-greedy/#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 } } ] } ```