David Brancaccio

I thought, why not catch up with the author of what is arguably the most influential book on personal finance and investing of all time.

First published in 1973, A Random Walk Down Wall Street argues that it's super hard to beat the stock market.

Its author, Burton Malkiel, Princeton professor emeritus, is still at it at 93.

He joins us from New Jersey.

Dr. Malkiel, welcome.

Delighted to be with you.

13 editions of Random Walk.

I have my dog-eared copy.

I gave a gift of your book to my kids when they were starting out.

But for those new to it, Professor, you make the case that what?

It's pretty darn hard to beat the market averages by picking individual stocks?

Now, none of this means you shouldn't tend to your portfolio.

Keep an eye on it.

Rebalance it.

Don't just set it and forget it.

I'm thinking of somebody, though.

I mean, you do acknowledge that some people are OK at this.

Some people have figured it out, it seems, how to beat the market.

You must have known the late Jim Simons, the mathematician at Stony Brook and hedge fund manager at Renaissance Technologies.

I mean, he made a fortune for his investors taking advantage of market inefficiencies that his mathematical models seem to identify.