52 Philip Fisher Quotes (LEGENDARY INVESTOR)

In the world of investing, few names resonate as powerfully as Philip Arthur Fisher. Known for his pioneering work in growth investing and his iconic book “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits,” Fisher’s wisdom extends beyond traditional finance, delving into the psychology of investing, corporate analysis, and the art of identifying growth stocks.

These quotes aren’t simply investment advice; they are profound insights from one of the most influential investors of all time. They offer perspectives on long-term investing, understanding a company’s management, and the multiple elements that form Fisher’s philosophy of growth investing.

Whether you’re a novice investor, a seasoned market player, or just someone intrigued by the complexities of the financial world, these quotes will challenge your thinking, deepen your understanding, and inspire you to approach investing with a fresh perspective.

15 Best Philip Arthur Fisher Quotes on Investing

“Investors have been so oversold on diversification that fear of having too many eggs in one basket has caused them to put far too little into companies they thoroughly know and far too much in others which they know nothing about.”
Philip Fisher

More money has probably been lost by investors holding a stock they really did not want until they could 'at least come out even' than from any other single reason. — More **money** has probably been lost by investors holding a stock they really did not want until they could ‘at least come out even’ than from any other single reason.

The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.

A large company’s need to bring in a new chief executive from the outside is a damning sign of something basically wrong with the existing management.

Never promote someone who hasn't made some bad mistakes, because if you do, you are promoting someone who has never done anything. — Never promote someone who hasn’t made some bad mistakes, because if you do, you are promoting someone who has never done anything.

The successful investor is usually an individual who is inherently interested in business problems.

In the stock market a good nervous system is even more important than a good head.

If the job has been correctly done when a common stock is purchased, the time to sell it is - almost never. — If the job has been correctly done when a common stock is purchased, the time to sell it is – almost never.

Practical investors usually learn their problem is finding enough outstanding investments, rather than choosing among too many.

Be extra careful when buying into companies and industries that are the current darlings of the financial community.

Usually a very long list of securities is not a sign of the brilliant investor, but of one who is unsure of himself.

“Regardless of how high the rating may be in all other matters, however, if there is a serious question of the lack of a strong management sense of trusteeship for stockholders, the investor should never seriously consider participating in such an enterprise.”
Philip Fisher

Buying a company without having sufficient knowledge of it may be even more dangerous than having inadequate diversification. — Buying a company without having sufficient **knowledge** of it may be even more dangerous than having inadequate diversification.

There are fads and styles in the stock market just as there are in women’s clothes.

Companies that have failed to go uphill have invariably gone downhill.

31 Wise Philip Fisher Quotes (Author of Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits)

“Even in those earlier times, finding the really outstanding companies and staying with them through all the fluctuations of a gyrating market proved far more profitable to far more people than did the more colorful practice of trying to buy them cheap and sell them dear.”
Philip Fisher

He should take extreme care to own not the most, but the best.

Forecasting is like trying to turn lead into gold.

The disadvantage of having eggs in so many baskets that a lot of eggs do not end up in really attractive baskets, and it is impossible to keep watching all the baskets after the eggs are put in.

[Once] a stock has been properly selected and has borne the test of time, it is only occasionally that there is any reason for selling it at all.

The company that doesn’t pioneer, doesn’t take chances, and merely goes along with the crowd is liable to prove a rather mediocre investment in this highly competitive age.

I have already made up my mind, don't confuse me with facts. — I have already made up my mind, don’t confuse me with facts.

Constant leadership in engineering, not patents is the fundamental source of protection. — Constant **leadership** in engineering, not patents is the fundamental source of protection.

For the great majority of transactions, being stubborn about a tiny fractional difference in the price can prove extremely costly.

The wise investor can profit if he can think independently of the crowd and reach the rich answer when the majority of financial opinion is leaning the other way.

“In what other line of activity could you put $10,000 in one year and ten years later (with only occasional checking in the meantime to be sure management continues of high caliber) be able to have an asset worth from $40,000 to $150,000?”
Philip Fisher

I had made what I believe was one of the more valuable decisions of my business life. This was to confine all efforts solely to making major gains in the long-run.

When profit margins of a whole industry rise because of repeated price increases, the indication is not a good one for the long-range investor.

This matter of training oneself not to go with the crowd but to be able to zig when the crowd zags, in my opinion, is one of the most important fundamentals of investment success.

If you can’t do a thing better than others are doing it, don’t do it at all.

The more successful the corporation, the more likely it is to be unique in some of its policies.

When do stockholders get no benefit from retained earnings? One way is when managements pile up cash and liquid assets far beyond any present or prospective needs for the business.

Finding out which physician had lost the smallest percentage of his practice through death would not be a good way to pick a superb doctor.

“The conventional method of timing when to buy stocks is, I believe, just as silly as it appears on the surface to be sensible. This method marshal a vast mass of economic data. From these data conclusions are reached as to the near- and medium-term course of general business.”
Philip Fisher

In the field of common stocks, a little bit of a great many can never be more than a poor substitute for a few of the outstanding.

It is not the profit margins of the past but those of the future that are basically important to the investor. — It is not the profit margins of the past but those of the **future** that are basically important to the investor.

The need for patience if big profits are to be made from investment. — The need for **patience** if big profits are to be made from investment.

Long term investors best stay away from low profit-margin or marginal companies.

“Postponing an attractive purchase because of fear of what the general market might do will, over the years, prove very costly. This is because the investor is ignoring a powerful influence about which he has positive knowledge through fear of a less powerful force about which, in the present state of human knowledge, he and everyone else is largely guessing.”
Philip Fisher

None of us likes to admit to himself that he has been wrong.

Paying a fancy price for something… because of too favorable interpretation of basic facts, is the investment fad of the moment.

What is most important is that stocks are not bought in companies where the dividend pay-out is so emphasized that it restricts realizable growth. — What is most important is that stocks are not bought in companies where the dividend pay-out is so emphasized that it restricts realizable **growth**.

There is a complicating factor that makes the handling of investment mistakes more difficult. This is the ego in each of us.

[The] greatest investment reward comes to those who by good luck or good sense find the occasional company that over the years can grow in sales and profits far more than industry as a whole.

I believe that the economics which deal with forecasting business trends may be considered to be about as far along as was the science of chemistry during the days of alchemy in the Middle Ages. — I believe that the economics which deal with forecasting business trends may be considered to be about as far along as was the science of chemistry during the days of **alchemy** in the Middle Ages.

“The ability to see through some majority opinions to find what facts are really there is a trait that can bring rich rewards in the field of common stocks. It is not easy to develop, however, for the composite opinion of those with whom we associate is a powerful influence upon the minds of all of us.”
Philip Fisher

Top 6 Short Philip Fisher Quotes to Inspire You

Nothing is worth doing unless it is worth doing right.

An investor should always realize that some mistakes are going to be made…

Don’t be afraid of buying on a war scare.

Don’t follow the crowd and don’t overstress diversification.

Philip Fisher Short Biography

Born on 8 September 1907 in San Francisco, California, Philip Fisher was a phenomenal American investor and the last professional who went through the 1929 Great Depression to emerge stronger.

He is one of the pioneers of formative thinkers in the growth stock school of investing who had a profound influence on today’s big-time investors such as Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch.

Philip Fisher was also the author of classic guide to stock investing: Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits (1958).

Fisher had a magnificent 74 years career. Of which, 69 years were spent as the head of his own company, Fisher & Co. (launched in 1931) before retiring at the age of 91. In 7 decades, he had made many of his clients extremely rich and wealthy.

His son, Kenneth Fisher is also a remarkable investor who has a net worth of $4.3B (as of January 2020). Kenneth Fisher has done an incredible job succeeding his father and having founded his own firm in 1979.

Today, many investors dubbed Philip Fisher a legendary.

Further reading:

Philip Fisher: Lessons from a legendary investor – Cashay
(PODCAST Summary) Common Stocks & Uncommon Profits by Philip Fisher – The Investors Podcast
How Phil Fisher’s “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits” Changed Warren Buffett’s View Of Investing – Money is Boring
Phil Fisher: The Art of Holding On – Novel Investor

Here are the best Philip Fisher quotes on investing so you can be wise to purchase the right stocks and hold for the long term with compounding effect.

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**Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings**

Also read:

15 Best Philip Arthur Fisher Quotes on Investing

31 Wise Philip Fisher Quotes (Author of Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits)

Top 6 Short Philip Fisher Quotes to Inspire You

Philip Fisher Short Biography

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