Book · 1973
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
by Burton G. Malkiel
A Princeton economist argues no one, professional or amateur, can consistently beat a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at the stock listings.
What does Reddit think of A Random Walk Down Wall Street?
A Random Walk Down Wall Street turns up across r/Bogleheads, r/investing, and r/financialindependence often enough that Bogleheads use it as shorthand as much as a title. The ↑565 comment invokes it sideways: 'It's like A Random Walk Down Wall Street was never written,' aimed at people panic-selling instead of parking money in index funds. That's the house move here, citing the book to mock whoever hasn't absorbed it yet. The ↑315 r/investing recommendation puts it first, ahead of a Bill Ackman video, and the ↑225 comment frames the whole genre it belongs to as explaining why stock-picking is 'a loser's game.' r/Bogleheads' ↑157 pairing with The Four Pillars of Investing goes further, prescribing both as psychological prep for market drawdowns rather than pure theory. Not every thread agrees on tone, though. r/financialindependence reads more mixed than uniformly warm, and the ↑119 r/investing list only reaches this book after calling a different one fraudulent. Consensus on substance, not on enthusiasm.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Indexing over stock-picking as the load-bearing argument
- · Cited ironically at panic-sellers, not just recommended to them
- · Paired with The Four Pillars of Investing for drawdown psychology
- · One entry in a beginner-investing reading stack, not always a solo pick
Common praise
- + The ↑409 r/personalfinance poster calls it one of their all-time favorites and says they've bought a couple of different editions.
- + The ↑315 r/investing comment tells readers to start with this book before anything else, Ackman videos included.
- + r/Bogleheads pairs it with The Four Pillars of Investing specifically to prepare readers psychologically for market crashes.
Common criticism
- − The ↑119 r/investing list only reaches this book after spending its first line calling a different book fraudulent, hardly a ringing setup.
Who it's for
You don't need this if you've already read three books making the same indexing argument; r/Bogleheads treats it as one entry in a stack, per the ↑157 pairing with The Four Pillars of Investing. But if the case for indexing hasn't clicked yet, the ↑225 comment's 'loser's game' framing is exactly the argument this book is built to make, and the ↑315 comment says to read it before anything else, Ackman video included.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for A Random Walk Down Wall Street?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“It’s like A Random Walk Down Wall Street was never written. The sky always seems to be falling, yet the market continues to rise over time.
“A random walk down Wall Street is one of my all time favorites. He’s updated it a few times and I’ve bought a couple different ones
“Individual stocks are good, but index funds are where I park most of my money. A really good resource is A Random Walk Down Wall Street — I would read that first. Bill Ackman has a great video on YouTube called Everything You Need to Know (here). That will give you a…
“There are classic books that explain in detail why trying to pick individual stocks "is a loser's game". Chief among them is A Random Walk Down Wall Street. I would spend my summer reading these two books. If you want to try your hand at stock picking I wouldn't go 50:50. I would use 10% or less of …
“If you really want to begin understanding “the catch” read The Four Pillars of Investing by William Bernstein and Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. They will help you prepare psychologically for market drawdowns and not be pulled into manias and bubbles, such as what’s going on with bi…
“That book is s*** and the author is a fraud. Here's some good books: The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing The Four Pillars of Investing A Random Walk Down Wall Street The Psychology of Money Same as Ever Common Sense Investing
“There's a really in depth and brilliant book on this called "a random walk down wall street" that goes into incredible detail about this, about why it works and why people still believe it's better to actively invest. There are basically three reasons people actively invest: A belief they are in t…
“Warren Buffett Interpretation of Financial Statements, The Intelligent Investor and the previously mentioned Random Walk Down Wall Street are the ones I read. Full disclosure, by the time I was finished reading it seemed too much like work so I ended up just buying index funds.
“Been in your shoes staring at charts wondering how ppl pull off those crazy gains real talk most are either lucky gamblers or pros running algos. neither’s replicable what helped me was focusing on two things instead 1) read A Random Walk Down Wall Street—explains why most traders lose long-term …
“Circa 1998 after reading A Random Walk Down Wall Street. Have been in love with index funds ever since.
“"A Random Walk Down Wall Street". Burt Malkiel (Who is still rocking it at 90+ years old, was a mentor to Bogle and ran Vanguard for 20+ years). 50th Anniversary edition just came out last year. Updated with comments about BitCoin etc. Great read. Should be mandatory for this sub.
“What's your level of understanding when it comes to finance/investing? I'm tempted to say neither. These two books are a bit of a meme when it comes to recommendations but I'm fairly sure most of the people recommending random walk don't understand the implications and most of the people recommend…
“You should read "A Random Walk Down Wall Street." The ones that beat the market one year can't reproduce the results over time, and the average active fund underperforms. The underperformance is worse in taxable accounts.
“Many thanks... I was a student of Professor Malkiel's decades ago, when "A Random Walk down Wall Street" was still new and somewhat controversial, and not too long after Vanguard made index investing practical. It's amazing how long and hard active managers have fought against the obvious.. …
“Before investing ANYTHING, read the book called A Random Walk Down Wall Street. It will teach you the basics, but most importantly prevent you from falling into idiotic investing (really speculation) traps. Robinhood, an app, is pretty good for beginners as it has no commissions. Other than that pu…
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Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with A Random Walk Down Wall Street — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street — frequently asked
Is A Random Walk Down Wall Street still relevant in 2026?+
Yes, per the data. It kept picking up mentions across the tracked years, with r/Bogleheads still citing it as recently as February 2026 to argue against market-timing. The ↑565 comment is illustrative: it invokes the book's title against panic-sellers, not as a dated curiosity.
What does r/Bogleheads think of A Random Walk Down Wall Street?+
It's closer to house scripture than a mere recommendation. The ↑565 comment references it sideways to needle people ignoring index-fund logic, and the ↑157 comment pairs it with The Four Pillars of Investing as required reading before a downturn. The subreddit's own sentiment reads positive.
Should I read A Random Walk Down Wall Street before picking individual stocks?+
The ↑225 r/investing comment says yes, bluntly: it's cited as one of the classic explanations for why stock-picking is 'a loser's game,' with a recommendation to read it before trying your hand at anything more speculative.
Is A Random Walk Down Wall Street better than The Intelligent Investor?+
Neither excerpt picks a winner. The ↑114 r/investing comment calls The Intelligent Investor dense and somewhat outdated, then recommends supplementing it with other books; A Random Walk Down Wall Street shows up elsewhere as a separate, first-read recommendation rather than a head-to-head replacement.