Burton Gordon Malkiel (born August 28, 1932) is an American economist and writer, most famous for his classic finance book A Random Walk Down Wall Street (now in its 8th edition, 2003). August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... An economist is someone who studies Economics. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Jump to: navigation, search Finance studies and addresses the ways in which individuals, businesses and organizations raise, allocate and use monetary resources over time, taking into account the risks entailed in their projects. ...

He has also written influential articles, including "The Valuation of Closed-End Investment Company Shares," Journal of Finance (1977). This article discussed the puzzle of why closed-end fund companies typically trade at market valuations lower than the net value of their assets. If net asset value and market capitalization are only two ways of measuring the same thing, then why is there a consistent difference between them? 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ...

Malkiel discussed, and discarded, the hypothesis that the discount is due to the management fees. The argument of the paper is that since management fees are generally constant, this view wouldn't explain changes in the size of the discount during the life-cycle of a fund.

Furthermore, if the discount resulted from management fees, it should be related (Malkiel contended) to interest rates, yet the data doesn't support any such tie.

He is a professor of economics at Princeton University, and is a two-time chairman of the economics department there. He served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisors (1975-1977), president of the American Finance Association (1978), and dean of the Yale University School of Organization and Management (1981-1987). A professor is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... Jump to: navigation, search Supply and demand The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability and demand. ... For other Princetons, see Princeton. ... The Council of Economic Advisers is a group of economists set up to advise the President of the United States. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... The American Finance Association is an academic organization whose focus is the study and promotion of knowledge of financial economics. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Yale (disambiguation). ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Malkiel received his bachelor's degree (1953) and his MBA (1955) from Harvard University, and his doctorate (1964) from Princeton. He married his first wife, Judith Atherton Malkiel, in 1954; they had one son, Jonathan. After Judith Malkiel's death in 1987, Burton Malkiel married his second wife, Nancy Weiss in 1988. He served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army from 1955 to 1958. Jump to: navigation, search 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Malkiel is closely affiliated with the Vanguard Group due to Vanguard's similar investment philosophies. Astute readers of A Random Walk Down Wall Street will observe Malkiel references Vanguard frequently. Jump to: navigation, search The Vanguard Group is an American investment management company that offers mutual funds and other financial products and services to individual investors and institutional investors in the United States and abroad. ...

See also

• random walk
• brownian motion
• stochastic process
• Vanguard Group

In mathematics and physics, a random walk is a formalization of the intuitive idea of taking successive steps, each in a random direction. ... An example of 1000 simulated steps of Brownian motion in two dimensions. ... Jump to: navigation, search In the mathematics of probability, a stochastic process is a random function. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Vanguard Group is an American investment management company that offers mutual funds and other financial products and services to individual investors and institutional investors in the United States and abroad. ...

External link

• Malkiel's personal webpage

References

• "Malkiel, Burton Gordon". Who's Who in America. New Providence, NJ : Marquis, Who's Who, 2003.