The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.

Investors
John Templeton
Born in 1912 in a small Tennessee town, John Templeton pioneered the concept of global diversified investing. His Templeton Growth Fund, established in 1954, delivered annualized returns exceeding 15% over 38 years, and in 1999 Money magazine named him 'arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century.' Combining a contrarian philosophy with deep religious faith, he left an enduring mark on 20th-century financial history through both investing and philanthropy.
View this figure's profile
John Templeton's Other Quotes
Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria.
To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are avidly buying requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest ultimate rewards.
An investor who has all the answers doesn't even understand the questions.
If you want to have a better performance than the crowd, you must do things differently from the crowd.
Related Quotes
In prosperous times, save diligently; in downturns, invest boldly.
-- Honda Seiroku
Being too far ahead of your time is indistinguishable from being wrong.
-- Howard Marks
Value investing is at its core the marriage of a contrarian streak and a calculator.
-- Seth Klarman
We were ugly-duckling buyers from start to finish.
-- John Neff
It's not always easy to do what's not popular, but that's where you make your money. Buy stocks that look bad to less careful investors and hang on until their true value is recognized.
-- John Neff
The stock market is the only business I know that when things go on sale, the customers run out of the store.
-- Leon G. Cooperman