Interview  |  NOV 1996

On the Principle of Parsimony: James O'Shaughnessy by Thom Hartle

On the Principle of Parsimony James O'Shaughnessy by Thom Hartle I wanted to understand why certain stocks went up and why others went down. I went looking for literature that would explain what I could see happening in the marketplace. I found that a lot of the available material was anecdotal. Where was the scientific methodology to support the claims? I was surprised that there wasn't much of that type of research available. – James O'Shaughnessy Money manager and author James O'Shaughnessy, founder and president of O'Shaughnessy Capital Management, has been called a ""statistical guru"" (by Barron's, no less), while his first book, Invest Like the Best, was pronounced ""awesome"" by Forbes. O'Shaughnessy's latest work, What Works on Wall Street, is a serious inquiry into the investment stategies that stand up under long-term scrutiny and is refreshing research for every investor. So what does work on Wall Street, and more important, why? To find out, STOCKS & COMMODITIES Editor Thom Hartle spoke to O'Shaughnessy on August 27, 1996, via telephone interview about investing for the long term, why human nature is brilliant as well as destructive and what class of companies offers the best opportunities.

by Thom Hartle