Marks states risk cannot be quantified in advance and historical volatility is not a good risk indicator.
“risk is unquantifiable in advance. You can make reference to the historical volatility, the historical standard deviation, but number one, that's not a very good indicator of risk.”
Marks argues that risk cannot be quantified even after the fact, citing an example of a doubled investment.
“You buy something for 100. A year later, sell it for 200. Was it risky? You can't tell. Even when it's over, you can't tell.”
Marks invokes Einstein's quote that not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts.
“Einstein, there's a great quote from Einstein, who said that not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”