An Interview with Peter Lynch in 1996, Six Years After Retirement

Lynch Discusses the 1987 Crash, Retail Investor's Advantage, Turning over Rocks, Macro, Savings, Long-Term Investing, Mutual Funds, and Stock Picking.

Peter Lynch ran the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between the years 1977 and 1990, where he generated a compounded annual return of 29.2%. With assets of $20 million at the beginning of Lynch’s tenure, the fund would later swell to $14 billion by the time he left. Despite running a mutual fund, he was known as a fierce advocate for the retail investor, often acknowledging the handful of advantages they possess over institutional investors with the caveat that most retail investors treat the stock market like a casino and that is what leads to their ultimate downfall.

“There's always been this position that the small investor has no chance against the big institutions. If they believe this theory that the small investor has no chance, they invest in a different format. They said, "This is a casino. I'll buy stock this month. I'll sell it a month later”. When they look at a house, they're very careful. They look at the school system. They look at the street. They look at the plu…