They are undoubtedly the most skilled and shrewd of the investor class. The free market when allowed to function properly (hear that Wall Street) will always determine fair value, in large part due to the whales.

I would generally agree, except for the fact that some whales got there purely through "dumb luck" (ie. "sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart"), and that's just fine too. The real problem is that for at least some whales, it's that big money often changes people and skews how they think, as they succumb to the "hubris" of it all. And next thing, you have people like George Soros trying to force the world into their twisted version of how they think it should be.

That's why it's so important to stay humble regardless, and definitely don't just blindly follow a "whale" into a trade, lest your "whale guru" turns out to be the next Bill Ackman. The following video is worth watching as well. However, I would direct you first to watch 18:40->20:05, where Novogratz says the following:

"Not one of my friends from the hedge fund world, the giant macro funds, or the long short equity investors that you read about in the papers... I don't know one that has a significant holding of this stuff. And bubbles don't end until they BUY."

Going back to steemit, for those of you who may have tried out randowhale or Whaleshares, this may help you maximize the effect of your "whale votes": The "SECRET" to properly summoning randowhale and Whaleshares to MAXIMIZE your ROI!