Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing - A Book of Practical Counsel

"The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing" by Benjamin Graham is an absolute must-read for anyone serious about investing. As a classic in the field of value investing, this book offers timeless wisdom and practical advice that remains relevant in today's market. Graham's thorough analysis and clear explanations make complex concepts accessible, even for those new to investing.One of the standout aspects of this book is its emphasis on the principles of value investing, teaching readers how to analyze stocks, understand market behavior, and make informed decisions. Graham's concept of "margin of safety" is a cornerstone of his strategy, and he articulates it with clarity and precision.The updated commentary by Jason Zweig adds valuable insights, bridging Graham's original ideas with contemporary examples and market conditions. This makes the book not only a historical masterpiece but also a practical guide for modern investors.What sets "The Intelligent Investor" apart is its focus on long-term strategies and disciplined investment practices. Graham's wisdom encourages investors to remain patient and rational, avoiding the pitfalls of emotional and speculative investing.Overall, "The Intelligent Investor" is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to build a solid foundation in value investing. Its profound insights, practical advice, and timeless relevance make it a true masterpiece in the world of finance. Highly recommended for both novice and experienced investors!

Great book to read and understand. I read it in my lunch hours in work while also playing on the stock market. Higley recommended

Readers should be aware that this book might look as if it belongs in a museum. Benjamin Graham died in 1976 so his most recent advice on investing in stocks is half a century old now. Added to that, the appendix by Warren Buffett dates from 1984 and the commentary by Jason Zweig is from 2003. However, good advice is usually timeless and the judicious reader will pick his or her way through the references to the dot.com bubble of 1999 and the stagflation of the early 1970s and tease out the nuggets of gold. There are plenty of them.My motivation for reading this book was to find a way to boost my rather meagre pension fund before it’s too late. Having said that, the advice given here (more by Jason Zweig than by the author) is that if you don’t have the time or inclination to read annual reports and spend your leisure time studying graphs and tables of data, you’re better off putting your money in an investment fund, preferably one that tracks a major stock market index. Over the long haul, very few individual investors – or even actively managed investment funds – outperform those stock indices or the passive funds that track them. The exceptions are people like Warren Buffett, who regards Benjamin Graham as his guru.Fortunately, it is probably easier to find financial information now than it was in Graham’s day. Rather than plough through dozens of annual reports you can access information on the web, open an account with an online broker or subscribe to a share tipping service. Doing all three will give you a tsunami of data that you then have to swim through to find suitable investment opportunities. My advice would be to use all three and also use a certain website that gives the Graham Number for a wide range of stocks – I’ve looked at US and UK companies. The Graham Number is a tool that can help you identify whether a stock is good value or not. However, it should be used alongside Graham’s golden rules for investing. There are two sets of rules: one for defensive (i.e. cautious) investors; one for enterprising investors (i.e. those with a higher risk appetite). If Warren Buffett says the rules are worth following, they probably are.

Always good to read on the fundamentals of investing and following them as Graham described.

this is considered by many to be the 'bible' when it comes to investing. after reading it - it's easy to understand why.i originally started reading this a few years ago, but quickly realised i was in way over my head - if you are new to value investing i highly recommend reading easier introductions such as the "little book" series, Lynch's - pOne Up on Wall Street (A Fireside book) , Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings (Wiley Investment Classics), The Dhandho Investor: The Low Risk Value Method to High Returns,You Can be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits first. these book will act as a great primer before reading this.since i reading the above books, i decided to give intelligent investor another go. a lot of people out there feel that this book is past it's sell by date as it was originally written in the 1930s - i p[ersonally feel that what is written is just as valuable today as it was back then - the underlying message is that you should only invest in a stock or a bond when the price is well below it's value. this will force you to avoid bubbles such as the internet boom, and also avoid with ease dangerously dodgy companies such as enron, worldcom etc. basically common sense investing. another valuable lesson that graham teaches is that you should split your investments - 50% stocks + 50% bonds and cash - this makes you a defensive investor so that you should be able to ride out the storms and still make a return on you investments...parts of the book are heavy reading but zweig's commentary does well to explain things and tells you what is out of date - such as railway bonds, but also gives the reader another perspective on what graham writes. also there is a foreword by buffet and a detailed epilogue by buffet as well.this is a truly fantastic book which will help you become a better investor. i can't rate it highly enough...

A book that will change your mindset. Loved it!

Los conceptos de Graham son fundamentales para cualquier inversionista, sin embargo el libro ya se siente un poco anticuado. Lo bueno es que tiene comentarios más recientes en cada capítulo que actualizan el contenido y dan ejemplos más modernos de lo que habla en el interior del capítulo. De cualquier manera es un libro indispensable para todos los asesores financieros e inversionistas profesionales.

Best stock investment guide book for beginners as well as for the experienced persons. Very detailed and provides good insights on all aspect of stock investing.

J'ai entendu parlé de ce livre comme "le livre" pour comprendre le B.A.BA de l'investissement.À la fois en stratégie d'investissement et en psychologie.Un bémol c'est au niveau de la traduction française que je trouve un peu étrange (je l'ai lu en anglais et français)

Takeaways from reading the book:What characterizes a market?- Page 15: The market is a pendulum that forever swings between unsustainable optimism, which makes stocks too expensive, and unjustified pessimism, which makes them too cheap.- Page 42: Bonds have almost always fluctuated much less than stock prices.- Page 105: The performance of the stock market depends on 3 factors: 1. Real growth = The rise of companies' earnings and dividends. In the long run, the yearly growth in corporate earnings per share has averaged 1,5% to 2% 2. Inflationary growth = The general rise of prices throughout the economy. 3. Speculative growth or decline = Any increase or decrease in the investing public's appetite for stocks.- Page 121: From 1897 to 1949 there were 10 market cycles running from bear market low to bull market high. 6 of these cycles took no longer than 4 years. 4 of the cycles took 6-7 years.What should investors do?- Page 39: The defensive investor is one who is interested chiefly in safety plus freedom from bother.- Page 43: The interest and principal payments on good bonds are much better protected and therefore more certain than the dividends and price appreciation on stocks.- Page 46: The defensive investor must confine himself / herself to the shares of important companies with a long record of profitable operations and in strong financial position.- Page 46: Buy shares of well-established investment funds.- Page 53: An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return.- Page 53: Investing consists equally of 3 elements: 1. You must thoroughly analyze a company and the soundness of its underlying business before you buy its stock. 2. You must deliberately protect yourself against serious losses. 3. You must aspire to adequate, not extraordinary, performance.- Page 53: An investor calculates what a stock is worth based on the value of its businesses.- Page 53: Invest only if you would be comfortable owning a stock even if you had no way of knowing its daily share price.- Page 54: The intelligent investor has no interest in being temporarily right. To reach your long-term financial goals, you must be sustainably and reliably right.- Page 95: If the investor is in doubt as to which course to pursue, she / he should choose the path of caution.- Page 100: The intelligent investor must never forecast the future exclusively by extrapolating the past.- Page 110: Never have less than 25% or more than 75% of his funds in common stocks, with a consequent inverse range of between 75% and 25% in bonds.- Page 176: The evidence is clear: The more you trade, the less you keep.- Page 234: Never buy a stock immediately after a substantial rise or sell one immediately after a substantial drop.- Page 287: Patience is the fund investor's single most powerful ally.- Page 327: One of the most persuasive tests of high quality is an uninterrupted record of dividend payments going back over many years.- Page 336: Read, for example, annual reports to find out 1) what makes companies grow and 2) where profits come from.- Page 336 to 342: Examples of sources of growth and profit: 1. Strong brand. 2. Monopoly in the market. 3. The ability to supply large amounts of products cheaply. 4. A unique intangible asset. Example: Coca-Cola formula. 5. A resistance to substitution. Example: Many people have no alternative to electricity from a certain utility company. 6. The company is a marathoner - not a sprinter. 7. The company spends neither too little nor too much on research and development. 8. Leaders of companies say what they will do and do what they said. 9. The company generates more cash than it consumes. And leaders find good ways of putting the cash to productive use.- Page 440: Look for companies that are managed by people who think like owners - not just managers. Two tests: 1. How understandable are the company's financial statements? 2. Are extraordinary charges extraordinary, or do they occur repeatedly?- Page 554: Find ways to ask questions and give feedback to help a company work better.- Page 576: How well do you understand the investment? What is the likelihood / probability that your analysis is right?- Page 576: How will you react to consequences if your analysis turns out to be wrong?- Page 578: In making decisions under uncertainty, the consequences must dominate the probabilities.- Page 580: Avoid anything that appears overpriced.- Page 583: To be an investor, you must believe in a better tomorrow.What questions should investors ask to find the right adviser?- Page 306: How honest is the adviser?- Page 306: To what extent does the adviser care about helping clients?- Page 306: To what extent does the adviser deliver good value for fees he or she receives?- Page 306: What education do you have? How does your education qualify you to give financial advice?- Page 306: What experience do you have? How does your experience qualify you to give financial advice?- Page 306: To what extent does the adviser understand the fundamental principles of investing as outlined in this book?- Page 309: How do you define the purpose of your work? Why do you do what you do?- Page 309: How is the purpose of the company, for which the adviser works, defined?- Page 310: How do you define financial success?- Page 309: How do you find out what to invest in?- Page 309: When you recommend an investment to an investor, do you accept compensation from others? Why? Why not?- Page 309: Besides asset management, to what extent can you help with retirement planning and insurance?- Page 309: What needs do investors, you help, have in common?- Page 310: How many investors do you help? How often do you communicate with them?- Page 310: What is the worst experience you had with an investor? How did you solve it?- Page 309: What achievement for an investor are you most proud of?- Page 310: What do you do when an investment performs well one year?- Page 310: What do you do when an investment performs poorly one year?What should mutual fund owners do?- Page 274: Keep in mind that the higher expenses are, the lower returns are.- Page 274: Keep in mind that the more frequently a fund trades its stocks, the less it tends to earn.- Page 276: Find fund managers who are competent at picking stocks.What are examples of changes that have happened?Page 54: In 1973, the typical shareholder held a stock for 5 years before selling it. In 2002, the typical shareholder held a stock for 1 year before selling it. In 1973, the average mutual fund held on to a stock for 3 years before selling it. In 2002, the average mutual fund held on to a stock for 1 year before selling it.