There’s a lot of discussion on which is the better investing strategy, bottom-up investing or top-down investing. The definitive guide can be found in Chapter 7 of Seth Klarman’s book, Margin of Safety. Here’s an excerpt from that book: There is no margin of safety in top-down investing. Topdown investors are … Read More
John Rogers Says Contrarian Investing Gives You The Confidence To Buy When Others Are Selling
Here’s a great interview with contrarian value manager John Rogers on WealthTrack who says if you don’t follow the crowd you’ll be a better investor. “Value investing is a contrarian approach. You’re going to be buying when others are selling. When there’s a lot of fear out there you’re going … Read More
How To Invest Like Sir John Templeton In 2017
One of the most famous contrarian investors of all time was Sir John Templeton. Templeton was remembered for a number of famous quotes including: “To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are avidly buying requires the greatest of fortitude and pays the ultimate greatest reward.” … Read More
Mohnish Pabrai – How To Calculate Intrinsic Value
I’ve just been re-reading one of my favorite investing books of all time, The Dhando Investor, written by Mohnish Pabrai. In Chapter 7, Dhandho 102: Invest in Simple Businesses, Pabrai provides a very simple example of how to calculate intrinsic value using the real life example of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc … Read More
Howard Marks Says You Can Invest In The Worst Companies In America And Have A Good Experience
As a value investor it’s important that you always assess the downside risk of your investments, prior to purchase. Famed investors Buffett and Klarman are always speaking about the ‘margin of safety’ espoused by the grandfather of value investing, Benjamin Graham. One of the best articles on assessing the risk … Read More
James Montier – There Are No Silver Bullets In Investing (Just Old Snake Oil In New Bottles)
According to the Cambridge dictionary a snake oil salesman is: someone who deceives people in order to get money from them: He was dubbed a “modern day snake oil salesman” after he ripped off thousands of internet customers. So why is it that so many investors are continually happy to … Read More
Bruce Berkowitz Says I’m Investing In That Which Is Hated Or Deemed To Fail And That’s Where I Like To Be
Here’s a great interview on Bloomberg with Bruce Berkowitz. In terms of being a contrarian Berkowitz says, “The markets are not cheap, the markets are being driven by a handful of companies. As usual I’m investing in that which is hated or deemed to fail and that’s where I like … Read More
How Warren Buffett Turned $10.6 Million Into $221 Million While Others Were Embracing The EMT
As a value investor it is important that you read every word of every letter ever written by Warren Buffett in his Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letters. One great example of what you can learn comes from his 1985 Chairman’s letter in which he discusses his intrinsic value calculation of The … Read More
Investors Shouldn’t Compare Their Performance To Others – Here’s Why
Great article by Ian Cassell at MicroCapClub titled, Don’t Compare Yourself To Others. Ian covers two important issues that all investors can relate to. The first is how to sit still while others are making money, because you can’t find stocks that fit your strategy. The second is how to … Read More
Returns to The Acquirer’s Multiple® Screeners and The Best Value Stocks
[View the story “Week Beginning June 19th, 2017” on Storify]
The Acquirer’s Multiple® Canada All TSX Stock Screen Backtest
Chart 1. Returns from January 2, 1999 to June 16, 2017 (Log.) We backtested the returns to a theoretical portfolio of stocks selected by The Acquirer’s Multiple® from the Canada All TSX stock screen. The backtest assumed the screen bought and held for a year 30 stocks selected from the All TSX universe … Read More
This Week’s Best Investing Reads From Our Top 50 Investing Blogs 2017
Each week Tobias and I pick out the best investing reads from our Top 50 Investing Blogs 2017. Here’s what we’ve been reading: My Friend is Beating Me (The Irrelevant Investor) 14 Things the Market Does Not Care About (A Wealth of Common Sense) Does Momentum Work With Value Investing (csinvesting) There are only … Read More
Howard Marks – Anticipate – And Avoid – Pitfalls That Others Will Rue After The Fact
With the stock market reaching all time highs, maybe it’s a good time to revisit Howard Marks’ memo of 2005 in which he discusses market trends being taken to excess – and the painful consequences that become clear in hindsight. Here’s an except from that memo: “The farther backward you … Read More
Seth Klarman – Beware of Value Pretenders
With so many articles dedicated to the debate on value stocks vs growth stocks I think it’s a good time to revisit what Seth Klarman calls ‘Value Pretenders’ in his best-selling book, Margin of Safety. Here’s an excerpt from that book: “Value investing” is one of the most overused and … Read More
44% Of Fund Managers Say Stocks Are Overvalued
A recent article at Bloomberg says U.S. stocks are the most overvalued investment in the world. At least that’s what institutional investors say. Here’s an excerpt from that article: A record 44 percent of fund managers polled in a monthly survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch see equities as … Read More
5 Things to Consider Before Buying Today’s Hot Investment
The New York Times provides 5 great tips for investors that are considering buying today’s hottest stocks. Here’s and excerpt from that article: We are again nearing what appear to be all-time highs in the stock market, and when that happens, people tend to say and do strange things. This … Read More
So Value Investing Is Not Dead According To Goldmans
I had to smile when I read this article on Bloomberg titled, Goldman Sachs Mulls the Death of Value Investing. The article states: There isn’t much value in value investing these days. The value-factor strategy of buying stocks with the lowest valuations and selling those with the highest, pioneered by Eugene … Read More
Bill Nygren – How To Apply A Private-Equity Approach To Public-Equity Investing
Great interview with Bill Nygren and Win Murray from Oakmark Capital in last month’s Value Investor Insight Newsletter. On the subject of passive vs active investing Nygren says, “I think it’s ironic that an increase in the number of dollars invested without thought as to where value is and isn’t would make … Read More
A Very Simple Formula For Figuring Out How Many Stocks To Hold
Here at the Acquirer’s Multiple we believe your equally weighted portfolio should consist of 20-30 stocks generated from our Deep Value Stock Screens. In general terms, holding more stocks leads to greater diversification, and lower volatility, but is harder to manage and requires more purchases. Fewer stocks reduces the number … Read More
It Appears To Be Time For Value Stocks To Shine Again
Recent article at The Street says, it appears to be time for value stocks to shine again. The trend reversal is likely to last for years, rather than weeks or months. Here’s an excerpt from that article: Traditional “value” investing used to mean buying near the bottom of a stock’s … Read More