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Harper Business

The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.: The Definitive Book on Value Investing

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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Business; Subsequent edition (February 21, 2006)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 640 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 5


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.6 x 8 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Finance (Books) #2 in Economics (Books) #3 in Introduction to Investing


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • 5 Stars for Graham, 3 Stars for Zweig, and 5 Stars for Buffett
GRAHAM REVIEW Graham's original work itself is fantastic, if you take the time to absorb it and understand it. It took me two reads before I really felt like I grasped it well. I don't need to write an elaborate review discussing this book for people to know it is obviously an investment classic; it has Warren Buffett's full endorsement which is the reason a lot of people opt to read it in the first place. The practical advice offered is timeless. In particular I found Chapter 1 (the difference between speculation and investing), Chapter 8 (managing your emotions), Chapter 10 (discerning the advice from others) and Chapter 20 (having a margin of safety) to be enlightening, as those four chapters were probably the most useful to me personally. The advice in the very first chapter regarding the difference between investing and speculating gets lost on a lot of people today, as anything and everything that involves stocks, bonds, options, or futures seems to be categorized as investing. The portion of Chapter 8 that discusses managing your emotions is arguably the most difficult for people to actually implement in the real world, despite being a very important concept. Graham truly makes a compelling case in favor of a value approach, which as I will discuss later in this review, is inherently reliant on the belief that investments can and do become undervalued. Buffett notes that the most significant chapters for him were 8 and 20. I agree, but also add chapters 1 and 10 to that shortened list. For others that might be different. A unique thing that I appreciated about Graham is that he discusses two different ways of investing, depending on how much time you have to put into the matter. For those who have too many other things going on to put the time into it, he advocates "defensive investing," which basically focuses on safer, larger companies and is a little more bond-heavy. And for those who want to put a lot more work into it, he advocates "enterprise investing," where he lays out a more rigorous approach to value investing. While the enterprising method does indeed yield greater returns over the long run, there is nothing wrong with taking the defensive approach, particularly for those who aren't able to commit enough time in order to make the enterprising method effective. There are a few minor areas that are no longer relevant as they were in Graham's day, such as his suggestion that one should use a local bank to handle transfers of stock certificates... when it is basically all online these days. But if one reads it and remains aware that it was written in the early 1970s, then these little quirks will not bother them. I will also add that Graham places an emphasis on dividend maintenance that is probably less relevant today. In his day, strong companies actually paid out about 1/3 to 2/3 of their surpluses, whereas these days that is far less common. Graham's followers, including Buffett and Klarman, do not emphasize this so heavily (Klarman has gone as far as saying that looking at dividend policy is almost useless in today's era), although it is still probably relevant to look at the continuity of dividends especially for "defensive" investors. It should be added that while Graham has an almost aloof/academic air about him, he is equally humble and sincere, never underestimating the intelligence of his readers. And for those occasional uppity words that he uses, there is always a dictionary nearby. It may take more than a cursory read, but if you are patient, then this book is a gold mine. As a result, I give Graham 5 stars. ZWEIG REVIEW Jason Zweig's commentary really deserves its own separate review, as this is basically two different books. Throughout MUCH (not all) of the book, I would have given Zweig 4 or 5 stars, as his commentary adds to the discussion and thought process of Graham. However, Zweig departs from Graham in a very fundamental way in three portions of the book, causing me to believe that Zweig either truly disagrees with or otherwise does not fully understand what Graham's argument is. Zweig essentially subscribes to the "Random Walker" camp of those supporting a Semi-Strong version of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) and believes that one is simply speculating when choosing individual stocks instead of index funds. Zweig lets his own views seep into the book slowly, chapter by chapter, until it becomes more obvious that he is not a value investor. Graham did not subscribe to this relatively recent view (only existing since the 1960s) in his approach to VALUE investing. The entire premise of value investing is that securities sometimes do become undervalued, which is rare/impossible according to proponents such as Zweig. Though to my knowledge Graham never wrote a piece articulating his stance, his actions were to the contrary of what Zweig seems to believe his position was. It's also notable that his contemporaries/students blatantly countered the EMH viewpoint (see Buffett and "Superinvestors" below; see also Phil Fisher in "Developing an Investment Philosophy" chapter 4, entitled "Is the Market Efficient?"). (1) In the first and most notable departure for Zweig, there is a portion of the book where Graham says "[i]t would be rather strange if - with all the brains at work professionally in the stock market - there could be approaches which are both sound and relatively unpopular. Yet our own career and reputation have been based on this unlikely fact." (Graham, p. 380). If one reads the version in its proper context, then they will realize rather quickly that Graham is arguing that this unlikely fact of the markets actually being inefficient much of the time is actually TRUE, and is thus a compelling reason to study value investing. However... Zweig goes on in the commentary to say that Graham is pointing out that the market is efficient, and discusses the definition of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). This is clearly NOT what Graham was saying... rather the opposite. (2) In the second notable departure, there is a commentary chapter of Zweig's where he discusses how to effectively manage your portfolio. In the chapter itself, Graham discussed stock selection. Zweig, however, goes on to say that people should not actually pick stocks with more than 10% of their money, as doing so is akin to speculating, and should instead place all or nearly all of their funds into index funds that can come close to tying the market because of the EMH. Even though this advice MIGHT (arguably) be relevant for the "defensive" investor that Graham discusses (those who do not have the time or want to put the time into managing their own portfolio), this advice is a blatant misrepresentation of what Graham advises for "enterprising" investors (those who want to actively practice value investing) in such a fundamental way as to make me want to give Zweig 1 star instead of 5. But due to my holistic review, Zweig gets more than 1. (3) Zweig places an emphasis on diversification that I don't think Graham fully intended. Graham discusses the value of diversification throughout the book by taking multiple positions. Note though that Graham does NOT advocate buying everything...simply holding a few varied positions. But Zweig interprets this concept in such a way as to, in my humble opinion, advocate over-diversification... which is effectively nothing more than buying so many things that you should have just purchased an index fund to begin with. Collectively, Zweig's most significant contribution to the book was simply putting some of Graham's now-dated statements into context. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with believing in EMH in the markets the way that Zweig does, per se. But I am harsh on Zweig because advocating EMH and claiming that any stock is "speculative" is a blatant misrepresentation of Graham's views and stance. Despite departing from Graham quite fundamentally in two or three areas, Zweig mostly added a beneficial/informative conversation. Thus I hesitantly give him 3 stars. BUFFETT REVIEW Warren Buffett has a brief introduction towards the beginning of the book that tells what readers can expect from reading his mentor, Graham. As already mentioned, he places additional emphasis on chapters 8 and 20. But more importantly, there is a compelling essay/speech by Buffett in the back of the book that is called "The Superinvestors of Graham and Doddsville" that was given at Columbia University in 1984. You don't have to buy the book to read this essay, as it is free on the internet in a few different places. But it is arguably the best rebuttal to the Efficient Market Hypothesis that anyone has ever put out, and I don't know of any EMH proponents that have ever addressed Buffett's argument. In essence, Buffett points out that many different versions of investing that have little in common with each other beyond a decidedly long-term value-driven approach have all yielded positive results over time that have had decidedly superior returns to the market. There is unfortunately little written on this topic by actual practitioners, but Buffett's argument is worth a read. It's a definite 5 stars. CONCLUSION As a result, I give this whole book collectively 5 stars. You can just ignore the areas where Zweig errs, sometimes rather substantially. You could safely ignore his additional chapters/commentary altogether, although I think it is useful to read for putting certain portions of Graham's writing into perspective. Entire book is recommended; but if you don't read the whole thing, at least read Chapters 1, 8, 10, and 20, as well as Buffett's essay. It's a great addition to any investment library. I know that adding those up rounds to 4, but it is Graham's book after all (much as Zweig might wish it was his)... so it's 5 stars. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2012 by Scott W. McMurray II
    • Look in the Mirror First!
Since I am retired and trying to manage my own portfolio, I figured this would be the book to read. I know how to pick 4 or 5 star funds and diversify well enough, but I don't have enough theory or any formal financial background at all. I was looking for a classic book on the subject, one that a financial novice could understand, and decided to read this one. Benjamin Graham is known as the Father of Value Investing and was the mentor of Warren Buffett, the most successful investor of all time. Warren Buffett called the Intelligent Investor `the best book about investing ever written.' He believed in defensive, value investing, and famously summarized his philosphy as follows: "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative." I found that `value investing' means that you buy only something that is being sold below its actual value, like buying dollar bills for 40 cents each, he said. One should take the quantitative (statistical) instead of the qualitative (predictive) approach, since no one can forecast the future anyway. Look at what a security is really worth in a business-like way, just like you would do for any purchase, ignoring what others might think. Do your homework is what he is saying! According to Graham, almost everybody, me included, does investing wrong. You are supposed to buy low and sell high, but most folks buy when the price is going up and sell when it is coming down. `Mr. Market' is very emotional and encourages stampedes toward whatever looks good at the moment, and away from investments that seem spent. This very act of buying and selling creates updrafts and downdrafts in the market which causes disparity between what the price is and what the price should be for a given investment. Eventually the true value of an investment comes to fore when things settle down. The maxim he uses for this is: the market is a voting machine in the short run and a weighing machine in the long run. The investors `vote' for an investment which drives the price up; later, the investors find out what the investment is really worth, and the price settles into it's real value. He cited convincing examples in the tech-bubble era of the late 90's where stock prices ascended to ridiculously high levels and then came crashing down to almost nothing, and their stock shares became like Confederate money, worth only slightly more than the paper they were printed on. In general, his theory runs counter to the speculative, get-richer-quick investing that seems standard for most of us. Stay away from gimmicks like market-timing and formula investing (chasing after perceived patterns in the market). Be boring, he says, and go for something steady and sure. Don't try to beat the market; just try to keep up with it. If you don't want to do the necessary homework, buy index funds. He touts ignored `secondary' or `unsexy' companies, the ones that don't have big names, or ones that produce boring products. It was interesting that when Graham was asked why he was unafraid of losing his edge by proclaiming value investing, he joked that his books are' the most over-read and under-used books on finances ever written'. If, indeed, everyone did value investing, there would be no bargains left out there. We are talking about something that works, but that no one wants to use! A cornerstone of the defensive investing philosophy involves building in a good margin of safety by buying investments at as far below actual worth as possible. He also talks a lot about managing risk by patience and self-control; he says: `Don't just do something, stand there!' In some sense, this book is more about the person making the investments than the investments themselves. In essence, if you want to know what risk is, look in the mirror! In other words, it's not about how much risk you can tolerate; it is about how much investigation you are willing to do. He mentioned Pascal's Wager as a graphic example of how to think of the consequences when taking on risk - - - if one wagers as to whether God exists or not, he is better off betting He does; otherwise, though the rewards could be a little better, the consequences could be eternally worse! (This was, to me, a fairly heavy-handed but instructive parallel.) Watch out for the shenanigans of the accountants when you read the financial reports. Words and phrases like pro-forma, nonrecurring charges, special charges, and good will could be euphemisms for a smoke screen. I also learned the phrase `kitchen sink accounting', which puts all possible losses into one year, which distorts the picture but gives good tax results for the company. The lesson is to not ignore the footnotes and to read the statements to the end. Consistent with his philosophy, Graham does not believe in the prevalent Efficient Market Theory (or EMH), which says that investments have the correct prices because there is so much, widespread information readily available on every investment. He basically believes, and gives many good examples, that the public is not interested in digging into the nuts-and-bolts financial information, but is only interested in what is popular. In a word, an investor needs to make sure he understands what he is investing in, and make business decisions instead of emotional decisions about it. He says that the finances are really not very complicated, and it's more about character than brain. The first edition of this book, written in 1950 and was revised several times before Graham died in 1976. Since it was a little dated as far as market history is concerned, Jason Zweig wrote commentaries on each chapter to bring it into the 21st century. Graham, as a product of his day, talked mostly about stocks and bonds, and less about funds, and he over-emphasized, in my opinion, the importance of dividends. Zweig says that diversity has replaced value today. Also, dividends are no big deal today for most investors since the total return (NAV + dividends) is what really matters. Another thing is that Graham lived through the Depression and saw that it took 25 years (to 1954) for the market to reach the levels of pre-Crash 1929; this might have made him defensive. I'm glad I read the book. It gave me perspective on how the market works, though I'll still stick with diversity over value, especially since I invest almost entirely in funds. He did not have to scare me off on individual stocks, but he did convince me to do more homework and to try to be more business-like in my financial decisions, and - - - to look in the mirror first. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2007 by Reading Fan

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