#janet lowe

[dozydawn]

Bride’s Magazine, 1983.

Models: Susan Smith and Janet Lowe.

[hornak-reflections]

Benjamin Graham on Value Investing

Written By: Janet Lowe

Those who have interest in making their money grow at great rates and in a safe manner must read about Benjamin Graham. In this biography of Benjamin Graham, Janet Lowe gives great insight of how Ben conquers the volatility of the stock market using strict principles of validity.

In the early 1900s Ben and his family moved from England to New York in hopes of maintaining a robust family business. Soon after, Ben’s dad passed away and his mother tried her best to keep the family business running but to no avail. She subsequently started a boarding house that faltered as well and made a large investment into steel which declined 49%. While the family struggled, it made a lasting impression on young Ben and spurred him to investigate ways to become financially sound and help others to do so.

Ben studied hard and became a large success in the stock market. He developed principles that greatly influenced Warren Buffett, who is arguably the world’s greatest investor. Ben was an investor who was imperatively focused on the downsides of investments and unjust market prices. He did not believe in speculation. He sought out companies with a great balance sheet that included low debt and substantial tangible assets, he looked for low price to earnings ratios, and he looked for reliable and fat dividends. The core of his success though, was his emotional discipline. He was patient with his investments, he thought for himself, and he used the silliness of the market to his advantage.

Emotion is the harbinger of failure in investing. Money is something we all work hard for and we do not wish to see it disappear. For this reason, when we begin to lose money we naturally want to jettison our investments to minimize our losses. Money is also something that we always want more of. For this reason when we see others making a lot of money or see an opportunity that could potentially make a lot, we naturally want to get involved in that investment. We become weak and abandon our rationale for investing.

A good investor is one who makes investing rules for himself and lets the rules do the investing.

A good investor is one who scrutinizes the downside of an investment.

Take it from Benjamin Graham- the man who had years of continued success and inspired many of the greatest investors of all time.