Value investing is a style of investment strategy from the so-called "Graham & Dodd" School. Followers of this style, known as value investors, generally buy companies whose shares appear underpriced by some forms of fundamental analysis; these may include shares that are trading at, for example, high dividend yields or low price-to-earning or price-to-book ratios.
The main proponents of value investing, such as Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett have argued that the essence of value investing is buying stocks at less than their intrinsic value. The discount of the market price to the intrinsic value is what Benjamin Graham called the "margin of safety". The intrinsic value is the discounted value of all future distributions.
However, the future distributions and the appropriate discount rate can only be assumptions. Warren Buffett has taken the value concept even further as his thinking has evolved to "finding an outstanding company at a sensible price" rather than generic companies at a bargain price.
see also : P/E Ratio , What is Book Value , Active Portfolio Management
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Father of Value Invesing - Benjamin Graham
Benjamin Graham (May 8, 1894 – September 21, 1976) was an influential economist and professional investor who is today often called the "Father of Value Investing" and the "Dean of Wall Street." He is perhaps best known today from frequent references made to him by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who studied under Graham at Columbia University, and was his only pupil to receive an A+.
Graham exhorted the stock market participant to first draw a fundamental distinction between investment and speculation. In Security Analysis, he proposed a clear definition of investment that was distinguished from speculations. It read, "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative."
Graham wrote that the owner of equity stocks should regard them first and foremost as conferring part ownership of a business. With that perspective in mind, the stock owner should not be too concerned with erratic fluctuations in stock prices, since in the short term, the stock market behaves like a voting machine, but in the long term it acts like a weighing machine (i.e. its true value will in the long run be reflected in its stock price).
Graham recommended that investors spend time and effort to analyze the financial state of companies. When a company is available on the market at a price which is at a discount to its intrinsic value, a "margin of safety" exists, which makes it suitable for investment.
Graham wrote that investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike, a statement which Warren Buffett regarded as the most important words about investment ever written. Graham said that the stock investor is neither right nor wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.
Graham wrote that investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike, a statement which Warren Buffett regarded as the most important words about investment ever written. Graham said that the stock investor is neither right nor wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.
Graham's favorite allegory is that of Mr. Market, a very obliging fellow who turns up every day at the stock holder's door offering to buy or sell his shares at a different price. Often, the price quoted by Mr. Market seems plausible, but often it is ridiculous. The investor is free to either agree with his quoted price and trade with him, or to ignore him completely. Mr. Market doesn't mind this, and will be back the following day to quote another price. The point is that the investor should not regard the whims of Mr. Market as determining the value of the shares that the investor owns. He should profit from market folly rather than participate in it. The investor is best off concentrating on the real life performance of his companies and receiving dividends, rather than being too concerned with Mr. Market's often irrational behaviour.
Graham was critical of the corporations of his day for obfuscated and irregular financial reporting that made it difficult for investors to discern the true state of the business's finances. He was an advocate of dividend payments to shareholders rather than businesses keeping all of their profits as retained earnings. He also criticized those who advised that some types of stocks were a good buy at any price, because of the prospect of sustained stock price growth, without a good analysis of the business's actual financial condition. These observations remain extremely relevant today.
Benjamin Graham wrote that he wished every day to do something foolish, something creative, and something generous. Warren Buffett said that Graham excelled most at the last. Undoubtedly, Graham's generosity in sharing his investment philosophy has benefitted generations of stock market participants.
Graham exhorted the stock market participant to first draw a fundamental distinction between investment and speculation. In Security Analysis, he proposed a clear definition of investment that was distinguished from speculations. It read, "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative."
Graham wrote that the owner of equity stocks should regard them first and foremost as conferring part ownership of a business. With that perspective in mind, the stock owner should not be too concerned with erratic fluctuations in stock prices, since in the short term, the stock market behaves like a voting machine, but in the long term it acts like a weighing machine (i.e. its true value will in the long run be reflected in its stock price).
Graham recommended that investors spend time and effort to analyze the financial state of companies. When a company is available on the market at a price which is at a discount to its intrinsic value, a "margin of safety" exists, which makes it suitable for investment.
Graham wrote that investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike, a statement which Warren Buffett regarded as the most important words about investment ever written. Graham said that the stock investor is neither right nor wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.
Graham wrote that investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike, a statement which Warren Buffett regarded as the most important words about investment ever written. Graham said that the stock investor is neither right nor wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.
Graham's favorite allegory is that of Mr. Market, a very obliging fellow who turns up every day at the stock holder's door offering to buy or sell his shares at a different price. Often, the price quoted by Mr. Market seems plausible, but often it is ridiculous. The investor is free to either agree with his quoted price and trade with him, or to ignore him completely. Mr. Market doesn't mind this, and will be back the following day to quote another price. The point is that the investor should not regard the whims of Mr. Market as determining the value of the shares that the investor owns. He should profit from market folly rather than participate in it. The investor is best off concentrating on the real life performance of his companies and receiving dividends, rather than being too concerned with Mr. Market's often irrational behaviour.
Graham was critical of the corporations of his day for obfuscated and irregular financial reporting that made it difficult for investors to discern the true state of the business's finances. He was an advocate of dividend payments to shareholders rather than businesses keeping all of their profits as retained earnings. He also criticized those who advised that some types of stocks were a good buy at any price, because of the prospect of sustained stock price growth, without a good analysis of the business's actual financial condition. These observations remain extremely relevant today.
Benjamin Graham wrote that he wished every day to do something foolish, something creative, and something generous. Warren Buffett said that Graham excelled most at the last. Undoubtedly, Graham's generosity in sharing his investment philosophy has benefitted generations of stock market participants.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
The Power of Compounding
The Power of Compounding
The longer you leave your money invested and the higher the interest rate, the faster it will grow. That's why stocks are the best long-term investment value. Of course, the stock market is also much more volatile than a savings account. But given enough time, the risk of losses is mitigated by the general upward momentum of the economy.
The compounding effect of investing your money is perhaps one of the most important aspects to achieving long-term wealth. For it to work, you must be a long-term investor with a lot of patience. Here is a summary of how it works.
It is important to understand that the longer you keep your investment, the more money you will make. However, the amount of money you make does not rise in a linear fashion. Instead, for each year you keep the money invested, you will earn significantly more money.
Say that you invest $1,000 and that you achieve a return of 10% per year. That means that in the first year you would have $100 in gains ($1,000 x 10%) and a total of $1,100. In the second year, you'll start with $1,100 but this year you'll earn $110 ($1,100 x 10%) for a total of $1,210. The third year you will earn $121 ($1,210 x 10%) and have a total of $1,331. You'll notice that each year you earn significantly more than the year before because each year you earn money on the previous years' gains. This is called the compounding effect of money and it is one of the most important aspects to investing and saving money.
It is important to understand that the longer you keep your investment, the more money you will make. However, the amount of money you make does not rise in a linear fashion. Instead, for each year you keep the money invested, you will earn significantly more money. This can be illustrated in the following manner:
If you earn 10% per year, at first glance, it seems like it will take you 10 years to double your money (10 x 10%)), and 20 years to triple your money (20 x 10%). However, this couldn't be further from the truth. If you keep compounding your gains and earning 10%, you will actually double your money in under 8 years, and triple your money in under 12 years. Your money will quadruple in 15 years and you will have over 6 times your investment by year 19!
To illustrate this effect, we've added a graph and table below that shows the effect of compounding your money
Total Dollars by Year, Assuming a 10% Annual Return
The longer you leave your money invested and the higher the interest rate, the faster it will grow. That's why stocks are the best long-term investment value. Of course, the stock market is also much more volatile than a savings account. But given enough time, the risk of losses is mitigated by the general upward momentum of the economy.
The compounding effect of investing your money is perhaps one of the most important aspects to achieving long-term wealth. For it to work, you must be a long-term investor with a lot of patience. Here is a summary of how it works.
It is important to understand that the longer you keep your investment, the more money you will make. However, the amount of money you make does not rise in a linear fashion. Instead, for each year you keep the money invested, you will earn significantly more money.
Say that you invest $1,000 and that you achieve a return of 10% per year. That means that in the first year you would have $100 in gains ($1,000 x 10%) and a total of $1,100. In the second year, you'll start with $1,100 but this year you'll earn $110 ($1,100 x 10%) for a total of $1,210. The third year you will earn $121 ($1,210 x 10%) and have a total of $1,331. You'll notice that each year you earn significantly more than the year before because each year you earn money on the previous years' gains. This is called the compounding effect of money and it is one of the most important aspects to investing and saving money.
It is important to understand that the longer you keep your investment, the more money you will make. However, the amount of money you make does not rise in a linear fashion. Instead, for each year you keep the money invested, you will earn significantly more money. This can be illustrated in the following manner:
If you earn 10% per year, at first glance, it seems like it will take you 10 years to double your money (10 x 10%)), and 20 years to triple your money (20 x 10%). However, this couldn't be further from the truth. If you keep compounding your gains and earning 10%, you will actually double your money in under 8 years, and triple your money in under 12 years. Your money will quadruple in 15 years and you will have over 6 times your investment by year 19!
To illustrate this effect, we've added a graph and table below that shows the effect of compounding your money
Total Dollars by Year, Assuming a 10% Annual Return
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