Sunday, September 28, 2008

Value Investing Today: Chp 14: Above All be Patient

This is the final chapter in the book, and while short, Brandes closes off by stressing the importance of patience. Especially during periods when stocks are not performing well, above all, he recommends to be patient. He advises not to worry and fret because of all the noise the media is making and the fear and panic that may be ensuing as a result in the financial markets. As Brandes puts it, you shouldn't worry because "its doubtful that the business cycle has been conquered!".

Brandes reminds value investors that risk is not synonymous with the possibility of stock price declines. Rather, value investors need to avoid a real loss of capital and can do this by having long term objectives guide our investment decisions, not the short term fluctuations in market prices.

I'll close with Brandes' reference from Graham's book, the Intelligent Investor:

"For indeed, the investor's chief problem, and even his worst enemy - is likely to be himself ... We have seen much more money made and kept by "ordinary people" who were temperamentally well suited for the investment process than by those who lacked this quality, even though they had an extensive knowledge of finance, accounting, and stock-market lore."

1 comment:

mp said...

just stumbled on your site and really like it. I look at a lot of cigar-butts on my site among other things. I saw PBY in your post on undervalued property. PBY interests me now bc it is also a net current asset value

-Mark