Every asset, writes Jason Zweig of The Wall Street Journal, “is an investment in some people’s hands and a speculation in others’. So it isn’t what you buy, but rather why you buy it, that determines whether you are investing or speculating.” Zweig explains that this distinction, which is often credited to legendary investor Benjamin Graham, may be flawed in that an investment can in fact be speculative in nature or actually resemble a hybrid… Read More
In his book The Intelligent Investor, the “Father of Value Investing” (and Warren Buffett’s mentor) drives home the importance of evaluating a business’s fundamentals before investing. In a recent article for Forbes, Validea CEO John Reese explains the metrics he used to create his Graham-inspired stock screening model and offers the following high-scoring picks: Genesco (GCO) is a retailer and wholesaler of footwear, apparel and accessories that earns high marks for its solid revenue base,… Read More
There’s a wide range of expectations for the retail sector with respect to this year’s back-to-school shopping results. In a recent article for Forbes, Validea CEO John Reese offers some data and insights on which retailers might make the grade. According to the National Retail Foundation, an improved sales season would be the first in four years. Total spending for K-12 and college is expected to reach $75.8 billion, up from $68 billion last year.… Read More
Deena Friedman manages the Fidelity Select Retailing Portfolio, which has the highest 2015 return among mutual funds. With a return of over 18%, Barron’s notes that her “stock-picking easily outperformed comparable index-driven strategies,” given the 10.4% average return of ETFs investing in consumer discretionary shares. Friedman is a classic value investor, following Graham and Buffett, among others. “I found the way to generate alpha,” she says, “by thinking very long-term.” She also says that the… Read More
Chuck Myers, who heads the Fidelity Small Cap Discovery Fund, shared some of the lessons he has learned as a value investor at the recent CFA Institute Equity and Valuation Conference. As reported in Enterprising Investor, these include: “Learn from the best, but think independently.” Myers cites some of the best known investors, and those with excellent records, as influences, but has developed his own “low expectations” approach to value investing by seeking out-of-favor stocks… Read More
With so much having changed in the financial world over the years, can decades-old investment strategies still work today? Validea CEO John P. Reese says they certainly can.
While he was no doubt born with some natural gifts, Warren Buffett didn’t become history’s greatest investor without any help. Buffett many times has praised his mentor, the late, great Benjamin Graham, for shaping his investing approach, and in a recent piece for Business Insider, Richard Feloni looked at some of the key lessons Buffett learned from the man known as “The Father of Value Investing”.
In an interview with Canada’s Business News Network, Validea CEO John P. Reese recently discussed how investors can profit from the strategies of history’s best money managers — and why so many fail to do so.
Would Benjamin Graham, the man known as “the father of value investing” and a pioneer in security analysis, have liked plain, generic index funds? In a recent column, Jason Zweig, who edited an updated edition of Graham’s classic book The Intelligent Investor, says yes.
Warren Buffett’s 50th anniversary letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders has now been analyzed by a myriad of pundits who have dissected just about every sentence of it. But, given that Buffett offers plenty of his trademark wisdom and wit in the 15-page communique, what are the most essential parts of the letter for investors? There’s plenty to pick from, but we think these two pages stand out.