Polliesdividend

The intelligent Investor – Book review

It is important to keep educate yourself. Stephen Covey calls it Sharpen the saw. To do this, I follow seminars and/or webinars, read books and blog posts from fellow DGI’s. This to gain new insights and of course learn something new. And because reading is FUN!

I read a lot of books, all kind of books. From biographies, management books to of course financial books. I really enjoy reading. This joy I hope to give to my kids! Reading books opens up a whole new life and you enrich yourself with new knowledge. What a great gift!

In my 2018 goals I wrote that I would read at least one book every quarter. And I will share my new knowledge with you, my readers. I will do this to keep the snowball of knowledge rolling.

Here is the tenth book review for Polliesdividend.

The intelligent Investor – By Benjamin Graham

Today I do a (short) review of a book I first have read about 10 years ago and I have read since then a couple of times more. It has been reviewed so often, that I think it doesn’t need another review. And that is way I do a short review in which I highlight my key points.

This book was first published back in 1949 and updated a couple of time. But the basic principle of intelligent investing hasn’t changed.

People who invest make money for themselves;
people who speculate make money for their brokers.

The author, Benjamin Graham, was a successful investor himself and his philosophy has proven itself over and over again over the years. And as most of us know, Graham has mentored some of the biggest investment gurus, including Warren Buffett. The wisdom of Graham is bundled in this book and he hopes that with this wisdom he helps investors protect themselves from costly mistakes and teaches them to develop a successful long-term strategy.

Those how do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it – Benjamin Graham

This book provides the cornerstone to value investing and I believe it is the one of the best investment books ever written.

My key lessons

In this masterpiece Benjamin Graham explains the principles of value investing and how, as an intelligent investor, you can stay ahead of the markets.

My key lessons from this masterpiece are:

• An intelligent investor always analyzes the company he/she invests in.
• Be an investor, not a speculator
• Learn how to deal with Mr. Market
• Have a margin of safety

Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike – Benjamin Graham

My thoughts

In my opinion, this book is a must read for all investors. If I have to sum up what I learned in this book, I would probably say that the best path to wealth in investing is patience, good research and avoiding mistakes.

This book is though to digest, because it is hard to understand if you don’t have formal knowledge/education in Economics. However if you spend the time to really understand it, this book will be one of the best books you ever read. And after finishing the book you will better understand how the stock markets work and how to invest intelligently.

This is a book that I will give to my daughters when they turn 18. In my humble opinion the book is time very well spend!!

Rule No.1: Never lose money – Rule No.2: Never forget Rule No.1 – Warren Buffett

Take away

Okay, what do I take away from this book after I digested it?

• For non-English people it is sometimes a hard book to read
• Fortunately since two years there is a Dutch version of the book 😉
• Do your homework before you invest
• Good investments based on sound principles
• Value investing is defensive – but in the long run it gives the best results
• I would like to pass on to my children

Pollie-rating

The Pollie-rating for this book is:

Have you read this book? What do you think of this book?

Cheers,

Pollie

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