Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond [Paperback]

"No one can doubt there's an urgent need to think clearly about investing, since many investors in Silicon Valley companies have suffered a stock market decline comparable to the Crash of '29. The burned investor could find no better starting place than this superb book by four New York City value investors, all descended from the master of value investing, Benjamin Graham....They have written one of the most intelligent overviews of investing I've ever read, combining analytical rigor with intuitive description." (DAVID A. SYLVESTER, Published Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001, in the San Jose Mercury News)

"...Greenwald is an excellent guide on this subject..." (Sunday Times, 21 October, 2001) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the "guru to Wall Street's gurus" comes the fundamental techniques of value investing and their applications
Bruce Greenwald is one of the leading authorities on value investing. Some of the savviest people on Wall Street have taken his Columbia Business School executive education course on the subject. Now this dynamic and popular teacher, with some colleagues, reveals the fundamental principles of value investing, the one investment technique that has proven itself consistently over time. After covering general techniques of value investing, the book proceeds to illustrate their applications through profiles of Warren Buffett, Michael Price, Mario Gabellio, and other successful value investors. A number of case studies highlight the techniques in practice.
Bruce C. N. Greenwald (New York, NY) is the Robert Heilbrunn Professor of Finance and Asset Management at Columbia University. Judd Kahn, PhD (New York, NY), is a member of Morningside Value Investors. Paul D. Sonkin (New York, NY) is the investment manager of the Hummingbird Value Fund. Michael van Biema (New York, NY) is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University.

Individual investors in the Internet Age are blessed with information. We also are cursed with too much of the stuff, from real-time quotes to streaming videos of fund managers. This info-clutter extends to books, and cutting through it can be difficult, even dispiriting, when you see how little thought goes into so many books. That's why I've spent part of the summer doing it for you. And the new title most deserving of your time is Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond. Its authors, Columbia Business School faculty members Bruce C.N. Greenwald and Michael Van Biema and fund managers Paul D. Sonkin and Judd Kahn, aim to place their work next to Benjamin Graham's 1950 classic, The Intelligent Investor. My 1986 edition came with Warren Buffett's endorsement--"by far the best book on investing ever written." Value Investing is better. --Robert Barker, BusinessWeek, AUGUST 13, 2001

No one can doubt there's an urgent need to think clearly about investing, since many investors in Silicon Valley companies have suffered a stock market decline comparable to the Crash of '29. The burned investor could find no better starting place than this superb book by four New York City value investors, all descended from the master of value investing, Benjamin Graham.... They have written one of the most intelligent overviews of investing I've ever read, combining analytical rigor with intuitive description." --DAVID A. SYLVESTER, San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 21, 2001

Greenwald is a conventional economist (Ph.D. from MIT) who caught the value bug. He has updated and expanded Graham's ideas, and his summer seminars ($2,900 for two days) have become popular with everyone from well-known money managers to Columbia MBAs who couldn't get into Greenwald's class. But now there is a cheaper way to learn from Greenwald: He and three colleagues have just published "Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond." Greenwald probably won't outsell Graham, but I think he ought to. --Paul Sturm, SmartMoney Magazine, June 19, 2001

"Whether you've been working with stocks for years or are a beginner looking for a book that goes beyond price/earnings ratios, you'll likely get something worthwhile out of the book. I certainly did." —Pat Dorsey, Morningstar, 11/7/2001

"I finally have a good solution for those wanting an updated manual on value investing. Value Investing [is] essential reading for anyone looking for a fresh perspective on analyzing companies and selecting investments. Those with a little background in finance will benefit from the book's clear prose and its profiles of eight successful value investors, and stock-market veterans will enjoy the detailed case studies in which Greenwald applies his ideas to specific companies.... It is one of the better books on investing to hit the shelves in a while. Greenwald's detailed analysis of Intel INTC is by itself worth the price of admission, and other examples are similarly illuminating. Whether you've been working with stocks for years or are a beginner looking for a book that goes beyond price/earnings ratios, you'll likely get something worthwhile out of the book." (Secrets of Successful Investing' by Pat Dorsey, Morningstar.com)

"Value Investing [is] essential reading for anyone looking for a fresh perspective on analyzing companies and selecting investments." —Pat Dorsey, Morningstar.com

"Sophisticated yet accessible to people outside the orbit of business schools, Greenwald's book is a lively defense of, and handbook for, value investing, complete with glimpses of how it's practiced by pros like Warren Buffett and Mario Gabelli." —TheStreet.com, November 15, 2001 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Described by the New York Times as the "guru to Wall Street's gurus," Bruce Greenwald is a leading authority on value investing. His courses and seminars on the subject have drawn some of the savviest people in the investment world. Now, along with some colleagues, Greenwald reveals the fundamental principles that have made value investing one of the most consistently profitable investment techniques.

In an investment world frequently blinded by excessive optimism, short-term speculation, and other practices ranging from unsound to downright shady, value investing remains a reliable discipline even as it moves into a new century. Built on the works of Benjamin Graham, the father of security analysis, value investing is based on the premise that the underlying value of a financial security is measurable and stable, even though the market price fluctuates widely. The core of value investing is to buy securities when their market prices are significantly below their intrinsic values. Graham called the gap between price and value the "margin of safety." A large margin of safety both increases the potential return and reduces the risk of loss.

In Value Investing, the authors enrich the discipline by exploring its history, explaining its underlying principles, and setting guidelines for its successful application. The book covers such indispensable issues as:
* Where to look for underpriced securities
* How to determine the intrinsic value of a stock
* Alternative methods for constructing a portfolio that control risk without restricting investment returns

After discussing the basis of value investing, the book describes the proven techniques of some of the greatest value investors in history, including Warren

Buffett, Walter Schloss, Mario Gabelli, and Michael Price. By adapting Graham's strategies to accommodate new investment climates, each has contributed a distinctive thread to make the discipline of value investing stronger and more flexible.

Value Investing is a must for any serious investor wishing to gain a better understanding of the principles and practices behind this time-tested approach. It will earn a place on the bookshelf next to Graham and Dodd's Security Analysis and Graham's The Intelligent Investor. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

"This book deserves a place on every serious investor’s shelf."
–FINANCIAL TIMES

"A must-read for all disciples of value investing. In 1934, Graham and Dodd created fundamental security analysis. Greenwald reinforces the worth of this approach, incorporates new advances, and takes their work into the twenty-first century."
–Mario J. Gabelli, Chairman, Gabelli Asset Management, Inc.

"The new title most deserving of your time is Value Investing . . . . Its authors aim to place their work next to Benjamin Graham’s 1950 classic, The Intelligent Investor. My 1986 edition came with Warren Buffett’s endorsement–‘by far the best book on investing ever written.’ Value Investing is better."
–Robert Barker, BusinessWeek

"Greenwald is an economist (PhD from MIT) who caught the value bug. He has updated and expanded Graham’s ideas, and his summer seminars ($2,900 for two days) have become popular with everyone from well-known money managers to Columbia MBAs who couldn’t get into Greenwald’s class. But now there is a cheaper way . . . Greenwald probably won’t outsell Graham, but I think he ought to."
–Paul Sturm, SmartMoney magazine

"Greenwald’s book is a lively defense of, and handbook for, value investing, complete with glimpses of how it’s practiced by pros like Warren Buffett and Mario Gabelli."
–George Mannes, TheStreet.com

"Essential reading for anyone looking for a fresh perspective on analyzing companies and selecting investments."
–Pat Dorsey, Morningstar.com

BRUCE C. N. GREENWALD is the Robert Heilbrunn Professor of Finance and Asset Management at Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

JUDD KAHN has taught history, served in city government, and worked as a securities analyst, a CFO, and a management consultant. He has a PhD in history from the University of California, Berkeley.

PAUL D. SONKIN is the investment manager of the Hummingbird Value Fund. He has worked at the SEC, Goldman Sachs, Royce Funds, and First Manhattan Company. He holds an MBA from Columbia.

MICHAEL van BIEMA is a member of the finance faculty of Columbia Business School. Prior to joining the faculty of Columbia, he was a principal at the RONIN Corporation, a management consulting firm, and the cofounder of several technology companies. He has a PhD from Columbia in computer science.