Customer Reviews

The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had always avoided reading Graham on the assumption that he would be an uninteresting read. He is fabulous. Clear, straightforward guidelines come out in clear english. Zweig's updating is perfect - telling you when items are outdated enough to deserve skipping as well as including more up to date data. Its clear, easy to understand, and straight from the guru's mouth.

This review is based on reading the book in one day, and so not really having time to put into practice what Graham recommends. I'm however reviewing the text and style of the book, which is superb.
Good information and analysis, the web references are invaluable, and very balanced synopsis of the past performance of the market. What I would suggest for future revisions is the updating of the market's performance since 1972, upon which the original text is based. It's somewhat disconcerting to be reading about events that occurred almost 30 years ago in the conext of today's market.

A must read for anyone who wants to be a stock market guru. It's not that you'll become this hot stock picker, and your dreams of wealth will be answered, but you'll understand the psychology behind why the market moves in certain directions, and how to profit from those moves.

This is a solid treatise on value investing. Although it may not be fully appropriate for the types of markets we are facing right now. As always Benjamin Graham has a solid approach to investing that fits a long term approach.

Right now with all of wall street's shenanigans it is hard to determine if the company's value is truly stated. Plus with derivatives taking over the marketplace it is almost impossible to just stick to one approach to investing. Especially in the short term. That is why I recommend the book "Futures For Small Speculators" in addition to this book if you want a strategy for the short term and the long term style of investing that will be necessary in the 21st century.

The updated commentary makes this book a more enjoyable version than previous editions. If however you are already a believer in the Grahm school of thought you might as well read Security Analysis and skip this one. Security Analysis is FAR more in depth. For those of you who do not believe in the Grahm method, this probably won't convince you. I give this book four stars simply because it qualifies as some sort of classic, as far as investment books go. And Mr. Zwieg has done a good job including more current info and examples.

This book represents all things solid and stable in the world of stock market fluctuations that can turnabout on you in a second. Graham gives good advice that helps to avoid the common errors most people make in the stock market. The only gripe is its a rather droll and dry read. But if you stick through it and finish it, you'll find yourself much wiser.

When I first came across the first edition of this book in my local library in 1959, I was a teenager. Back in those days there were only a handful of books about the stock market. And I've read all of them during my junior high and high school years.

This latest updated 623-page paperback (the index alone is 33 pages) version updated by Jason Zweig is a welcome addition to this classic. The original chapters are intact, but with footnoted comments by Zweig. Moreover, he provides his own commentary on each chapter contents in a separate chapter following each original chapter. He provides extensive research, charts, tables and commentary that updates the book to the present years. He is not afraid to take on the big guns of Wall Street and show how wrong they were in some of their extremely bullish predictions during January-March 2000, when the market was at its peak.

The first nine chapters cover investing basics that all investors could benefit from. There are many truisms spouted on Wall Street that are not really true. These chapters provide the investor with a realistic picture of how Wall Street works and what investors need to do to come out ahead.

Chapters 10-20 focus strictly on fundamental analysis, stock selection, convertible issues and warrants, and other subjects. Investors who plan to invest directly in stocks should make sure to read these chapters. However, for readers more interested in investing in mutual funds, and in particular index funds, they need not concern themselves with all the detail in these chapters unless they have the time or interest in the subject matter presented.

In conclusion, the combination of pioneer Ben Graham's original work coupled with Zweig's meticulous and enjoyable update, make this a remarkable book about investments and investor behavior that every new and experienced investor should read. Of the 500 investing books that I've read, this one certainly is one of the greats of all time.

If you have only time to read one book on investing, this classic should probably be it. But if you recently have read some of the popular get-rich-quick books, "The Intelligent Investor" is a necessary and powerful antidote.

The author has an extremely realistic view of the investment world. He sees the real risk where speculators may imagine there are instant riches. For Benjamin Graham, safety of capital comes first. But at the same time, he makes it clear that safety is not guaranteed, even if you do have a properly selected and well balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds.

On page 25, Mr. Graham warns the reader that: "There is no certainty that a stock component will insure adequately against 'large-inflation' but it should carry more protection than the bond component." The author does recognize that: "The outright ownership of real estate has long been considered as a sound long-term investment, carrying with it a goodly amount of protection against inflation." With this statement, he seems to recognize that inclusion of real estate could make an investment portfolio stronger. But he does not analyze real estate extensively as an investment in his book because he says that it is not his field.

Too bad he did not broaden his scope and also become an expert in real estate. If income-producing real estate had been looked at as thoroughly as stocks and bonds in "The Intelligent Investor," I believe many readers, with most of their equity in real estate, would be calling Amazon.com about giving this book a sixth star.

Years ago I read David Chilton's "The Wealthy Barber" and was instantly hooked by its accessibility and plain common sense regarding investing and financial planning. If the "The Wealthy Barber" was grade school, "The Intelligent Investor" is college. Not nearly as accessible, but so much more fulfilling and useful in everyday terms. This most recent edition ups the ante even further by including commentary from financial writer Jason Zweig, updating Graham's classic text with examples from the boom and bust of 1996-2001. Graham explains the principles of value investing clearly and with passion for his subject. As Santayana wrote, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it." Graham knows his history, and provides this guidebook for how to spare yourself that doom. I enjoyed every minute of it, and learn something from it every time I pick it up.

Graham's writing is clear, concise and level-headed. He warns against unreasonable financial expectations and proceeds to explain his theories in sufficient detail to be worthwhile, without being over the comprehension of the layman interested in investing.

The book is lengthy and "solid", as opposed to other finance books that hope to explain investment in 100-200 pages. Topics include stocks vs. bonds, inflation, security analysis, and margin of safety (Graham's analysis of the assets of a company in relation to its debt). Zweig's commentary is useful, with footnotes to clarify historical references and, occasionally, demonstrate instances where Graham's predictions proved untrue. At the end of each chapter, Zweig uses recent (up to early 2003) examples of Graham's concepts to make things clearer to modern readers. (Graham's text itself is his 1973 revision to the original 1949 edition.) Also helpful are numerous references to online articles at various sites (I cannot yet vouch for these links' present state.)

Based on my understanding, I highly recommend this edition to anyone interested in this book. I feel that I gleaned more from this annotated edition than I would have from the original, without having to conduct additional research.