Born in London in 1894, Ben Graham moved to the United States in 1895 where he spent his childhood in New York. The loss of his father when Ben was nine years old saw him shoulder tremendous financial responsibility at a very raw age. The young Ben completed his graduation in 1914 from Columbia University and started work in a Wall Street firm by the name of Newburger, Henderson and Loeb, where eventually he rose to the position of Partner by 1920. In 1926, he formed an Investment alliance with Jerome Neuman which lasted till 1956. It is said that even though the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929 wiped out Ben's personal wealth, the Investment Alliance with Neuman quickly bounced back and delivered an average annual return of 17% over the 1926-1956 period.
Ben Graham's investment style was greatly inflenced by the financial hardship that he had to wallow against in his early childhood as well as during the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Ben Graham was a Financial Educator as well and taught at Columbia where one of his students was a certain gent by the name of Warren Buffett!! Ben's investment style found reflection in his first Book entitled 'SECURITY ANALYSIS' which is truly considered an investment Classic. In essence , Ben Graham's investment style was based upon the two pillars of 'thorough analysis' (what we now commonly term as 'fundamental analysis') and ' margin of safety' wherein he unearthed Firms with sound fundamentals but going through temporary downs. Thus , he could truly be called the Father of 'Fundamental Analysis' as we know it today. It is also often said that Warren Buffett's individual investment style is influenced in no small measure by that of his one-time teacher and mentor - Benjamin Graham.
Benjamin Graham passed away in 1976, but continues to find a place in the hearts and minds of countless investors.
Some of his more popular quotes are enlisted hereunder:
"To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks."
" Most of the time stocks are subject to irrational and excessive price fluctuations in both directions as the consequence of the ingrained tendency of most people to speculate or gamble … to give way to hope, fear and greed."
"Even the intelligent investor is likely to need considerable willpower to keep from following the crowd."
"It is absurd to think that the general public can ever make money out of market forecasts."
Earlier Post on WARREN BUFFETT SEE HERE
Earlier Post on PETER LYNCH SEE HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment