With the market falling as it has over the past few weeks, it looks like there are alot of good buying opportunities out there. I looked over the 52 Week Low list the other day and some quality companies jumped out at me, Harley Davidson and AstraZeneca in particular.
I'm currently wrapping up my research on my first "idea" and I'll hopefully have that posted by the end of January. After that, it looks like I'll be taking a peak at the financials of HOG and AZN.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Book Review: Getting Started in Value Investing by Charles Mizrahi
When I decided I wanted to learn more about value investing and started compiling a reading list that would help me accomplish this goal, almost everywhere I turned recommended I begin with Getting Started in Value Investing by Charles Mizrahi. I recently completed this book, and would like to be the 1,075,267th person to say that this should be read by anyone who wants to get started in value investing.
Mizrahi's writing style is what makes Getting Started in Value Investing such a great introductory book. The author is entertaining and engaging, allowing the book to read at a fast pace without sacrificing any content. Anyone who has read a finance textbook before knows how painfully dry they can be, so I think it's pretty impressive that Mizrahi so easily keeps the reader's attention throughout his writings.
Getting Started in Value Investing starts out explaining what value investing is and is not, before hammering home the point that it is important to never overpay for a business no matter how good a business it may be. Mizrahi then goes into how to evaluate management, talks about the importance of having a competitive advantage, and goes over how to analyze a business's annual reports. The book closes with the author telling the reader it is important to stay true to their research when it falls out of favor with Wall Street, and recommending particular things to look for when the finally begin analyzing investments.
My only problem with this book is that I believe Mizrahi's method for determining a company's intrinsic value is a bit too simplistic. He recommends estimating future earnings five or so years down the road, multiplying that amount by a particular PE ratio to get the estimated price, and then discounting that value by a particular rate back to today's dollars. My issue is not the inclusion of this method, as I believe it does add some value for the beginning investor, but I think that Mizrahi should have delved deeper into using the discounted cash flow method to determine true value rather than just mentioning it in passing as he does.
Despite this one small gripe, I think everyone who is interested in value investing would do well to add this Getting Started in Value Investing to their library. It's a very interesting primer, a book that will pay for itself many times over down the road. I cannot imagine a better introduction to the world of value investing.
Mizrahi's writing style is what makes Getting Started in Value Investing such a great introductory book. The author is entertaining and engaging, allowing the book to read at a fast pace without sacrificing any content. Anyone who has read a finance textbook before knows how painfully dry they can be, so I think it's pretty impressive that Mizrahi so easily keeps the reader's attention throughout his writings.
Getting Started in Value Investing starts out explaining what value investing is and is not, before hammering home the point that it is important to never overpay for a business no matter how good a business it may be. Mizrahi then goes into how to evaluate management, talks about the importance of having a competitive advantage, and goes over how to analyze a business's annual reports. The book closes with the author telling the reader it is important to stay true to their research when it falls out of favor with Wall Street, and recommending particular things to look for when the finally begin analyzing investments.
My only problem with this book is that I believe Mizrahi's method for determining a company's intrinsic value is a bit too simplistic. He recommends estimating future earnings five or so years down the road, multiplying that amount by a particular PE ratio to get the estimated price, and then discounting that value by a particular rate back to today's dollars. My issue is not the inclusion of this method, as I believe it does add some value for the beginning investor, but I think that Mizrahi should have delved deeper into using the discounted cash flow method to determine true value rather than just mentioning it in passing as he does.
Despite this one small gripe, I think everyone who is interested in value investing would do well to add this Getting Started in Value Investing to their library. It's a very interesting primer, a book that will pay for itself many times over down the road. I cannot imagine a better introduction to the world of value investing.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Welcome
Thank you for visiting Searching For Value, my very first blog, which I will be using to share my investment ideas, analysis, and book reviews with you, the (hopefully) dedicated reader.
As you may have gathered from this blog's title, I subscribe to the value investing philosophy developed by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, which seeks to purchase quality securities that are selling at a significant discount from their "intrinsic value", or true worth. One reason that I follow this particular investment strategy is because one often has to go against the crowd while carrying it out. Who wouldn't want to push all that noise from Wall Street to the side?
And who wouldn't want to realize significant returns while doing so? You wont be Warren Buffet, but you can beat the market with a little hard work.
If you enjoy what you read on these pages, please leave a comment or drop me a line at searchingforvalue@gmail.com. Thanks again for stopping in.
As you may have gathered from this blog's title, I subscribe to the value investing philosophy developed by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, which seeks to purchase quality securities that are selling at a significant discount from their "intrinsic value", or true worth. One reason that I follow this particular investment strategy is because one often has to go against the crowd while carrying it out. Who wouldn't want to push all that noise from Wall Street to the side?
And who wouldn't want to realize significant returns while doing so? You wont be Warren Buffet, but you can beat the market with a little hard work.
If you enjoy what you read on these pages, please leave a comment or drop me a line at searchingforvalue@gmail.com. Thanks again for stopping in.
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