Jason Zweig, WSJ columnist remembers Ben Graham on his 128th birthday:
Yesterday would have been Benjamin Graham’s 128th birthday. Born in London on May 9, 1894, Graham founded the disciplines of security analysis and value investing, was Warren Buffett’s mentor and wrote the classic book after which this newsletter is named.
Graham knew hardship. His father died when Ben was only eight years old, and the family business – importing porcelain and decorative objects – fell apart. His mother’s brokerage account was wiped out in the Panic of 1907. Graham never forgot being sent to the bank as a boy and hearing the teller ask whether his mother was “good for five dollars.”
Then, in and after the Crash of 1929, Graham’s investment partnerships were almost wiped out. He went on to build one of the greatest investing track records of the 20th century, but he never forgot the lessons of loss:
Don’t invest using borrowed money.
Never pay too much for the prospect of future profits.
Never count on greater fools to bail you out of reckless risks.
Above all, your results depend much less on how markets behave than on how you behave.
The column doesn’t seem to be up on WSJ. I got the above from an email subscription.
Should be required reading for all investors, esp the Sauls and the ARKs.