Comments on: The Intelligent Investor: Stock Selection for the Enterprising Investor

By: Lise

Lise — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:27:42 +0000

This article reminded me that when I was a teenager I had a virtual portfolio through Yahoo Finance – it was something they did called “The Investment Challenge,” or something. It was a lot of fun, but maaaaan did I suck at it.

Time to get back to it, maybe. I have such a hard time resigning myself to the idea of just putting my money in index funds; I think if you make the average choice, you will always be average.

By: Isela

Isela — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:58:21 +0000

When this serie is going to end? Is too much!!!

By: Caroline

Caroline — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:30:26 +0000

So if you hate studying stocks, go with index funds anyway? haha

By: Hallie

Hallie — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:52:22 +0000

I just have to say, I’m so tired of the Intelligent Investor. Will it ever end?

By: George

George — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:16:30 +0000

Hi Trent. I just happened to write about a new post this morning that directly relates to Chapter 15 of The Intelligent Investor. What a coincidence!

My post focuses on the special situations and workouts portion of that chapter that everyone seems to ignore. I would strongly suggest that folks strongly consider learning about special situations. While investing in mergers may not be appropriate for individual investors most of the time (however its good right now), there are other special situations ideally suited for individual investors that actually give individuals an edge over the big money on Wall Street.

My Special Situations Real Money Portfolio that I track on my blog was up over 16% last year. My total return since late 2004 when I started that account is over 70%. I did all this from my son’s Coverdell ESA, even with all the limitations that come with such an account.

It takes quite a bit of work and mental strength to track and investing in these opportunities, but I think it is well worth it. Those few paragraphs in Chapter 15 on special situations has changed my life and has pretty much formed the basis of my business.

By: The Personal Finance Playbook

The Personal Finance Playbook — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:06:04 +0000

I have a real portfolio that was down 32% last year. Most of my stocks didn’t do that badly, but were dragged down by a position in Bank of America (that I still hold – it keeps getting worse). I basically have used a variation Graham’s strategies since I read this book and Security Analysis several years ago.

I keep my retirement in index funds, but I use a buy and hold value strategy in my taxable accounts. I get the best of both worlds – market averages for my retirement, and the intellectual challenges of evaluating stocks in my taxable accounts.

By: Blair

Blair — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:56:51 +0000

Maybe I’m just missing something, but a few of those criteria seem hard to search for in a screener (I used Yahoo and TDAmeritrade’s). Are they called something else?

By: the weakonomist

the weakonomist — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:45:02 +0000

One thing to keep in mind is to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. The PE ratio is good for comparing similar companies, like Exxon and Chevron, but not so good at comparing Exxon to Intel. Different sectors have different historical PE averages. So look for companies that have low PEs in comparison to their nearest competitors.

I use a combination of Yahoo, Google, and some freeware to manage a “fake” portfolio. I was only down 20% last year. Much of that was in thanks to being heavy in oil stocks at the beginning of the year and selling in the summer.