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32 First Class Benjamin Graham Quotes

Benjamin Graham is a British-born American economist and investor. Made famous from his book, ‘Security Analysis,’ Graham provided the likes of Warren Buffet, Walter J. Schloss, and Irving Kahn with some of the most sound investing principles of a lifetime. Here is a look at the most memorable quotes from Benjamin Graham.

“A great company is not a great investment if you pay too much for the stock.”

“A stock is not just a ticker symbol or an electronic blip; it is an ownership interest in an actual business, with an underlying value that does not depend on its share price.”

“All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.”

“An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.”

“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.”

“Do not take yearly results too seriously. Instead, focus on four or five year averages.”

“Growth stocks are worth buying when their prices are reasonable.”

“If you are shopping for common stocks, choose them the way you would buy groceries, not the way you would buy perfume.”

“In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.”

“In the world of securities, courage becomes the supreme virtue after adequate knowledge and a tested judgment are at hand.”

“Individuals who cannot master their emotions are ill-suited to profit from the investment process.”

“Investing is simple, but not easy.”

“Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike.”

“Obvious prospects for physical growth in a business do not translate into obvious profits for investors.”

“On the other hand, investing is a unique kind of casino—one where you cannot lose in the end, so long as you play only by the rules that put the odds squarely in your favor.”

“Operations for profit should be based not on optimism but on arithmetic.”

“People who invest make money for themselves; people who speculate make money for their brokers.”

“Successful investing professionals are disciplined and consistent and they think a great deal about what they do and how they do it.”

“The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.”

“The investment world nevertheless has enough liars, cheaters, and thieves to keep Satan’s check-in clerks frantically busy for decades to come.”

“The investor’s chief problem – and even his worst enemy – is likely to be himself.”

“The stock investor is neither right or wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.”

“The vast majority of stock traders are inevitably doomed to failure.”

“There is no sure and easy paths to riches in Wall Street or anywhere else.”

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

“To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks.”

“Wall Street people learn nothing and forget everything.”

“We consider the recent development of stock-option warrants as a near fraud, an existing menace, and a potential disaster. They should be prohibited by law.”

“With every new wave of optimism or pessimism, we are ready to abandon history and time-tested principles, but we cling tenaciously and unquestioningly to our prejudices.”

“Without a saving faith in the future, no one would ever invest at all. To be an investor, you must be a believer in a better tomorrow.”

“You do not have to trade with him (Mr. Market) just because he constantly begs you too.”

“You’ve got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, ’cause you might not get there.”

Warren Buffet reviews some of the important lessons he learned from the father of value investing, Benjamin Graham. Buffets experience with investing is a testament to the sound advise Graham shared during his lifetime.

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