25 Pearls of Wisdom: Great Quotes From Value Investors

Good quotes have certain characteristics that makes them special. They are short, represents central idea/tenet of the subject and conveys the same idea very effectively without getting verbose. True beauty of great quotes lie in the impact it creates due to its simplicity! In my readings on value investing, I have come across some great quotes from equally great value investors/economists. I would like to share a few of them here as they represent some very powerful and central ideas in value investing that has the ability to prevent one from digressing from the path of value investing. Here they are...

“Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” – Ben Graham

“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”     –Charlie Munger

“Activity is the enemy of investment returns.” – Warren Buffett

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

“The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything but the value of nothing.” – Phil Fisher

“It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different from the majority.” – John Templeton

“Markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent.” – John Maynard Keynes

“The trick of successful investors is to sell when they want to, not when they have to.” – Seth Klarman

“We are big fans of fear, and in investing it is clearly better to be scared than sorry.” – Seth Klarman

“Being a value investor means you look at the downside before looking at the upside.” – Li Lu

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

“Better to buy a great business at a fair price than a fair business at a great price.” – Charlie Munger

“It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.” – George Soros

“Go for a business that any idiot can run, because sooner or later any idiot probably is going to run it.” – Peter Lynch

“Cash combined with courage in a time of crisis is priceless.” – Warren Buffett

“Anyone who believes a growth rate in excess of 15% per annum over the long term is attainable should pursue a career in sales, but avoid one in mathematics.” – Warren Buffett

“The trick in life is not to die. The trick in investing is not to lose.” – Bruce Berkowitz

“Investing should be dull, like watching paint dry or grass grow.” – Paul Samuelson

The only way to test a hypothesis is to look for all the information that disagrees with it.” – Karl Popper

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

“You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right (or wrong) because your data and reasoning are right (or wrong).”     - Ben Graham

“While enthusiasm may be necessary for great accomplishments elsewhere, on Wall Street it almost invariably leads to disaster.”  - Ben Graham

“After all, you only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.” - Warren Buffet

“Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.” - Warren Buffet

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” - Warren Buffet