Benjamin Graham

“There is no room in this philosophy for a middle ground, or a series of gradations, between the passive and aggressive status.…

— Benjamin Graham

Undervaluations caused by neglect or prejudice may persist for an inconveniently long time, and the same applies to inflated prices caused by…

— Benjamin Graham

To establish the right price for a stock, the market must have adequate information, but it by no means follows that is…

— Benjamin Graham

We define a bargain issue as one which, on the basis of facts established by analysis, appears to be worth considerably more…

— Benjamin Graham

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

— Benjamin Graham

Even defensive portfolios should be changed from time to time, especially if the securities purchased have an apparently excessive advance and can…

— Benjamin Graham

It's nonsensical to derive a price/earnings ratio by dividing the known current price by unknown future earnings.

— Benjamin Graham

The genuine investor in common stocks does not need a great equipment of brain and knowledge, but he does need some unusual…

— Benjamin Graham

“The most realistic distinction between the investor and the speculator is found in their attitude toward stock-market movements. The speculator’s primary interest…

— Benjamin Graham

Only in the exceptional case, where the integrity and competence of the advisers have been thoroughly demonstrated, should the investor act upon…

— Benjamin Graham

It always seemed, and still seems, ridiculously simple to say that if one can acquire a diversified group of common stocks at…

— Benjamin Graham

... the loss of public confidence in the financial community growing out of its own conduct in recent years. I insist that…

— Benjamin Graham

“The one principle that applies to nearly all these so-called “technical approaches” is that one should buy because a stock or the…

— Benjamin Graham

The investor is neither smart not richer when he buys in an advancing market and the market continues to rise. That is…

— Benjamin Graham

The best way to measure your investing success is not by whether you're beating the market but by whether you've put in…

— Benjamin Graham

“The true investor scarcely ever is forced to sell his shares, and at all other times he is free to disregard the…

— Benjamin Graham

Wall Street has a few prudent principles; the trouble is that they are always forgotten when they are most needed.

— Benjamin Graham

The investor who permits himself to be stampeded or unduly worried by unjustified market declines in his holdings is perversely transforming his…

— Benjamin Graham

The market is always making mountains out of molehills and exaggerating ordinary vicissitudes into major setbacks.

— Benjamin Graham

you may take it as an axiom that you cannot profit in Wall Street by continuously doing the obvious or the popular…

— Benjamin Graham

Always remember that market quotations are there for convenience, either to be taken advantage of or to be ignored.

— Benjamin Graham

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put…

— Benjamin Graham

I am no longer an advocate of elaborate techniques of security analysis in order to find superior value opportunities.

— Benjamin Graham

The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an…

— Benjamin Graham

The intelligent investor shouldn't ignore Mr. Market entirely. Instead, you should do business with him- but only to the extent that it…

— Benjamin Graham

The function of the margin of safety is, in essence, that of rendering unnecessary an accurate estimate of the future.

— Benjamin Graham

In the financial markets, hindsight is forever 20/20, but foresight is legally blind. And thus, for most investors, market timing is a…

— Benjamin Graham

there is a tendency in part of Wall Street people to pay excessive attention to the most recent figures and the present…

— Benjamin Graham

Before you place your financial future in the hands of an adviser, it's imperative that you find someone who not only makes…

— Benjamin Graham

Never mingle your speculative and investment operations in the same account nor in any part of your thinking.

— Benjamin Graham

The margin of safety is always dependent on the price paid. It will be large at one price, small at some higher…

— Benjamin Graham

An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return.

— Benjamin Graham

The true investor... will do better if he forgets about the stock market and pays attention to his dividend returns and to…

— Benjamin Graham

Knowledge is only one ingredient on arriving at a stock's proper price. The other ingredient, fully as important as information, is sound…

— Benjamin Graham

In the old legend the wise men finally boiled down the history of mortal affairs into a single phrase: 'This too will…

— Benjamin Graham

The most striking thing about Graham's discussion of how to allocate your assets between stocks and bonds is that he never mentions…

— Benjamin Graham

Traditionally the investor has been the man with patience and the courage of his convictions who would buy when the harried or…

— Benjamin Graham

To enjoy a reasonable chance for continued better than average results, the investor must follow policies which are (1) inherently sound and…

— Benjamin Graham

There is a close logical connection between the concept of a safety margin and the principle of diversification.

— Benjamin Graham

Both a priori reasoning and experience teach us that as as these funds grow larger the geometrical rate of growth by compound…

— Benjamin Graham