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

A speculator gambles that a stock will go up in price because somebody else will pay even more for it.

We have been trying to point out that this concept of an indefinitely favorable future is dangerous, even if it is true; because even if it is true you can easily overvalue the security, since you make it worth anything you want it to be worth. Beyond this, it is particularly dangerous too, because sometimes your ideas of the future turn out to be wrong. Then you have paid an awful lot for a future that isn't there. Your position then is pretty bad.

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.

The investor's chief problem - and even his worst enemy - is likely to be himself.

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

Always buy your straw hats in the Winter