An investor calculates what a stock is worth, based on the value of its businesses.

Most businesses change in character and quality over the years, sometimes for the better, perhaps more often for the worse. The investor need not watch his companies' performance like a hawk; but he should give it a good, hard look from time to time.

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

The value of any investment is, and always must be, a function of the price you pay for it.

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

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

Before you place your financial future in the hands of an adviser, it's imperative that you find someone who not only makes you comfortable but whose honesty is beyond reproach.