The company must be paying dividends. Preferably the dividend will have been increasing and have been paid for some time.

Protect the downside. Worry about the margin of safety.

They really can’t afford to be contrarians. A major investment house can’t afford to do research for five customers who won’t generate a lot of commissions.

The company must be profitable. Preferably it will have increased its earnings for the past five years and there will have been no deficits over that period.

You find bargains among the unpopular things, the things that everybody hates. The key is that you must have patience.

In every analysis you need to isolate what the real assets are and you must not forget to examine the franchise to do business, to review the character and competence of the management and to estimate the outcome if the whole business had to be turned into cash.

Try to pick a fund manager who has a well-defined strategy, has been through these things before, and go invest and stay with him.