Home / Authors / Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham Quotes

Investor

Benjamin Graham, born on May 9, 1894, in London, England, was a renowned investor and securities analyst. He had a profound impact on the investment field and was hailed as the 'Father of Modern Investing'. Graham's investment philosophy emphasizes value investing, advocating for investors to focus on the fundamental aspects of companies rather than market sentiment. His book, 'The Intelligent Investor', has had a significant influence on generations of investors.

Filter quotes by topic

All Investing Investors Investment Security Ifs May Intelligent Should Values Financial Streets Wall Common Safety Sound Years Company Results Sells Important

Famous Benjamin Graham Quotes

“All the real money in investment will have to be made as most of it has been in the past not out of buying and selling but out of owning and holding securities, receiving interests and dividends therein, and benefiting from their long-term increases in value. Hence stockholder's major energies and wisdom as investors should be directed toward assuring themselves of the best operating results from their corporations. This in turn means assuring themselves of fully honest and competent managements.”

“The reader can test his own psychology by asking himself whether he would consider, in retrospect, the selling at 156 in 1925 and buying back at 109 in 1931 was a satisfactory operation. Some may think that an intelligent investor should have been able to sell out much closer to the high of 381 and to buy back nearer the low of 41. If that is your own view you are probably a speculator at heart and will have trouble keeping to true investment precepts while the market rushes up and down.”

“Why should the cotton growers suffer if there is shortage of wheat?”

Ifs Should Suffering Wheat Cotton Shortage

Author:Benjamin Graham

“Experience teaches that the time to buy stocks is when their price is unduly depressed by temporary adversity. In other words, they should be bought on a bargain basis or not at all.”

Should Teach Bases Adversity Temporary Bargains

Book:The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

Source: The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

“The most realistic distinction between the investor and the speculator is found in their attitude toward stock-market movements. The speculator's primary interest lies in anticipating and profiting from market fluctuations. The investor's primary interest lies in acquiring and holding suitable securities at suitable prices. Market movements are important to him in a practical sense, because they alternately create low price levels at which he would be wise to buy and high price levels at which he certainly should refrain from buying and probably would be wise to sell.”

“It should be remembered that a decline of 50% fully offsets a preceding advance of 100%.”

Should Investing Remembered Decline

Author:Benjamin Graham

“The investor should be aware that even though safety of its principal and interest may be unquestioned, a long term bond could vary widely in market price in response to changes in interest rates.”

Should May Long Term Interest Safety Response Rate Investing Long Term Investors Principal Vary Interest Rate

Author: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 serves your interests.”

Should Interest Intelligent Investing Investors

Author:Benjamin Graham

“Only in the exceptional case, where the integrity and competence of the advisers have been thoroughly demonstrated, should the investor act upon the advice of others without understanding and approving the decision made.”

Should Has Beens Made Understanding Decision Cases Advice Integrity Investing Investors Exceptional Competence Adviser Decisions Made Approving

Book:The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

Source: The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

“If fees consume more than 1% of your assets annually, you should probably shop for another adviser.”

Ifs Should Investing Shops Assets Fees Adviser

Author:Benjamin Graham

“The only thing you should do with pro forma earnings is ignore them.”

Should Investing Earning

Book:The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

Source: The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

“Even defensive portfolios should be changed from time to time, especially if the securities purchased have an apparently excessive advance and can be replaced by issues much more reasonable priced.”

Ifs Should Issues Security Changed Investing Reasonable Replaced Portfolios

Author:Benjamin Graham

“The intelligent investor should recognize that market panics can create great prices for good companies and good prices for great companies.”

Should Company Intelligent Investing Investors Panic Good Company Great Company

Book:The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

Source: The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

“It always seemed, and still seems, ridiculously simple to say that if one can acquire a diversified group of common stocks at a price less than the applicable net current assets alone - after deducting all prior claims, and counting as zero the fixed and other assets - the results should be quite satisfactory.”

Ifs Should Stills Seems Simple Results Common Groups Claims Currents Fixed Acquire Zero Assets Counting

Author:Benjamin Graham

“The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator. This means ... that he should be able to justify every purchase he makes and each price he pays by impersonal, objective reasoning that satisfies him that he is getting more than his money's worth for his purchase.”

Should Mean Able Individual Money Pay Investing Objectives Reasoning Justify Investors Consistently Speculators

Author:Benjamin Graham

“The underlying principles of sound investment should not alter from decade to decade, but the application of these principles must be adapted to significant changes in the financial mechanisms and climate.”

Should Sound Principles Intelligent Investment Climate Investing Financial Decades Significant Application Mechanism Adapted Significant Change

Book:The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed

Source: The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed

“In other words, the market is not a weighing machine, on which the value of each issue is recorded by an exact and impersonal mechanism, in accordance with its specific qualities. Rather should we say that the market is a voting machine, whereon countless individuals register choices which are the product partly of reason and partly of emotion.”

Should Reason Values Choices Individual Emotion Quality Issues Products Machines Voting Mechanism Register Weighing

Book:Security Analysis: Principles and Technique

Source: Security Analysis: Principles and Technique

“The investor with a portfolio of sound stocks should expect their prices to fluctuate and should neither be concerned by sizable declines nor become excited by sizable advances. He should always remember that market quotations are there for his convenience, either to be taken advantage of or to be ignored.”

Should Remember Sound Taken Advantage Concerned Investing Excited Investors Decline Quotations Ignored Convenience Portfolios Taken Advantage

Book:The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

Source: The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel

“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.”

Needs Giving Should Years Looks Sometimes Hard Character Quality Company Watches Performances Investing Investors Hawks Business Change

Author:Benjamin Graham