“I think that the failures of Enron and WorldCom and other companies are partially failures of investors to recognize companies that are selling for a thousand times nothing, but chances are they may be worth only that.” ThinkingMayChanceCompanyThousandSellingInvestorsChances AreEnron Author:Arthur Levitt Jr
“Picking winners among the many young companies seeking money is a tough business, even for the most sophisticated investors. Indeed, most professionally run venture funds lose money. For individuals, it's pure folly. Buy a lottery ticket instead. Your chance of winning is likely to be higher.” RunningYoungWinningIndividualLosesChanceCompanyHigherPureToughSeekingWinnerFollyFundInvestorsSophisticatedTicketsVentureLotteryLottery Ticket Author:Steven Rattner
“Whenever the investor sold out in an upswing as soon as the top level of the previous well-recognized bull market was reached, he had a chance in the next bear market to buy back at one third (or better) below his selling price.” WellsNextChanceLevelsBearsThirdsSellingInvestorsBullsSold OutBull Markets Book:The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel Source: The Intelligent Investor: A Book of Practical Counsel
“If you spend your energies looking for and analysing situations not closely followed by other informed investors, your chance of finding bargains greatly increases.” IfsEnergyChanceSituationFindingsIncreaseInvestorsBargainsAnalysing Author:Joel Greenblatt
“A decade ago, I really did believe that the average investor could do it himself. I was wrong. I've come to the sad conclusion that only a tiny minority, at most one percent, are capable of pulling it off. Heck, if Helen Young Hayes, Robert Sanborn, Julian Robertson, and the nation's largest pension funds can't get it right, what chance does John Q. Investor have?” IfsBelieveDoeYoungNationsChanceCapablePercentInvestingAverageDecadesTinyConclusionMinoritiesFundInvestorsPullingPensionHelen Author:William J. Bernstein
“To enjoy a reasonable chance for continued better than average results, the investor must follow policies which are (1) inherently sound and promising, and (2) not popular on Wall Street.” EnjoySoundChanceResultsStreetsPolicyWallInvestingAverageReasonableInvestors Book:The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed Source: The Intelligent Investor, Rev. Ed
“Even with a margin of safety in the investor's favor, an individual security may work out badly. For the margin guarantees only that he has a better chance for profit than for loss - not that loss is impossible. But as the number of such commitments is increased the more certain does it become that the aggregate of the profits will exceed the aggregate of the losses.” MayDoeCertainIndividualChanceLossNumbersImpossibleSecurityCommitmentSafetyInvestingProfitWork OutFavorsGuaranteesInvestorsExceedMargins Author:Benjamin Graham
“Investors frequently benefit from making decisions with less than perfect knowledge and are well rewarded for bearing the risk of uncertainty. The time other investors spend delving into the last unanswered detail may cost them the chance to buy into situations at prices so low they offer a margin of safety despite the incomplete information” WellsMayLastsChanceDecisionPerfectSituationRiskInformationCostOffersBenefitsLowsSafetyDetailsDespiteUncertaintyInvestorsMarginsIncompleteMaking DecisionsUnansweredDelvingIncomplete Information Author:Seth Klarman