The Intelligent Investor Book Cover

The Intelligent Investor

The Definitive Book on Value Investing
☆☆☆☆☆ 0.0/5, 0 Reviews
Book by: Benjamin Graham

Brief summary

Are you someone who is interested in stock market investments? Always wanted to invest, but was doubtful about the risks and financial crisis involved? Well, then you’ve turned to the right book. ‘The Intelligent Investor’ outlines all the methods and risks involved in investing and will guide you to become a more successful investor.

Show More
book summary app

Download app now

   
00:00
00:00
00:00

Lesson 1. Introduction.

Written by Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing has been widely acclaimed as the ‘best book on value investing’ for over decades. The book refers to the methods by which one can invest in stock markets and earn more money. It outlines all the intelligent investing and also risk-averse techniques for beginners who are looking to start investing.

 

Many people have used this great book and applied the methods involved to become successful. Perhaps, the most successful of them all is Warren Buffet. Yes, Warren Buffet, one of the richest businessmen in the world used the methods in the book to invest intelligently. He also mentioned that ‘The Intelligent Investor’ is the best book ever written on investing.

 

With the commentary of Jason Zweig and the writing of Graham, ‘The Intelligent investor’ acts as a thorough guide in explaining the principles of portfolio creation, stock and bond picking,  cost management, and stock ownership for a long-term investor.

Lesson 2. The Three Important Points.

 

To become an intelligent investor, it is essential to follow some key principles. According to Graham, Intelligent investing consists of three important points. They are:

  1. A thorough analysis of a company and the soundness of its business practices before the purchase of any of its stock.
  2. Making sure that you are protected against any severe losses.
  3. Not aspiring to extraordinary results, but aiming for ‘adequate’ performance.

 

The first point talks about the importance of analyzing the business principles of the company the person is looking forward to investing in. One has to be patient and calm in the long run. The long term development of a company depends on various factors.

 

A company’s financial structure, quality of the management, and the distribution of its profits and funds are a few areas to focus on before investing in it. Focusing on the big picture by examining the company’s financial history is important. An Intelligent investor doesn’t make the mistake of falling into a trap by looking at the short-term earnings of a company. 

 

The second point is to save yourself from the risk of losing all your money. No matter how promising a company might appear, never put all your money on a single stock. Divide your money adequately and invest in several different companies. Diversify your investments and protect your money from serious issues like tax frauds and scandals. 

 

The last point is to aim for

Unlock Knowledge with Wizdom App

Explore a world of insights and wisdom at your fingertips with the Wizdom app.

  • 1 Million+ App Download
  • 4.9App Store Rating
  • 5000+Summaries & Podcasts

Famous quotes from The Intelligent Investor

  1. The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.
    2. -Benjamin Graham
  2. Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
    3. -Benjamin Graham
  3. An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.
    4. -Benjamin Graham
  4. But investing isn’t about beating others at their game. It’s about controlling yourself at your own game.
    5. -Benjamin Graham
  5. The stock investor is neither right nor wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.
    6. -Benjamin Graham
  6. People who invest make money for themselves; people who speculate make money for their brokers.
    7. -Benjamin Graham
  7. As the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard noted, life can only be understood backwards—but it must be lived forwards.
    8. -Benjamin Graham
  8. The punches you miss are the ones that wear you out. (—Boxing trainer Angelo Dundee)
    9. -Benjamin Graham
  9. You will be much more in control if you realize how much you are not in control.
    10. -Benjamin Graham
  10. Invest only if you would be comfortable owning a stock even if you had no way of knowing its daily share price.
    11. -Benjamin Graham
  11. Americans are getting stronger. Twenty years ago, it took two people to carry ten dollars’ worth of groceries. Today, a five-year-old can do it. (—Henny Youngman)
    12. -Benjamin Graham
  12. You must thoroughly analyze a company, and the soundness of its underlying businesses, before you buy its stock; you must deliberately protect yourself against serious losses; you must aspire to “adequate,” not extraordinary, performance.
    13. -Benjamin Graham
  13. Plant trees that other men will sit under.
    14. -Benjamin Graham
  14. 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.
    15. -Benjamin Graham
  15. Buy cheap and sell dear.
    16. -Benjamin Graham
  16. The market is a pendulum that forever swings between unsustainable optimism (which makes stocks too expensive) and unjustified pessimism (which makes them too cheap). The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.
    17. -Benjamin Graham
  17. A cynic once told G. K. Chesterton, the British novelist and essayist, "Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed." Chesterton’s rejoinder? "Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for he shall enjoy everything."
    18. -Benjamin Graham
  18. On the other hand, investing is a unique kind of casino—one where you cannot lose in the end, so long as you play only by the rules that put the odds squarely in your favor.
    19. -Benjamin Graham
  19. If the reason people invest is to make money, then in seeking advice they are asking others to tell them how to make money. That idea has some element of naïveté.
    20. -Benjamin Graham
  20. The psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky have shown that when humans estimate the likelihood or frequency of an event, we make that judgment based not on how often the event has actually occurred, but on how vivid the past examples are.
    21. -Benjamin Graham
  21. Obvious prospects for physical growth in a business do not translate into obvious profits for investors.
    22. -Benjamin Graham
  22. The schoolteacher asks Billy Bob: "If you have 12 sheep and one jumps over the fence, how many sheep do you have left?" Billy Bob answers, "None." "Well," says the teacher, "you sure don't know your subtraction." "Maybe not," Billy Bob replies, "but I darn sure know my sheep."
    23. -Benjamin Graham
  23. All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.
    24. -Benjamin Graham
  24. The investment world nevertheless has enough liars, cheaters, and thieves to keep Satan's check-in clerks frantically busy for decades to come.
    25. -Benjamin Graham
  25. Since the profits that companies can earn are finite, the price that investors should be willing to pay for stocks must also be finite.
    26. -Benjamin Graham
  26. An elementary requirement for the intelligent investor is an ability to resist the blandishments of salesmen offering new common-stock issues during bull markets.
    27. -Benjamin Graham
  27. The art of successful investment lies first in the choice of those industries that are most likely to grow in the future and then in identifying the most promising companies in these industries.
    28. -Benjamin Graham
  28. The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted.
    29. -Benjamin Graham
  29. With every new wave of optimism or pessimism, we are ready to abandon history and time-tested principles, but we cling tenaciously and unquestioningly to our prejudices.
    30. -Benjamin Graham
  30. You’ve got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, ’cause you might not get there.
    31. -Benjamin Graham
  31. It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a great fortune; and when you have got it, it requires ten times as much wit to keep it.
    32. -Benjamin Graham

Reviews for Summary of The Intelligent Investor

0.0
Vote: 0
☆☆☆☆☆

Explore More Books of Same Genre:

Business, Career, Marketing, Money & Investment, Strategy

About the author

Benjamin Graham Image
Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham was known as the father of Value Investing. His love for finance kept burning bright, as he taught at the Columbian Business School. His keen interest in finance is what has made our present day investments fruitful.

1 Book

Unlock The Intelligent Investor Lessons!

Download our app for instant access to the summarized version and Audiobook of 'The Intelligent Investor'
Published Year: 1949
142 Views Reading time: Quotes:
The Intelligent Investor Book Cover
Chapter List
  • Lesson 1. Introduction.
  • Lesson 2. The Three Important Points.
  • Lesson 3. Investment and Speculation.
  • Lesson 4. Investment and Inflation.
  • Lesson 5. Don’t follow history blindly.
  • Lesson 6. Active-Investors and Defensive Investors.
  • Lesson 7. Mr. Market.
  • Lesson 8. Aggressive Investors. 
  • Lesson 9. Intelligent investors and their advisors.
  • Lesson 10. The Margin of Safety.
book summary app

Download app now

You May Also Like:

Market Wizards Book Cover

Market Wizards

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing Book Cover

The Little Book of Comm...

One Up On Wall Street Book Cover

One Up On Wall Street

Rise of the Youpreneur Book Cover

Rise of the Youpreneur

Why the Rich Are Getting Richer Book Cover

Why the Rich Are Gettin...

FAQs

In the summary of The Intelligent Investor book, there are 10 key lessons. These lessons include:

  1. Lesson 1. Introduction.
  2. Lesson 2. The Three Important Points.
  3. Lesson 3. Investment and Speculation.
  4. Lesson 4. Investment and Inflation.
  5. Lesson 5. Don’t follow history blindly.
  6. Lesson 6. Active-Investors and Defensive Investors.
  7. Lesson 7. Mr. Market.
  8. Lesson 8. Aggressive Investors. 
  9. Lesson 9. Intelligent investors and their advisors.
  10. Lesson 10. The Margin of Safety.

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham was published in 1949.

Once you've completed The Intelligent Investor book, We suggest reading out Why the Rich Are Getting Richer as a great follow-up read.

Yes, the book The Intelligent Investor is really good to read. 142 people have searched for the book summary on the Wizdom platform. The book summary has a rating of 0.0, 0 on our platform.

In the printed version of The Intelligent Investor book have over 300 pages and usually takes 8-10 days to finish. However, with the Wizdom app, including its summary and audiobook, it can be completed in just 15 minutes.

Write a Review