📖George Soros

Conservative Valuation Approach

🌿 Intermediate★★★★☆

Conservative valuation protects against overpaying.

💬

Use conservative assumptions in your valuation. Optimistic projections lead to overpaying. It is better to underestimate value and be pleasantly surprised than to overestimate and be disappointed.

— Soros on Soros,1995

🏠 Everyday Analogy

Valuation is like buying a house: the asking price reflects mood, but true value comes from structure, location, and long-term utility. Good assets still need sensible prices.

📖 Core Interpretation

In Conservative Valuation Approach, George Soros focuses on the gap between price and value. Returns come from paying less than what a business is worth, not from guessing short-term market moves.
💎 Key Insight:Pessimistic estimates create a built-in margin of safety.

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❓ Why It Matters

Ignoring valuation turns even good companies into poor investments. Overpaying compresses future returns and leaves little margin when assumptions are wrong.

🎯 How to Practice

Estimate intrinsic value with conservative assumptions, set clear buy ranges, and act only when price offers a meaningful discount with acceptable downside.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Confusing a low price with true cheapness
Using one metric without business context
Overly optimistic assumptions that erase margin of safety

📚 Case Studies

1
Asian Financial Crisis (1997)
Soros’ funds traded against overvalued Asian currencies as investor fear and deteriorating fundamentals amplified each other, triggering sharp devaluations.
✨ Outcome:Several Asian currencies collapsed, stock markets plunged, and Soros’ funds profited from short positions, though he faced political backlash.
2
Asian Financial Crisis in Thailand (1997)
Spotted flaw in Thailand’s fixed exchange rate with large short-term foreign debt and weakening competitiveness.
✨ Outcome:Shorted Thai baht and related assets; peg collapsed in July 1997, leading to sharp devaluation and profits for Soros’s fund.

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