📖Benjamin Graham

Know Thyself as Investor

🌱 Beginner★★★★☆

Self-knowledge is essential for investment success.

💬

The investor's chief problem — and even his worst enemy — is likely to be himself. Before deciding on an investment, you must first know what kind of investor you are.

— _The Intelligent Investor_,1949

🏠 Everyday Analogy

A process is like a pilot checklist: discipline prevents simple mistakes when pressure rises and keeps outcomes more repeatable.

📖 Core Interpretation

Benjamin Graham advocates a repeatable process: define criteria, execute consistently, and review decisions against evidence. Process quality drives outcome consistency.
💎 Key Insight:Understanding your temperament defines your investment approach.

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❓ Why It Matters

Without process, there is no reliable feedback loop. Structured execution and review improve decision quality over time.

🎯 How to Practice

Run a decision loop of research, thesis, execution, and post-mortem; document assumptions and update playbooks with evidence, not hindsight bias.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Having opinions without execution criteria
Reviewing outcomes but not decisions
Abandoning rules during volatility spikes

📚 Case Studies

1
GEICO Early Investment (1948)
Graham studied Government Employees Insurance Company, focusing on earnings power, growth prospects, and conservative balance sheet to estimate intrinsic value.
✨ Outcome:Invested at large discount to intrinsic value; position became one of Graham-Newman’s most successful long‑term holdings.
2
Washington Post undervaluation (1973)
Market pessimism and short-term earnings worries left Washington Post trading far below asset value, despite strong franchise and balance sheet.
✨ Outcome:Value investors like Buffett, following Graham’s principles, bought conservatively; stock appreciated manyfold over the next decade.

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