📖Jim Simons

Buy Below Intrinsic Value

🌿 Intermediate★★★★★

Buy only at prices well below intrinsic value.

💬

The cardinal rule of investing: buy only when the price is significantly below your conservative estimate of intrinsic value. This builds in protection against error.

— The Man Who Solved the Market,2019

🏠 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 Buy Below Intrinsic Value, Jim Simons 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:Buying below value builds in protection against error.

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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
Recruiting PHDs to Renaissance (1978)
Jim Simons left academia to build Renaissance, aggressively hiring top mathematicians and scientists instead of traditional Wall Street traders.
✨ Outcome:This talent strategy led to the Medallion Fund’s pioneering quant models and decades of market‑beating, low‑volatility returns.
2
Medallion Fund Expansion (1993)
Simons doubled down on hiring elite researchers in statistics, physics, and computer science to refine Medallion’s algorithms as capital grew.
✨ Outcome:The strengthened research culture produced persistent annual returns exceeding 30% after fees, cementing Renaissance as the premier quant hedge fund.

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