📖John Neff

Wisdom for Investing and Life

🌱 Beginner★★★★☆

Investment principles apply to life too.

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The principles that make you a great investor — patience, discipline, humility, and continuous learning — are the same principles that lead to a great life.

— John Neff on Investing,1999

🏠 Everyday Analogy

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

📖 Core Interpretation

John Neff advocates a repeatable process: define criteria, execute consistently, and review decisions against evidence. Process quality drives outcome consistency.
💎 Key Insight:Character virtues drive success in investing and life.

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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
Ford Motor Turnaround (1974)
During the 1973–74 bear market, Ford traded at a very low P/E as auto demand slumped. Neff bought heavily, believing earnings would normalize when recession and oil-shock fears eased.
✨ Outcome:Within several years, Ford rebounded sharply, delivering substantial gains and validating the low P/E contrarian bet.
2
General Electric Revaluation (1982)
Early 1980s recession fears pushed GE’s P/E below market averages despite solid cash flows and strong business franchises. Neff accumulated shares, expecting profit growth to resume with economic recovery.
✨ Outcome:As earnings and confidence improved through the 1980s, GE’s stock and valuation rose, producing significant outperformance.

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