📖John Templeton
Look for Ten-Dollar Bills at Five Dollars
Buy stocks selling well below their true value.
My approach has always been to look for companies whose stock is selling for less than its true worth. Like finding ten-dollar bills selling for five dollars.
🏠 Everyday Analogy
📖 Core Interpretation
John Templeton advocates a repeatable process: define criteria, execute consistently, and review decisions against evidence. Process quality drives outcome consistency.
💎 Key Insight：Finding deep value is like getting dollars at a discount.
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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
Staying Invested Through Japan’s Bubble Peak (1990)
Templeton had gradually reduced Japanese exposure before the 1989 peak but maintained select, undervalued global holdings through the subsequent volatility of the early 1990s.
✨ Outcome：Disciplined patience and focus on global bargains helped his funds outperform over the following decade.
2
Buying at Outbreak of WWII (1939)
Templeton borrowed money to buy 100 shares each of 104 depressed U.S. stocks under $1 as war began in Europe, based on research that pessimism was extreme and many firms were still fundamentally viable.
✨ Outcome：Within a few years most positions recovered or prospered, turning a small, risky purchase basket into a strong multi‑bagger and forming the basis of his contrarian, research‑driven reputation.
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