📖John Templeton

Quality at Bargain Prices

🌿 Intermediate★★★★★

Buy quality companies when they are temporarily cheap.

💬

The time to buy the best quality stocks is when they are temporarily depressed. Quality always recovers, but you must have patience.

— Templeton's Way with Money,2012

🏠 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 Quality at Bargain Prices, John Templeton 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:Quality at a discount is the ideal combination.

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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
Early Investment in South Korea (1962)
Templeton invested in obscure South Korean companies when the country was poor, politically unstable, and largely ignored by foreign investors.
✨ Outcome:Substantial returns as South Korea transformed into an export-driven Asian tiger, reinforcing his case for broad global diversification.
2
Buying at the Outbreak of WWII (1939)
Templeton borrowed money to buy 100 shares each in 104 depressed U.S. stocks trading under $1 as war began in Europe.
✨ Outcome:Within about four years, around 100 of the positions were profitable, several multi-baggers, establishing his bargain-hunting reputation.

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