EC The Evaluation Of Common Stocks

 “Stocks are not always worth what they sell for.  Sometimes they are carried too high, sometimes too low, by mass excitement.  Sooner or later, though, they move into line with value.”

Arnold Bernhard

I have met many financially secure families over the years.  Most earned this financial security by working hard, while saving as much as possible, for a very long time.  Some inherited a safety net, some married into wealth, and a few lucky people just did everything right at the right time.  What I have not come across is anyone who gained financial security quickly in a short period by investing in the capital markets.  I know there are a few of these wonder kids somewhere on the planet, but I haven’t met them.  And of course, being human and carrying a little bag of envy around with me every day, I would not have believed they accomplished this feat on skill alone.  There had to be a great deal of luck involved. 

Knowing full well that luck passed over me about the time I was born, I followed the lead of the majority on the road to financial security by working hard and saving as much as I could.  It helped that I chose to work in the investment field.  This opened up the door for gaining some element of skill in minimizing my number of investment mistakes, which we all make at some point. 

I began my career as a financial intermediary: a registered representative better known today as a financial advisor.  Basically, I was one of those guys who would talk with you and then advise you to buy a mutual fund or some other product designed and managed by someone else.  Selling mutual funds was fine for a while, but I wanted to increase my investment skill, so I purchased a one-year subscription to the Value Line Investment Survey which included weekly updates.  It was my introduction to a systematic method of the evaluation of common stocks.  Some years later, I obtained a copy of Arnold Bernhard’s 1959 book, The Evaluation of Common Stocks. I remember I purchased it from the local library’s annual book sale for less than a dollar. What a bargain!