Buy The Little Book of Value Investing

I recently finished The Little Book of Value Investing by Christopher Browne. And then today Controlled Greed.com received a Blogad order for the book from its publisher.

Good timing.

If you're new to value investing, buy this book. And if you're still attracted to the concept after reading it, then you'll want to move on to the writings of Benjamin Graham.

But here's one of the great things about Chris Browne's work -- the book is STILL worth your time and money even if you've been practicing the value approach for years.

You'll enjoy reading Browne's copy, for one thing. He writes in a friendly, non-textbook style that I find refreshing. And you'll like the fact that Browne isn't just talking the talk -- he's walked the walked as a member of Tweedy Browne.

You'll also benefit because the author spends a fair amount of time on applying the value approach to global markets. As you've read me say here repeatedly, buying stocks in foreign (non-US) markets isn't as easy as it should be. But it is getting easier over time and investors shouldn't ignore the potential bargains to be found abroad.

Browne even writes about how investors look over each other's portfolios. You can get a headstart in building a list of portfolio candidates this way. I remember that money manager and author John Train called this method "reverse engineering."

Click the Blogad and find out more about this fine book. Then buy it for yourself or someone else. The holidays will be here before you know it, after all.

Comments

[Moon]

I hadn't heard of John Train until you mentioned him. Could you specifically recommend one or more of his works, in particular the one where he discusses reverse engineering other value investors' portfolios?

[John]

Moon: Train is probably most known for his book "The Money Masters," and later a follow-up called "The New Money Masters." I don't know if he mentions reverse-engineering in those books offhand. Other books of his are "The Midas Touch" and "The Craft of Investing," which I'm certain he does touch on reverse-engineering.

None of his books concentrate on the idea, though. And he doesn't just talk about it in terms of value investing. Train himself is/was more of a long-term growth investor.

Try a Google or Amazon search. I imagine many of his books are only available used.

[Jason]

John,

Does Browne give any detailed examples on how he himself determines 'intrinsic' or 'fair market' value of companies? Or is it more or less theory?

[John]

Jason: I've lent my copy of the book out, but I'm tempted to say he does (can't recall offhand). Last time I was in my local Barnes & Noble, there were plenty of copies on the tables and shelves. It's not a big book (true to the title) so I'm sure you could thumb through a copy and see for yourself.