Remembering Graham and Dodd

David Leonhardt writes in The New York Times:

More than 70 years ago, two Columbia professors named Benjamin Graham and David L. Dodd came up with a simple investing idea that remains more influential than perhaps any other. In the wake of the stock market crash in 1929, they urged investors to focus on hard facts — like a company’s past earnings and the value of its assets — rather than trying to guess what the future would bring. A company with strong profits and a relatively low stock price was probably undervalued, they said.

The article -- which I think readers of this blog will enjoy -- makes the case for not knowing what the future holds. And, because of that, it makes sense to buy stocks you believe are undervalued and be willing to hold them for the long term.