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The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham: 7 Key Takeaways
If you want to consider yourself a trained investor, even as a retail investor, you need to read this book. Short of that, read my summary below:
The Intelligent Investor: Seven Key Takeaways
I just finished reading “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham, which is widely considered one of the top investing books. If you want to get a summary of the salient points, you are in the right place.
This book happens to be the hardest investing book I have ever read. It’s very complex and covers a lot of examples of situations that occurs in Graham’s Wall Street history, which was between the mid 1910’s to around 1970. If you can get past that, which I did in about 18 months, you will see that history in fact does rhyme, and the basic data does apply.
It should be noted that Graham was also a mentor to Warren Buffett. Buffet used Graham’s method of analysis in his own way to become one of the greatest investors of all-time.
If you want to consider yourself a trained investor, even as a retail investor, you need to read this book. Short of that, read my summary below:
Two Types of Investor
Enterprising Investor vs. Defensive Investor
Graham classifies investors into two main types: the enterprising investor and the defensive investor. It’s important to decide which type you are and invest accordingly, despite all urges to do otherwise.
Enterprising Investor
- Active and Analytical: The enterprising investor is an active and hands-on investor who is willing to put in time and effort to research and analyze investment opportunities.
- Individual Stock Selection: This type of investor is typically interested in selecting individual stocks and actively managing their investment portfolio.
- Risk-Tolerant: Enterprising investors are generally more risk-tolerant and are willing to take calculated risks to achieve higher returns.
