The Little Book of Value Investing

[2/12/07] The Tweedy, Browne semi-manifesto and roadmap to superior investment returns, What Has Worked in Investing: Studies of Investment Approaches and Characteristics Associated with Exceptional Returns is a wonderful compilation of some of the most important studies of both domestic and international stock market returns. Investors of all levels of experience can benefit from it. It's free as well, which makes it particularly nice for the cost-conscious.

According to the research of Tweedy, Browne, there are five characteristics that tend to mark superior investment opportunities.

[12/21/06] What started with the deceptively simple and entertaining The Little Book That Beats the Market has quickly grown into the "Little Book, Big Profit" series. The second installment comes from another renowned investor and is aptly titled The Little Book of Value Investing.

Author Christopher H. Browne is a managing director at Tweedy, Browne Company, a storied investment firm he joined in 1969. Tweedy, Browne is an esteemed member of the Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddesville, a designation awarded to a select group of investors that first followed Graham's teachings. Buffett named seven successful investors in a talk given at Columbia University in 1984 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Security Analysis.

This Little Book is full of references illustrating what it means to be a value investor and why investors should take notice. In Browne's words: "Why value investing? Because it has worked since anyone began tracking returns. A mountain of evidence confirms that the principles of value investing have provided market-beating returns over long periods. And it is easy to do. . Yet in the face of compelling evidence, few investors and few professional managers subscribe to the principles of value investing."

[10/31/06] With all the books in print (200,000 new ones published last year alone), what could Christopher Browne's The Little Book of Value Investing add? Almost nothing -- but that's the point. Innovation is less necessary than the value investing framework. Buying stocks for less than they are worth is an easy concept to grasp. The idea doesn't need much scholarly refinement. Maybe that's why few business schools offer value investing classes.