buying the face of pessimism

There’s a story about Templeton that offers a good starting point for our discussion on buying in the face of pessimism (from an article by Charles Sizemore – link):

“The late Sir John Templeton had a great strategy for managing volatility and taking his emotions out of the equation. He would make a list of stocks that he would love to own if only they sold for a substantially cheaper price. He would then place limit orders to buy them at those prices. If a wave of panic swept the market, Sir John would not be paralyzed by indecision because the decision had already been made for him.”

That last phrase – the decision had already been made for him – really strikes a chord with me.