Of tangents and orbits

The extraordinary thing about the securities market, if you judge it over a long period of years, is the fact that it does not go off on tangents permanently, but it remains in continuous orbit.

- Benjamin Graham

Risk in an investment

The risk of an investment is described by both the probability and the potential amount of loss. The risk of an investment-the probability of an adverse outcome-is partly inherent in its very nature. A dollar spent on biotechnology research is a riskier investment than a dollar used to purchase utility equipment. The former has both a greater probability of loss and a greater percentage of the investment at stake.

- Seth Klarman

Long list of securities

Usually a very long list of securities is not a sign of the brilliant investor, but of one who is unsure of himself.

- Philip Fisher 

IPO

An IPO is like a negotiated transaction - the seller chooses when to come public - and it's unlikely to be a time that's favourable to you.

- Warren Buffett

Market prices are biased views

The generally accepted view is that markets are always right -- that is, market prices tend to discount future developments accurately even when it is unclear what those developments are. I start with the opposite view. I believe the market prices are always wrong in the sense that they present a biased view of the future.

- George Soros

Competitive advantage

An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.


- Jack Welch

Know whether the gamble is mispriced

You're looking for a mispriced gamble. That's what investing is. And you have to know enough to know whether the gamble is mispriced. That's value investing.

- Charles Munger