Benjamin Graham is a name you may not recognize if you aren’t familiar with the icons of the investment world, but it is a name that everyone who aspires to build wealth through investing should eventually learn of.
This page is dedicated to some of the most powerful words uttered by the late great Benjamin Graham. In essence, these quotes will convey the heart of Benjamin Graham’s investing philosophy, which is, that one should become the type of investor who replaces guesswork with discipline.
What type of disipline you ask?
Discipline by the way of putting in the work to learn about the company you plan to put your money to work in, discipline by way of taking the time to understand the fundamentals of the financial markets, and most importantly, discipline by way of harnessing the self-control to keep yourself from throwing your hard-earned money towards what’s popular and pulling your money when everyone else is pulling their’s.
So, if you’re looking to gain a little inspiration and learn a few of Benjamin Grahams critical investment lessons, these quotes will do the trick… Enjoy:
25 BEST BENJAMIN GRAHAM QUOTES
1. “To enjoy a reasonable chance for continued better than average results, the investor must follow policies which are (1) inherently sound and promising, and (2) not popular on Wall Street.” – Benjamin Graham
2. “He will take the big rise not as a danger signal of inevitable fall, not as a chance to cash in on his handsome profits, but rather as a vindication of the inflation hypothesis and as a reason to keep on buying common stocks no matter how high the market level nor how low the dividend return. That way lies sorrow.” – Benjamin Graham
3. “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis promises safety of principle and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.” – Benjamin Graham
4. “The markets will most brutally surprise the very people who are most certain that their views about the future are right.” – Benjamin Graham
5. “Be sure it is yours before you go into it.” – Benjamin Graham
6. “Few people seem to have been bothered by the thought that the very extent of the rise might indicate that it had been overdone.” – Benjamin Graham
7. “The rate of return sought should be dependent, rather, on the amount of intelligent effort the investor is willing and able to bring bear on his task.” – Benjamin Graham
8. “In the end each one must make his own decision and accept responsibility therefor. We suggest, however, that if the investor is in doubt as to which course to pursue he should choose the path of caution.” – Benjamin Graham
9. “Long experience has demonstrated that the ordinary investor is wiser to keep away from such high yield bonds. While taken as a whole, they may work out somewhat better in terms of overall return than the firs quality issues, they expose the owner to too many individual risks of untoward developments, ranging from disquieting price declines to actual default.” – Benjamin Graham
10. “The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists.” – Benjamin Graham
Inspiring Ben Graham Quotes For Investing
11. “A serious investor is not likely to believe that the day-to-day or even month-to-month fluctuations of the stock market make him richer or poorer” – Benjamin Graham
12. “The investor who permits himself to be stampeded or unduly worried by unjustified market declines in his holdings is perversely transforming his basic advantage into a basic disadvantage.” – Benjamin Graham
13. “Nothing important on Wall Street can be counted on to occur exactly in the same way as it happened before.” – Benjamin Graham
14. “While enthusiasm may be necessary for great accomplishments elsewhere, on Wall Street it almost invariably leads to disaster.” – Benjamin Graham
15. “Successful investing is about managing risk, not avoiding it.” – Benjamin Graham
This next section of quotes are derived solely from Benjamin Graham’s book, The Intelligent Investor. Enjoy!
16. “The intelligent investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” – Benjamin Graham
17. “The intelligent investor should recognize that market panics can create great prices for good companies and good prices for great companies.” – Benjamin Graham
18. “But investing isn’t about beating others at their game. It’s about controlling yourself at your own game.” – Benjamin Graham
19. “If you are shopping for common stocks, choose the way you would buy groceries, not the way you would buy perfume.” – Benjamin Graham
The Intelligent Investor Quotes
20. “A great company is not a great investment if you pay too much for the stock.” – Benjamin Graham
21. “The memory of the financial community is proverbially and distressingly short.” – Benjamin Graham
22. “The intelligent investor is likely to need considerable willpower to keep from following the crowd.” – Benjamin Graham
23. “The essence of investment management is the management of risk, not the management of returns.” – Benjamin Graham
24. “A stock is not just a ticker symbol or an electronic blip; it is an ownership interest in an actual business, with an underlying value that does not depend on its share price.” – Benjamin Graham
25. “Wall Street people learn nothing and forget everything.” – Benjamin Graham
Related: Get Rich Quotes
Final Thoughts
There you have it, some of the most powerful Benjamin Graham quotes on the web. These quotes will surely improve your luck in the markets. And without a doubt, help you become the intelligent investor you can become.
If you liked these quotes, consider saturating your mind with ALL of the investment wisdom from Graham’s investing genius. The best way to do so, is to invest in and then start reading his book.
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Till next time,
STRIVE
PS – If you enjoyed these Benjamin Graham quotes, then you’ll probably enjoy learning from his protégé Warren Buffett. So, give these Warren Buffett quotes a look. And if you’re really serious about money, you’ll also like this article on how start building your wealth.
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