Common Stocks and Common Sense: The Strategies, Analyses, Decisions, and Emotions of a Particularly Successful Value InvestorHardcover (2024)

Common Stocks and Common Sense: The Strategies, Analyses, Decisions, and Emotions of a Particularly Successful Value InvestorHardcover (1)

Availability:

in stock, ready to be shipped

Save 14%

Original price $34.95

Original price $34.95 - Original price $34.95

Original price $34.95

Current price $29.99

$29.99 - $29.99

Current price $29.99

| /

  • Description
  • Product Details
  • About the Author
  • What People are Saying
  • Table of Contents

Description

An incisive and comprehensive exploration of value investing in the real world

In the newly revised second edition of Common Stocks and Common Sense: The Strategies, Analyses, Decisions, and Emotions of a Particularly Successful Value Investor, celebrated Wall Street value investor Ed Wachenheim walks readers through eleven revealing case studies of real-world investments made by the author's firm, Greenhaven Associates. Each case uncovers unique insights into the technical and human elements that go into any profitable investment transaction.

This latest edition includes brand-new content with coverage of the electric vehicle (EV) market, and in-depth discussions of General Motors. Refreshed and renewed content also appears throughout the book, with several new investment theses appearing for the first time in this edition. Readers will also find:

  • An emphasis on the softer, human side of value investing, including the biases and emotions that can get in the way of successful investments
  • New material covering emerging and high-growth industries
  • Value investing advice that goes beyond balance sheets and technical ratios

An essential handbook for retail value investors everywhere, Common Stocks and Common Sense will also earn a place on the bookshelves of portfolio and fund managers, securities analysts, and anyone else with a personal or professional interest in the financial markets.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781119913245

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Wiley

Publication Date: 09-07-2022

Pages: 256

Product Dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

EDGAR WACHENHEIM III is Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Greenhaven Associates and one of Wall Street’s preeminent investors. Greenhaven manages approximately $8.5 billion in funds for wealthy families, college endowments, and charitable foundations. Wachenheim is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard Business School and is a former securities analyst at Goldman Sachs.

What People are Saying

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Common Stocks and Common Sense by Edgar Wachenheim III, chairman and chief portfolio manager of Greenhaven Associates, is a delightful book. Part memoir, part case study, part advice, it sheds light on a stellar investing career.
- Brenda Jubin, Seeking Alpha

"Ed Wachenheim has been an extraordinarily successful value investor for decades, and in this well written and engrossing book, he explains his investment approach through case studies, including mostly investments that went well but also some that went badly. The key takeaways are that success requires intense commitment to research, a probabilistic mindset, and the temperament to remain rational in the face of market irrationality."

ROBERT E. RUBIN, Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

"Ed Wachenheim often emphasizes the great value of using one's 'common sense' as an investor. But after he describes how he has analyzed every imaginable dimension and variable of several organizations before deciding whether to buy their stock, we quickly realize that there is nothing even remotely 'common' about his ability to be both prescient and wise. This is a fascinating and enlightening book that is completely accessible to the layman, and should be required reading for professionals."

NEIL L. RUDENSTINE, Former President of Harvard University

"Ed Wachenheim is a very successful investor who has never sought the limelight. He has written a book on investing which is a kind of confessional, talking openly about his stock picking experiences with humor and candor. Reading about his odyssey over the past several decades will prove to be a useful apprenticeship for both the novice and the experienced investor. I learned a lot and I've been doing it longer than he has."

BYRON R. WIEN, Vice Chairman, Blackstone Group LP


Show More

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1 My Approach to Investing 1

2 The Brief Story of My Life 17

3 IBM 31

Successful investing is about predicting the future more accurately than the majority of other investors; we predict a change in IBM’s cost structure

4 Interstate Bakeries 49

Successful investing often is heavily dependent on the capabilities and incentives of corporate leadership

5 U.S. Home Corporation 63

Investors can become frustrated when their swans are priced as if they are ugly ducks

6 Centex Corporation 67

Large profits can be earned by successfully predicting a major positive change in the fundamentals of a company or an industry

7 Union Pacific (Railroad) 79

Investors often do not adequately differentiate between shortterm discrete problems and long-term systemic weaknesses

8 American International Group (AIG) 91

I went to bed with Miss America and woke up with a witch; this can happen to even the most careful of investors

9 Lowe’s 101

Using common-sense logic, we conclude there is a high probability that the U.S. housing market will improve markedly in the near future; investing is logical and probabilistic

10 Whirlpool Corporation 113

Extraordinary patience is required when a deeply undervalued stock continually remains deeply undervalued

11 Boeing 137

Opportunities can occur when great companies develop temporary problems

12 Southwest Airlines 157

When tight markets lead to sharply higher prices for goods or services, earnings and share prices can become buoyant, even for normally unattractive businesses

13 Goldman Sachs 169

Large profits can be earned when perceptions temporarily differ from realities

14 General Motors 187

One must rely on judgment and a sixth sense when the fundamentals of a company become unclear

15 A Letter to Jack Elgart 221

A letter that summarizes my approach to investing and that includes a number of do’s and don’ts I found useful in my career

About the Author 233

Index 235

Show More

Common Stocks and Common Sense: The Strategies, Analyses, Decisions, and Emotions of a Particularly Successful Value InvestorHardcover (2024)

FAQs

What is The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by Jack Bogle about? ›

Brief summary

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle is a guide to passive investing. It promotes the idea of investing in low-cost index funds to achieve long-term financial success.

What is the purpose of the common stock? ›

Common stock is the type of security that describes the investor's ownership of a company. Such a stock option offers investors the power to choose the company's board of directors and further extends them into voting rights to plan corporate policies.

What is a value investing stock picking strategy? ›

What Is Value Investing? Value investing is an investment strategy that involves picking stocks that appear to be trading for less than their intrinsic or book value. Value investors actively ferret out stocks they think the stock market is underestimating.

What are the characteristics of the common stock? ›

Key characteristics of common stock include premium dividends, no voting rights, and an obligation to repay the initial investment at a predetermined date. C. Key characteristics of common stock include fixed interest payments, a maturity date, and priority over equity shareholders during company's liquidation.

Is The Intelligent Investor book worth it? ›

The Intelligent Investor is a great book for beginners, especially since it's been continually updated and revised since its original publication in 1949. It's considered a must-have for new investors who are trying to figure out the basics of how the market works. The book is written with long-term investors in mind.

Should I read The Intelligent Investor as a beginner? ›

It's accessible for beginners:

Benjamin Graham's classic investment guide is accessible to everyone, no matter how little you know about the stock market. Graham avoids using complicated jargon and financial lingo, instead opting for simple, easy-to-understand language that anyone can grasp.

Why is common stock valuation important? ›

Valuing common stock helps in making investment decisions, affects financing options for companies, and influences corporate strategies such as mergers and acquisitions. It provides insight into company performance, investor sentiments and market trends.

What does common stock tell you? ›

Common stock represents your residual ownership in a business entity. It gets you the capital appreciation of a company's securities alongside voting rights on the company's critical decisions such as policies and board of directors.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of common stocks? ›

Common stock also comes with a myriad of advantages. While it does carry more risk than most other types of investment vehicles, its volatility also comes with more potential upside. In the long term, common stock tends to outperform preferred stock and corporate bonds in terms of returns.

How do I successfully pick stocks? ›

  1. Determine your investing goals.
  2. Find companies you understand.
  3. Determine whether a company has a competitive advantage.
  4. Determine a fair price for the stock.
  5. Buy a stock with a margin of safety.
Nov 13, 2023

What is the rule #1 of value investing? ›

When Warren Buffett first started investing, he used the Rule One value investing principles to quickly grow a small initial investment into a large fortune. In fact, he coined the term 'Rule One. ' He said there are only two rules of investing. Rule #1 – don't lose money, and Rule #2 – don't forget Rule #1.

What are the best stock picking strategies? ›

How to Pick Stocks
  • Understand your level of risk and decide what is appropriate.
  • No matter your personality type, develop a strategy for choosing stocks to invest in.
  • Start by picking one stock and then analyze the results.
  • Use trading charts to understand movement of stocks and the overall market.

Why do people choose common stock? ›

Common stock tends to outperform bonds and preferred shares. It is also the type of stock that provides the biggest potential for long-term gains. If a company does well, the value of a common stock can go up. But keep in mind, if the company does poorly, the stock's value will also go down.

What is the value of the common stock? ›

The value of common stock is calculated by dividing the total common stockholders' equity minus preferred stockholders' equity by the average number of common shares outstanding. Accountants and financial analysts call this “book value.” The book value of common stock rarely matches the market value of common stock.

How do you identify common stocks? ›

On a company's balance sheet, common stock is recorded in the "stockholders' equity" section. This is where investors can determine the book value, or net worth, of their shares, which is equal to the company's assets minus its liabilities.

What is the Little book of Common Sense about? ›

Bogle's "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" offers a useful and approachable manual for a simple yet effective investing approach. Through the audiobook, Bogle encourages individual investors to take a low-cost, passive strategy to accumulate wealth by sharing his decades of expertise and wisdom.

What is the book common sense about? ›

COMMON SENSE challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy and was the first document to openly ask for independence. Paine convincingly argued that the time for debate was over and that it was now time for American colonists to raise arms.

What is the synopsis of the Little Book of Value Investing? ›

The Little Book of Value Investing also offers: Strategies for analyzing public company financial statements and disclosures Advice on when you truly require a specialist's opinion Tactics for sticking to your guns when you're tempted to abandon a sound calculation because of froth in the market Perfect for beginning ...

What is the summary of the book A Wealth of Common Sense? ›

Book overview

This book describes the proper way to view the markets and your portfolio, and show you the simple strategies that make investing more profitable, less confusing, and less time-consuming.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Carmelo Roob

Last Updated:

Views: 5752

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (45 voted)

Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Carmelo Roob

Birthday: 1995-01-09

Address: Apt. 915 481 Sipes Cliff, New Gonzalobury, CO 80176

Phone: +6773780339780

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Gaming, Jogging, Rugby, Video gaming, Handball, Ice skating, Web surfing

Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.