Buffett by his own admission learnt 90% of the trade from Graham. The heart of what Graham taught was investing vs speculation - preservation of capital above all else.
You can't understand Buffett if you don't know his investment roots.
It was Berkshire Hathaway the textile mill in 1985 which turned him from the Graham "cigar butt" (as he called it) approach to investing which he had pursued up until that point (still the period of his highest returns). In my opinion his portfolio became too large also.
It's great that you disagree with Buffett about how he invests, that he hasn't changed his style but the fact is there's a world of difference between buying a textile business at below cash and buying a goodwill giant like Coca Cola on the strength of earnings growth over decades.
Obviously the Lynch/Buffett growth investing with value roots is more lucrative than a pure pure Graham approach which I prefer but it does involve risk. That's what you are referring to.
Graham was wrong about a few things, it's just a great advantage to start with his lifetime of experience as documented in the intelligent investor though.
It's fine with me that you think a sure thing won't make you money obviously that has to be the case for the vast majority of people and the market in general. Inasmuch as you think like everyone else you have no advantage over them.
It's also not true. The market is not efficient. Human beings are not rational agents and because of this it is possible to buy something from time to time at far less than it's value. Often that involves taking risks and there's always some risk involved.
The name of the investing game is making that risk as small as humanly possible.
Right now it's extremely difficult to find anything as the general level of the market is high. During the GFC it was simpler.
During the Great Depression when Graham wrote the essay for Forbes "is American business worth more dead than alive" it was possible to buy a widely diversified portfolio of stocks for a 30% discount to NCAV or liquidation value.
The businesses were free like Berkshire was. The pundits reckoned both rail and road transport had no future, which couldn't be true.
It didn't make sense and still the "professionals" regaled Graham with the tales of their brilliant efficient market hypothesis 40 years later.
Great you guys think it's impossible that's fine.
I am going to keep on doing it anyway.
I think the risk reward is very much in favour of buying MRM at this point and price but the risk is not for me.
It's good that people take risks to support businesses in strife like MRM so I applaud y'all for it. Don't be so hasty to label things as impossible if you don't understand them.
Best wishes to holders it's been darn cheap over here for awhile. Once y'all get that cap raising sorted I will be joining you on the register I am sure.
Maybe that day the share price will be higher or lower - don't know. Either way if I watch enough stocks some of them will enter my sweet spot and I don't need many.
As Buffett said investing is like baseball with no strikes. I am still standing on the pitch and the crowd is falling asleep but I don't give a stuff what anyone else thinks.
I can wait for the one lazy ball when the pitcher gets tired and hit a home run. Don't need many home runs to do well, so why would I swing at anything that doesn't look perfect to me?
MRM Price at posting:
35.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
