Investing the Templeton Way: The Market-Beating Strategies of Value Investing's Legendary Bargain Hunter

The Money Magazine has called the late Sir John Templeton "the greatest stock picker of the century". Indeed, this is the investment book for our time, for 2009 and 2010 or possibly beyond just as long as we are in deep recession. Sir John's most well-known principle is "investing at the point of maximum pessimism", which is now. Sir John has had the most success when purchasing stocks priced far too low in relation to their intrinsic worth. As Sir John put it, "To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are avidly buying requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest ultimate reward". Sir John also said that the best time to "buy is when there's blood in the street". Sir John was once asked how to identify the point of maximumm pessimism . His answer is that the point was reached when there were no more buyers left in the market, and the sellers were about to take control. That point was reached on 10 March 2000, when the NASDAC hits its all-time high of 5,132. In addition, throughout his career in investment, Sir John had searched the world over for the best bargain stocks available. Research shows that a stock portfolio with investments around the world is likely to yield, in the long run, a higher return at lower level of volatility than will a simple, diversified single-nation portfolio. Diversification should be the cornerstone of any investment program. In short, Sir John's approach is threefold: (1). Be price conscious - buy bargain; (2). Focus on the long term outlook and (3). Don't pay attention to the short term outlook knowing that most bargains are created when the near term outlook is poor to clouded. Digest this book and you will never again be afraid of recession.

The Templeton Way is possibly the best book on stock investing that I've ever read. Between this and One up on Wall Street, one will receive the insights need to invest in stocks successfully. One thing that sticks out to me is the simplicity of thought and wisdom that comes from the pages. If you are serious about strengthening your skills as an investor, this book is for you.

Easy read about one of the man who looked beyond what others looked for when investing.

This book really stands out among a wide set of investing books I have read, because of its focus on the technique of "bargain hunting." Although I was a bit skeptical at first because it was not written by sir Templeton himself, it became pretty obvious from the first pages of the book that this book is written by a family member of Templeton, with a lot of direct input from Templeton himself. The book describes the genius of Templeton who took advantage of numerous booms and busts in his career (up to the present day, and at an age of above 90). It describes how he was able to capitalize on these booms and busts by investing in baskets of stocks that stood to gain the most from the market anomalies. Little is described with regard to stock picking, and that is what makes this book so unique. It is written in an engaging style, very accessible to any reader, and it is surely no waste of time (no repetition of facts described in other books) for people familiar with investing.

Imagine that Sir John Templeton, who many call the greatest investor of all time, is your great uncle. Then imagine him sitting with you during his golden years. And over the course of your time together, imagine him patiently telling you some of his top investing stories and secrets. Reading "Investing The Templeton Way" may well be the next best thing. I have read several books on investing and this is the one book I would recommend to anyone because it describes in easy to read and apply style, the "bargain hunting" investing methods Sir John Templeton has used to generate his greatest investing success. Written by his great niece and her husband, both professional investors themselves, the book reads like a letter from a very wise friend. The authors refer to the subject of their book, simply as "Uncle John." In Sir John Templeton's forward he affirms the investing methods discussed by the authors. As a bonus, the book also mentions pearls of wisdom from "Uncle John" that go beyond investing. Examples include the importance of giving a significant portion of one's income and of performing a real service for people.