Security Analysis: Fifth Edition

Someone wrote reviews to this book indicating that the major downside to it is its age. The book was written in 1934 therefore it misses all the modern developments of finance - modern portfolio theory for example - and all the new techniques that Wall Street "experts" use today.As an answer I give an anecdote from Warren Buffett's life:When stock investments started to become popular, the volume increased ten fold, and the modern techniques to make a profit were developed, Warren Buffet was extremely worried. He remembered what happened in 1929. He loathed the new trends in investment that tried to predict the future price of a stock. Therefore he had a meeting with all his fellow Graham students, he expressly forbid to bring anything newer than the 1934 edition of Security Analysis.This happened decades ago, but history repeats. We all know what happened 3 years ago. We all know how "experts" thought that the market was booming, and how they let it crash. We all know how they made a profit on the money that private investors lost.Nowadays when I go shopping for a book I always look at the date of pubblication, if it is between 1997 and 2000 I'm very wary. All those books about "new economy", "digital era", "e-commerce", "dot coms", etc. have to be taken with the maximum attention. Usually they contain a lot of inflated ideas that as we look at what happened after they were written we understand how much those "experts" really understand about stock investments.If they were wrong then, why should they be righ now?Trust me, but more importantly, trust Graham, trust Buffett, (those that have been consistently right for 50 years) this is the book to buy, "anything newer looks suspicious."

This is book has been updated many times (through the fifth edition). If you have read the latest edition, and believe you have read anything like the original, go back and read this one. Once you have read 'Old Ben', you will find other editions very disappointing. That could be why Warren Buffet suggested going back to the original if you want to know what value investing is all about.Current investment practice, and later editions of this book concentrate on the one thing that Graham said was, if not impossible, very non-productive - estimating future earnings. This book concentrates on understanding proven value. Where one spends most of its time on the income statement, this book spends most of its time on the balance sheet. There is a world of difference, and the difference leads to a much different portfolio, and future.There is, as the author points out repeatedly, a difference between investment and speculation. There is also a difference between helpful discussion and meaningful analysis. The original edition is full of meaning, written by a practitioner who also could teach. Later editions (especially the fifth) make me wonder how much of the master's works the new authors read before starting. It also makes me question how much influence Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette and Autanet exercised in return for their grant to finance the book.If you want a great book on investing read the original. It will give you much more insight and at least twice as much 'food for thought'.

At first glance, Security Analysis - one shy of 700 single spaced pages without a single picture other than a smiling Mr. Graham on the cover - appears not for the faint of heart. Inside, however, lies the single greatest book on investing ever written, which remains remarkably readable, insightful and timely nearly seven decades after its first edition. Graham, a successful investor in his own right, was also a highly effective and influential teacher (one of his students named Warren Buffett has done quite well), and his methods and language are refreshingly clear and (believe it or not) concise. The length of the book is due to the breadth of its content, not to any wordiness or unnecessary diversions.Graham (and his collaborator Dodd) meticulously and methodically builds a framework for the analysis and decision-making necessary for truly good investment decisions. Step-by-step, they lay out a general approach and philosophy for investment (as quite distinct from mere speculation) followed by the systematic analysis of fixed income, convertible and equity securities (i.e., bonds, converts/preferreds, stocks); a detailed discussion of financial statements; and a description of certain underlying differences between the intrinsic value of a business and its fluctuating stock price. As a result, the reader emerges with a solid philosophy and approach for his or her own investments and the analytical tools to make actual buying and selling decisions.This book is neither a get-rich-quick scheme nor an empty academic exercise. Graham does not set out to justify or theorize about the market. Instead, he sets out to counsel the student on the profitable investment in individual securities. Security Analysis contains dozens of case studies and lessons that are just as relevant today as in the post-1929 aftermath, including particularly misleading technical analyses, dangerous justifications for the valuations placed on hot new companies and the dilutive effects of stock options. As other reviewers have noted, Graham has been a towering figure in Finance, influencing Warren Buffett and countless other successful investors, and yet the lessons contained in this book are repeatedly ignored by far greater numbers of individuals and professional investors. The methodologies and rationale for justifying dot-com and telecom valuations in recent years, for example, are strikingly similar to the new stock issues Wall Street marketed (and people bought) just as eagerly in the late 1920's.The book does show its age in some respects. While the principles underlying Security Analysis are completely sound today, there have been important changes in the market as well, such as the pervasive use of stock options as compensation, the unprecedented access to information (useful or otherwise) enabled by the Web, the heightened awareness around corporate governance issues (and the resulting influence of large institutional shareholders, such as pension funds)

Eventhough this book is over 65 years old it is still as relevant as ever, maybe even more so. With all the hussle and bussle of the day-traders and the momentum style investors, it is a nice change of pace to read a book based on common sense, buiness-style investing. Read his words, understand his philosophies, and you will profit!

Graham is a patient logical thinker who explains his methods meticulously.Don't look here for a get rich quick scheme.If you love the markets, and already have a basic knowledge of stocks and bonds,this book will give you a good base of reference to discern true value and keep from being caught up in the latest fad.Written with the benefit of hindsight after the Crash of 29,it is a must read.It is not light reading,yet sticking with it proves very rewarding.