The 5 Keys to Value Investing

This is a wonderful book on the principles of value investing. The author does a fantastic job putting together (in a very understandable way) some of the most important tenets that every value investor should uphold. The book starts with "The Mind of the Value Investor" - which I believe to be the book's most important chapter. Here, Mr. Jean-Jacques describes what many successful practitioners believe to be the most critical attribute to becoming a good investor... and that is emotional intelligence. After examining the book a great detail (my copy is dog-eared, highlighted and well marked up), I would consider the following sections to be most important: -- All of Chapter 1 -- Business Quality Red Flags (in Chapter 2) -- Assessing Value: Tools to Consider (in Chapter 3) -- All of Chapter 4 -- Identifying the Opportunity (in Chapter 6) -- Appendices A, C and E What I did not like about the book was the length. While it what not as lengthy as some books of this type might be, "The Five Keys to Value Investing" should have been much more concise in the breadth of topics and concepts covered. Also, the examples were good but were too many in number while using analytical concepts that might be a bit too philosophical for non-professional value investors, like me. However, on a lighter point, the analogy between the game of golf and value investing in Chapter 6 was very insightful and much appreciated (it was the only light moment in the entire book!!) Look, this book is an absolute buy. No question about that. Readers just have to be a bit skilled in order the get the most out of this very informative and thorough work.

Interesting concepts and applicable... This book provides an interesting way to look at stocks. The author focuses on what makes the companies "tick" and outlines a few points to consider when considering buying shares of public companies. The five-point approach makes a lot of sense and can be a good foundation for an investment program. I am not sure however, if this book is for non-professionals. The author goes into detail with good examples, but he seems to forget his reader (the average, Joe... like me!). This book is a great addition to any serious investment library but I think one should read a few "beginner" books before picking this one up. This is clearly a value investing book for the experienced.

I got my copy of "The Five Keys to Value Investing" as a graduation gift from my dad who is a longtime professional equities investor. He thought this book would be a good way for me to prep before I start my career on Wall Street. I was not disappointed. The Five Keys is a very good summary of what I learned in business school and much, much more. The author draws heavily from his own professional experiences as a disciple of one legendary value investor and couples it with the value investment styles of other great investors like Buffett and Graham. The experience that the reader is drawn into is very worthwhile; but what makes this book very special is the framework. I have read several investment books over the years, but none like this one. Putting thousands of lessons and teachings of prominent value investors into a solid frame of mind is clearly the draw. In addition, reading along as the author analyzes and dissects companies and few special situations add gravitas to the body of work. The clarity in the concepts and the "conversation-like" tone was particularly attractive to me. In sum, this is a very coherent, practical book on the principles of value investing despite the fact that it is not too objective -- considering the authors' strong unapologetic bias towards value investing.

I am a portfolio manager and I've worked with Dennis Jean-Jacques. I am very happy to see him assemble these lessons from the great investors in a simple framework. My. Jean-Jacques did a great job giving all the credit to those superb investors like Peter Lynch, Michael Price, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, etc. While Mr. Jean-Jacques does not claim to be (or compare himself with) great investors in the book, he makes a solid case that the lessons of the great ones are still useful and valid today. He then goes on to simplify the lessons into these 5-key lessons as he calls it (like Ben Graham's "Margin of Safety" principle) by explaining each "key" from the vantage point of an investment analyst. That is one of the most important benefits from the book - how value analysts analyze companies starting from a company's annual report on down. After reading this book, I have gained a deeper appreciation of how the mind of a value investor works (or should work). This is not a portfolio manager's book. It is simply a solid book written from the perspective of a solid business analyst. It will be a great addition to your library.

The book does a good job showing us how professional value investors use ordinary resources like Value Line and The Wall Street Journal. I got lots of very insightful advice on how to search for good companies to buy and how to build a solid value portfolio. It is clear that the author is very passionate about his craft; he begins by drawing the reader into his world with a very thoughtful explanation on why controlling one's emotions is paramount to successful investing. This book is well put together. The only draw back is that the book could have been a bit longer - a lot of topics are covered in a limited number of pages.