The Aggressive Conservative Investor [Hardcover]

Martin J. Whitman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1979

"The Aggressive Conservative Investor will never go out of date. Regulation, disclosure, and other things may change, but the general approach and mindset to successful investing are timeless. Read this book and you will learn the rudiments of 'safe and cheap' investing. An essential read for every amateur and professional investor."
--Stan Garstka, Deputy Dean & Professor in the Practice of Faculty & Management, Yale School of Management

"Security analysis toward both better odds and higher long-term payoff: A readable, authoritative guide."
--Professor Bill Baumol, New York University

"In reading this book, one is struck by the simplicity of the ideas and the dependence of the investor on his own understandings of reality as opposed to the myths on the street. The updated version of this 1979 classic incorporates all the modern financial engineering that has occurred as a product of the late 20th century, and the new methodologies refine your abilities to measure risk but don't change the fundamentals of value. The updated version of The Aggressive Conservative Investor is very much a value-added proposition."
--Sam Zell, Chairman, Equity Group Investment LLC

"I concur with those people who regard Marty Whitman as the 'Dean of Value Investing.' This book is a must-read for everyone interested in understanding the art of investing."
--Melvin T. Stith, Dean, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University

This no-holds-barred presentation of one of the most successful investment strategies of all time -- value investing in distressed securities/companie -- shows you how to analyze and evaluate stocks just like controlling owners. Based on the assumption that stock price rarely reflects real value, authors Whitman and Shubik use numerous case studies to present risk-minimizing methods that also provide high rewards. Still relevant today, this classic work includes a new introduction discussing the dramatic changes that have taken place in the value investing world since its first publication in 1979.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

THE AGGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE INVESTOR

"The Aggressive Conservative Investor will never go out of date. Regulation, disclosure, and other things may change, but the general approach and mindset to successful investing are timeless. Read this book and you will learn the rudiments of 'safe and cheap' investing. An essential read for every amateur and professional investor."
—Stan Garstka, Deputy Dean & Professor in the Practice of Faculty & Management, Yale School of Management

"Security analysis toward both better odds and higher long-term payoff: A readable, authoritative guide."
—Professor Bill Baumol, New York University

"In reading this book, one is struck by the simplicity of the ideas and the dependence of the investor on his own understandings of reality as opposed to the myths on the street. The updated version of this 1979 classic incorporates all the modern financial engineering that has occurred as a product of the late 20th century, and the new methodologies refine your abilities to measure risk but don't change the fundamentals of value. The updated version of The Aggressive Conservative Investor is very much a value-added proposition."
—Sam Zell, Chairman, Equity Group Investment LLC

"I concur with those people who regard Marty Whitman as the 'Dean of Value Investing.' This book is a must-read for everyone interested in understanding the art of investing."
—Melvin T. Stith, Dean, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Martin J. Whitman (New York, NY) is chairman, chief executive officer, and co-chief investment officer of Third Avenue Management LLC, and also manages the Third Avenue Value Fund. Mr. Whitman is chairman and CEO of M.J. Whitman, Inc., a New York-based full-service broker-dealer and serves as CEO of Danielson Holding Corporation, a Chicago-based insurance holding and trust company.  Mr. Whitman received a bachelor of science from the School of Management and a master's degree in economics from the New School for Social Research. He is a chartered financial analyst. 

Martin Shubik (Branford, CT) is the Seymour H. Knox Professor of Mathematical Institutional Economics at Yale University. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics and Political Economy from the University of Toronto, and his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Random House Inc (T); 1st edition (May 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394504577
• ISBN-13: 978-0394504575
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book, June 18, 2006

By 

Befragt (Midwest USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Aggressive Conservative Investor (Wiley Investment Classics) (Paperback)

This book accomplishes two quite different things, both of which should be of use to the committed investor. First of all, it sets forth an investment philosophy in great detail. Second, it shows investors how to analyze securities themselves. In both those respects, it is on a par with "Securities Analysis" by Graham and Dodd (also highly recommended - I have also reviewed that book), although it is a much easier read.

In setting forth an investment philosophy, the book compares well with "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" by Phil Fisher and "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamen Graham (both recommended). Whereas Fisher emphasized growth companies and management analysis and Graham emphasized earnings, Whitman and Shubik emphasize low price/book ratios. They support their position quite ably with examples and , where available, studies.

The Aggressive Conservative Investor also contains a good bit of information about securities analysis. While it is not as in-depth as "Security Analysis" (the Graham and Dodd classic), the chapters on financial accounting and GAAP are a must read, particularly since the book convincingly demonstrates that the utility of financial statements will differ depending upon the position of the person reviewing them.

Whitman and Shubik are most certainly value investors who focus on analyzing a particular company (as compared to the market as a whole, interest rate trends, etc.), although they also cover "asset conversion investing," which may involve investing in distressed companies. They make an excellent argument that, in many cases, companies with unencumbered assets may make excellent investments. They also freely take exception to accounting conventions that emphasize earnings, and they repeatedly demonstrate how earnings may be affected by accounting policies that are beyond the control (and arguably the understanding) of most investors, including me.

Another interesting thing about this book is that it covers different corporate constituancies (banks, bondholders, management, insurance companies, passive outside shareholders, etc.) and how their involvement affects and is affected by corporate activities in great detail. The book notes that even investors in common stock may have different objectives, and it discusses how these perspectives may affect the company over time.

The book also has an excellent discussion of sources of corporate disclosure, in order to take advantage of the company's public communications to understand it better. While I am generally aware of many of these sources, the book does a commendable job of explaining them in greater detail.

The Aggressive Conservative Investor does contain some numeric analysis that may be hard to follow, and it can't be called an "easy read," although it certainly is not as hard to read as "Security Analysis." Moreover, some of the information contained in the book is now outdated due to changes in the tax code. These are minor concerns to me, however, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about investing.

43 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "safe and cheap" in the master's own words, July 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Aggressive Conservative Investor (Hardcover)

Marty Whitman is a master value investor who has been successful for 3 decades, though recently becoming known to the masses through his Third Avenue family of mutual funds. Anyone who has read some of his shareholder letters will recognize some of the concepts in the book, but they are presented in detail. This book teaches you to understand how "control" investors think, and to then learn how to evaluate annual and quarterly statements in a new light. Whitman is more than a value investor, of course, he is a vulture investor and proud of it. Though this book is as fresh today as it was in 1979, we await his new book eagerly for more wisdom from the master. Marty Whitman's approach is as different from Ben graham's as the Rolling Stones were from the Beatles! Both early rock bands from England, but clearly touched responsive chords in very different ways...If you can find this book, BUY IT!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece, December 28, 2006

By 

Ng Wai Yip - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aggressive Conservative Investor (Wiley Investment Classics) (Paperback)

The most extraordinary part of The Aggressive Conservative Investor is that it tells the reader how minority investors can benefit by knowing and understanding how control investors make investment decisions.

If one is smart enough to realize how insiders and control investors made fortunes by taking advantage of the market cycles to do the arbitrage between private and public market, one will come to appreciate the beauty of the safe-and-cheap approach as detailed in this book.

I have come across a few negative comments on the book regarding the use of "out-dated" materials. This certainly does not take me by a surprise, as not everybody has 50 years of investment experience as Whitman does, so, naturally, not everybody can understand what "there is no new thing under the sun" means.