Value Investing Today [Hardcover]

Charles H. Brandes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 007007190X | ISBN-13: 978-0070071902 | Edition: 2nd

Value investing has long been recognized as an effective investment strategy. This book brings the reader through the strategies and thought processes used by professional value investors, using clear language. It presents the concepts, implementation and benefits of value investing and includes an expanded section on international value investing with "how-to" information on investing overseas. All data, statistics, anecdotes, illustrations and graphics have been updated and the final chapter explores structuring the portfolio for maximum returns.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Failsafe System for Uncovering Undervalued Stocks and Building Long-Term Prosperity Praise for the First Edition of Value Investing Today "A good, modern-day synopsis of a time-tested philosophy. Readers who follow these principles are bound to achieve results."--Henry Emerson, Editor Outstanding Investor Digest ``An invaliable primer to point the individual investor in the direction of the most consisten and reliable investment techniques: value investing."--Alan R. Kahn, President, Kahn Brothers & Co., Inc.
Value investing is the well-respected, discipline investment approach that enables you to search out solid companies not yet discovered by most investors. Charles H. Brandes' Value Investing Today, Second Edition (a bestseller in its First Edition) now updates this long-term wealth building strategy with data, statistics, and examples drawn from today's financial press. This step-by-step guidebook shows you how to assemble a high-value portfolio positioned for maximum growth--and how to time each sale for maximum profit. Value Investing Today helps you sift through today's mountain of investment information to find those undiscovered companies with superior long-term potential. You can then build a portfolio of "sleeping giants"--companies that, because of a lack of market attention or a highly publicised failure, have intrinsic values not yet reflected in their stock princes. You know they're out there--Value Investing Today--shows you how to find them!

This revised classic is the one book you need to make money as you: Discover proven strategies to break from the crowd and, ". . .buy straw hats in winter"; Learn which readily-available reference materials hide excellent companies that are being overlooked by today's "quick-money" crowd; Minimize your risks, as well as your anxiety, by setting a patient investment course to bring you long-term wealth; Use tested guidelines, as revealed in a section greatly expanded for this Second Edition, for beating the crowd to emerging markets overseas.

About the Author

Charles H. Brandes, CFA is founder and a managing partner of Brandes Investment Partners, LLC, an investment firm serving institutional and private clients with more than $50 billion under management as of December 31, 2002. A Chartered Financial Analyst for more than 25 years, Brandes had the tremendous fortune early in his career to meet and learn from Benjamin Graham, long considered the father of security analysis and value investing. He was able to learn firsthand the techniques Graham used to uncover bargain securities, and has used those basic principles as the foundation to achieve consistently superior results for his clients.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill; 2nd edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007007190X
• ISBN-13: 978-0070071902
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,652,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Get Value Investing Today out of the library, November 7, 1997

By 

Paul Tennis ([e-mail]) (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Value Investing Today (Hardcover)

I recently purchased Value Investing Today hoping to find a book that would give me information on how to select value stocks. Instead, what I found was a book that just skimmed the surface on value investing. The interesting part about the book was its emphasis on foreign stocks as value investments. But then the book went into detail as to accounting differences between countries - squashing the idea that an individual could pick single foreign stocks. I think this book would be good for someone who had no idea what value investing was and just wanted to get a broad overview of the subject / technique. I would not recommend this book to someone who was looking for any kind of in depth information. While this book did have some interesting / valuable pieces of information, I don't see it as a book that an investor would refer to often. My suggestion: Get the book out of the library and read it once.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Appetizer, January 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Value Investing Today (Hardcover)

Charles Brandes had the good fortune to be the broker of the day when Benjamin Graham walked into his La Jolla office one day.  Benjamin Graham was then retired and living in La Jolla.  Charles Brandes quickly became a convert to value investing and with some encouragement from Benjamin Graham, started Brandes Investment Management.   Today, his firm has the distinction of being rated #1 for the last ten years in the category of U.S. investment managers of foreign stocks.  Like John Templeton, he applied value investing principles to foreign financial markets with outstanding results.

Value Investing Today by Charles Brandes is a primer for those who want to learn more about investing in foreign markets.  The purpose of the book is to cover general principles rather than a detailed discussion of security analysis.   Foreign investing is more complicated because of the difference in accounting principles and other considerations.  This is a good place to learn the basics but for the meat and potatoes on value investing, see Benjamin Graham's Security Analysis.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tests for Safety, Four step test for value, determining Share Price Value, October 26, 2009

By 

Golden Lion "Reader" (North Ogden, Ut United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Value Investing Today (Hardcover)

Tests for Safety

1. Debt-to-Equity is less than 1
2. Current Assets are twice liabilities
3. Total Debt is less than twice net current assets
4. Annual earnings growth is at least 7 percent over the last ten years
5. No more than two year-to-year earnings declines of more than 5 percent during the last ten years.

Four step test for value

1. No losses within the past 5 years
2. Total debt is less than 100 percent of tangible equity
3. Share price is less than book value per share
4. Earnings yield is at least twice the yield on long term 20 year bonds

Share Price value
1. If a stock's price was less than two-thirds of net-net current assets per share. Investors buy excess cash for 67 cents on the dollar and get a full claim on the company's permanent assets for free. The company must be generating profits.

To calculate intrinsic value investors rigorously examine qualities such as financial strength and earnings strength in context of the companies past results., its current operation, and its future prospects

What does price to earnings mean? If a share costs $20 and reports a $3 Earning per Share than P/E equals 6.7. The buyer is paying $6.70 for every $1 of earnings.

What is Net Current Assets? Net current assets is the amount of capital a company creates or consumes in a period of time. Net Current Assets = current assets - current liabilities.

What are Current Assets? Current assets is the amount of cash and cash equivalents (or inventory, etc that can be converted to cash quickly to pay the bills) and current liabilities are the bills that are due.

What is Book Value per Share? Book value per share =par value of an outstanding preferred stock - liabilities / outstanding shares of stock.

How do you calculate the Fair Market Value of the Stock? Benjamin Grahams NCAVPS =current assets - total liabilities / shares outstanding