The Joys of Compounding: The Passionate Pursuit of Lifelong Learning, Revised and Updated (Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing Series)

Well-managed low-cost commodity producers usually do not generate higher returns. High-cost producers do, because they show a higher percentage gain in profitability. This is highly counterintuitive for most investors.

Investing is not about being original or creative; it is about looking for the greatest amount of value (for the price paid) with the least amount of risk. Putting in more time and effort does not guarantee better results in investing. Rather, it is more beneficial to do less and make fewer but better choices.

the business earns 6 percent on capital over 40 years and you hold it for that 40 years, you’re not going to make much different than a 6 percent return even if you originally buy it at a huge discount. Conversely, if a business earns 18 percent on capital over 20 or 30 years, even if you pay an expensive looking price, you’ll end up with a fine re

High quality always beats a bargain over time. Although there are certainly exceptions, in the long run, bargains never outperform solid investments. This simple yet profound principle can be applied to virtually every area of life. Crash diets, predatory pricing, dishonesty, and shortcuts can work well for a while, but they are never sustainable.

“cash flow return on investment.”)

Fisher wrote in his book Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits:

Poor Charlie’s Almanack,

Edward Chancellor’s book Capital Returns helped

Richard Zeckhauser in his famous essay, “Investing in the Unknown and Unknowable.”