Among the “Superinvestor” of Graham and DoddsVille one of the most interesting one was Walter Schloss. Schloss passed away in 2012 and he has to be introduced and known by young kids and young adults because of his old-fashioned style of investing that really intrigues me a lot. His adversion to lose money and his passion to buy cheap stocks combined with his extremely sharp ability to find them was impressive. It is also true that today seems impossible to find stocks of companies so undervalued. However my impression and feeling is that we can still follow the concept, especially with small amount of money.
Generally speaking what Walter was looking for can’t go out of fashion. It is something you want to teach to a teenager that buys stocks on the open market. Companies with a sustainable amount of debt, with a record of being good companies and trading at a fair price, if not anymore at an oustanding price like the good old times, must be the ones on your radar. I may be wrong but I guess that if Warren would have thought of Schloss before buying at a high price Kraft-Heinz or made him a phone call before entering again the “Airline Business” recently..it would have probably changed his mind and saved Berkshire some money.
Truth is that you cant play so easily an already competitive difficult game if you have to invest and manage billions like Berkshire. But with smaller amount of money you will find something. Walter once said ” I don’t like to buy even outstanding companies at the price that they are worth, but at a discount”. He reminds us that even when history doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. And so the emotions of the market must serve you well someday if you have a prepared mind. Some other day they will tell you what the right values are. At that point, you step in son, when the old prices are swept away, and only the Intelligent Investor remains on the field to grab the fruits of his patience, at the end of his precious boredom.