Walter Schloss was a legendary value investor and some might call him the last traditional value investor. Schloss was an old school value investor. He looked for bargains on a price-to-book basis, preferring stocks that were trading at 52-weeks lows over other opportunities. He spent several years working with Benjamin Graham before moving off to start his own fund during 1955.
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Schloss was one of Warren Buffett’s ‘Super Investors of Graham-And-Doddsville,’ a select group of devout Graham disciples who made money buying deep value securities. While the rest of the financial word chased hot growth stocks in the 80s, 90s and 2000s, Schloss stuck to his deep value roots and generated huge returns.
From 1955 to 2002, by Schloss’s estimate, his investments returned 16% per annum on average after fees, compared with 10% for the S&P 500 over the period. Schloss continued to invest until his death in 2012.
Here are some of the most memorable and educational quotes from Walter Schloss published over his career.
Walter Schloss on deep value investing
The first quote comes not from Walter Schloss, but from Warren Buffett, who praised Walter’s commitment to deep value many times during his life and after it.