Quote

Most shareholders have little if any control over the companies in which they own stock, even if they own a million shares.

It is a tenet of my investment style that, on the subject of common stock investment, maximizing the upside means first and foremost minimizing the downside. The deleterious effect of permanent capital loss on portfolio returns cannot be overstated.

Everyone has the idea of owning good companies. The problem is that they have high prices in relations to assets and earnings, and that takes all of the fun out of the game.

Stock prices relative to company assets are no better at signaling the likelihood of future earnings growth than they were the day the Titanic sank, and risk management is a good deal worse.

I think most CEOs think their stock is undervalued, probably.

Just because a stock is down doesn't mean it's a great buy.

With less competition to fear, companies are emboldened to raise their mark-ups and profits. That lifts share prices and thus the wealth of already wealthy shareholders.

When the value of the company clearly has fallen below what its assets are worth, having a shareholder who says, 'Let's get a better board' can be helpful.

The down market favours the small two-, three-, four-person company, not the huge company with 100 people losing half a million dollars a month.

We're all shareholders. These guys below me, they see the CEO taking it easy, it's their money.