Margin-of-Safety

Introduction 14
Throughout this book I criticize certain aspects of the investment business as currently practiced.
Many of these criticisms of the industry appear as generalizations and refer more to the pressures
brought about by the structure of the investment business than the failings of the individuals
within it.
I also give numerous examples of specific investments throughout this book. Many of
them were made over the past nine years by my firm for the benefit of our clients and indeed
proved quite profitable. The fact that we made money on them is not the point, however. My goal
in including them is to demonstrate the variety of value-investment opportunities that have arisen
and become known to me during the past decade; an equally long and rich list of examples failed
to make it into the final manuscript.
I find value investing to be a stimulating, intellectually challenging, ever changing, and
financially rewarding discipline. I hope you invest the time to understand why I find it so in the
pages that follow.
Notes
1. Sequoia Fund, Inc., third quarter report for 1987.