I've been at this long enough that I can keep things in perspective. Ben Graham said it well: He said to succeed in the investment business it helps if you're smart and it helps if you work hard, but what's most critical to success is that when you have conviction, you stick with it. The [...]

Some of the best early advice I got was to forget all I'd learned in business school about efficient markets and instead read Ben Graham. You either take to it or you don't, and I knew right away that this was how I wanted to do it.

I began as a traditional value investor in the Ben Graham mold, looking for net-nets [companies trading for less than their current assets minus liabilities], discounts to book value and all of that. I would say, though, that I have graduated over time to be more focused on very good companies selling at fair prices.