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Principles

Here’s to the patient ones.

ValueBase is built on ideas that a handful of remarkable investors practised for decades. This page is our thanks to them, and a promise to build in the same spirit.

Discover Research Decide Own
The gem
A business of lasting value.
The ring
The moat that protects it.

The mark

A business worth owning, and the moat that keeps it.

Our mark is a gem held inside a ring, the gem standing for a business of lasting value and the ring for its moat, the advantage that keeps competitors at bay while that value compounds year after year.

Its four points are the four steps of the work, from the first discovery to the day the business is yours.

“A truly great business must have an enduring ‘moat’ that protects excellent returns on invested capital.”

Warren Buffett, letter to shareholders, 2007

Six principles

What they taught us, and where it lives in the product.

Each idea below belongs to an investor who proved it over a lifetime. We have tried to build every screen so that it is easier to follow.

01 Benjamin Graham The Intelligent Investor, 1949

Margin of safety

“Confronted with a like challenge to distill the secret of sound investment into three words, we venture the motto, Margin of Safety.”

Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor, 1949

In ValueBase. Every research report values the business before it sees the share price, and gives a fair value range around a central estimate rather than a single number.

02 Philip Fisher Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, 1958

The business, not the ticker

“The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.”

Philip Fisher, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, 1958

In ValueBase. Filings, statements, earnings calls and news sit together on every company page, so the business is never more than a click away.

03 Warren Buffett Letter to shareholders, 1996

Circle of competence

“The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital.”

Warren Buffett, Letter to shareholders, 1996

In ValueBase. Tag the companies outside your circle and mark them Pass with a clear conscience, and your notes will remind you why.

04 Peter Lynch One Up on Wall Street, 1989

Know what you own

“Know what you own, and know why you own it.”

Peter Lynch, One Up on Wall Street, 1989

In ValueBase. The Research Tracker keeps your stage, your notes and your reasons beside every company you hold.

05 Charlie Munger Poor Charlie’s Almanack, after Carl Jacobi

Invert, always invert

“Invert, always invert.”

Charlie Munger, Poor Charlie’s Almanack, after Carl Jacobi

In ValueBase. Every report argues the bear case and the key risks as seriously as the case for owning the business.

06 Sir John Templeton Founder of the Templeton Growth Fund, 1954

Remember the last cycle

“The four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it’s different.’”

Sir John Templeton, Founder of the Templeton Growth Fund, 1954

In ValueBase. Your returns sit beside the S&P 500 year by year, so the record of every cycle you have lived through stays in front of you.

The shelf

The books that built the discipline.

If you read six things about investing, read these. Most of what ValueBase does is an attempt to make their advice easier to follow.

We do not sell these books and earn nothing from recommending them.

  • Security Analysis Graham & Dodd · 1934
  • The Intelligent Investor Graham · 1949
  • Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits Fisher · 1958
  • One Up on Wall Street Lynch · 1989
  • Poor Charlie’s Almanack Munger · 2005
  • Letters to Shareholders Buffett · Since 1977

Our side of it

What we promise in return.

  • Business before priceResearch values the company first and looks at the market second, so every number is argued rather than reverse-engineered.
  • Show the sourceEvery claim in a report carries a citation to the filing, transcript or document it came from.
  • Measure honestlyBenchmarks include dividends, returns are shown both ways, and the bad years stay on the page.
  • No tips, no noiseWe never tell you what to buy, we do not sell order flow, and we do not send trading signals.
“The big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting.”

Charlie Munger

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Open a company you understand, and take your time.