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Protect the downside. Worry about the margin of safety.

Peter Cundill

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Peter Cundill
Age: 72 †
Born: 1938
Born: October 1
Died: 2011
Died: January 24
Businessperson
Values
Downside
Margin
Margins
Insightful
Safety
Protect
Worry

More quotes by Peter Cundill

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You find bargains among the unpopular things, the things that everybody hates. The key is that you must have patience.
Peter Cundill
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What differentiates us from other money managers with a similar style is that we’re comfortable with new lows.
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The difference between the price we pay for a stock and its liquidation value gives us a margin of safety. This kind of investing is one of the most effective ways of achieving good long term results.
Peter Cundill
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The company must be paying dividends. Preferably the dividend will have been increasing and have been paid for some time.
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There is always something to do. You just need to look harder, be creative and a little flexible.
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The most important attribute for success in value investing is patience, patience, and more patience. The majority of investors do not possess this characteristic.
Peter Cundill
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If it is cheap enough, we don't care what it is.
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When a stock doubles, sell half - then what you have is a free position. Then it becomes more of an art form. When you sell depends on individual circumstances.
Peter Cundill
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I suspect that my thinking is an eclectic mix, not pure net-net because I couldn’t do it anyway so you have to have a new something to hang your hat on. But the framework stays the same.
Peter Cundill
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Just as many smart people fail in the investment business as stupid ones. Intellectually active people are particularly attracted to elegant concepts, which can have the effect of distracting them from the simpler, more fundamental truths.
Peter Cundill
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Long term debt and bank debt (including off-balance sheet financing must be judiciously employed. There must be room to expand the debt position if required.
Peter Cundill
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I try to keep in mind Oscar Wilde's comment that saints always have a past and sinners always have a future, so no investment should be ruled out simply on the basis of past history. We focus on liquidation analysis and liquidation analysis alone.
Peter Cundill
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We do liquidation analysis and liquidation analysis only.
Peter Cundill
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Curiosity is the engine of civilisation
Peter Cundill
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There is almost always a major blip for whatever reason and we have learnt to expect it and not to panic.
Peter Cundill
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I’m lucky to have the kind of life where the differentiation between work and play is absolutely zilch. I have no idea whether I’m working or whether I’m playing.
Peter Cundill
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The share price must be less than book value. Preferably it will be less than net working capital less long term debt.
Peter Cundill
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Why will someone sell you a dollar for 50 cents? Because in the short run, people are irrational on both the optimistic and pessimistic side.
Peter Cundill
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There will be losing years but if the art of making money is not to lose it, then there should not be substantial losses.
Peter Cundill
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We always look at the margin of safety in the balance sheet and then worry about the business.
Peter Cundill