Walter Schloss
Encyclopedia
Walter J. Schloss is a well-regarded value investor, as well as a notable disciple of the Benjamin Graham
school of investing.
, the future chairman of Goldman Sachs. He eventually went to work for Graham in the Graham-Newman Partnership.
In 1955, Schloss left Graham's company and started up his own investment firm, eventually managing money for 92 investors. By maintaining a manageable asset size, Schloss averaged a 15.3% compound return over the course of five decades, versus 10% for the S&P 500
.
Schloss closed out his fund in 2000 and stopped actively managing others' money in 2003.
He served four years in the U.S. Army during World War II
.
Warren Buffett named him as one of The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville
, who disproved the academic position that the market was efficient, and that beating the S&P 500
was "pure chance".
Warren Buffett had this to say about Schloss:
. He has given to the Tenement Museum
.
His archive is held at Columbia University
.
Benjamin Graham
Benjamin Graham was an American economist and professional investor. Graham is considered the first proponent of value investing, an investment approach he began teaching at Columbia Business School in 1928 and subsequently refined with David Dodd through various editions of their famous book...
school of investing.
Biography
Schloss did not attend college and was initially hired at the age of 18 as a runner on Wall Street in 1934. Schloss took investment courses taught by Graham at the New York Stock Exchange Institute. One of his classmates was Gus LevyGus Levy
Gustave "Gus" Levy was senior partner of Goldman Sachs from 1969 until his death in 1976, succeeding the renowned Sidney Weinberg.Levy was born in 1910 in New Orleans, one of three children of Sigmund and Bella Levy...
, the future chairman of Goldman Sachs. He eventually went to work for Graham in the Graham-Newman Partnership.
In 1955, Schloss left Graham's company and started up his own investment firm, eventually managing money for 92 investors. By maintaining a manageable asset size, Schloss averaged a 15.3% compound return over the course of five decades, versus 10% for the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
.
Schloss closed out his fund in 2000 and stopped actively managing others' money in 2003.
He served four years in the U.S. Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Warren Buffett named him as one of The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville
The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville
"The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville" is an article by Warren Buffett promoting value investing, published in the Fall, 1984 issue of Hermes, Columbia Business School magazine...
, who disproved the academic position that the market was efficient, and that beating the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
was "pure chance".
Warren Buffett had this to say about Schloss:
He knows how to identify securities that sell at considerably less than their value to a private owner: And that's all he does. He owns many more stocks than I do and is far less interested in the underlying nature of the business; I don't seem to have very much influence on Walter. That is one of his strengths; no one has much influence on him.
Philanthropy
He is Treasurer for Freedom HouseFreedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
. He has given to the Tenement Museum
Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum features a five-story brick tenement building that was home to an estimated 7,000 people, from over 20 nations, between 1863 and 1935. This building, located at 97 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, is a National Historic Site...
.
His archive is held at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
See also
- Value InvestingValue investingValue investing is an investment paradigm that derives from the ideas on investment and speculation that Ben Graham and David Dodd began teaching at Columbia Business School in 1928 and subsequently developed in their 1934 text Security Analysis...
- Benjamin GrahamBenjamin GrahamBenjamin Graham was an American economist and professional investor. Graham is considered the first proponent of value investing, an investment approach he began teaching at Columbia Business School in 1928 and subsequently refined with David Dodd through various editions of their famous book...
- David DoddDavid DoddDavid LeFevre Dodd was an American educator, financial analyst, author, economist, professional investor, and in his student years, a of, and as a postgraduate, close colleague of Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School.The Wall Street Crash of 1929 almost wiped out Graham, who had started...
- The Intelligent InvestorThe Intelligent InvestorThe Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, first published in 1949, is a widely acclaimed book on value investing, an investment approach Graham began teaching at Columbia Business School in 1928 and subsequently refined with David Dodd...
- Warren BuffettWarren BuffettWarren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
- Irving KahnIrving KahnIrving Kahn is an American value investor and money manager and the oldest living investment professional. He was an early disciple of Benjamin Graham, the creator of the value investing methodology. Kahn began his career in 1928 and continues to work to this day at the age of...