The Little Book that Beats the Market | Joel Greenblatt | Talks at Google

TL;DR

Joel Greenblatt, co-founder of Gotham Asset Management, discusses the stock market and the value of active investing in a world dominated by passive index funds.

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: Joel Greenblatt, our guest for today, is the co-founder, managing principal, and co-CIO of Gotham Asset Management. We could not be more thrilled and more grateful than to have him accept our invitation and be here. Thank you so much, Joel-- over to you. [APPLAUSE] JOEL GREENBLATT: Thanks so much. Thanks for coming out toda... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤔 Markets can be influenced by group-think and emotions, leading to opportunities for mispriced stocks.
• 🔬 Value investing involves finding stocks that are undervalued and have the potential for future growth.
• 🥺 Investing in stocks based on sound valuation principles can lead to long-term outperformance.
• 💋 The ability to be patient and stick to an investment strategy is crucial for success in the stock market.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why did Greenblatt decide to teach a ninth-grade class about the stock market?

Greenblatt wanted to find a better way to explain the stock market after struggling to connect with orthopedic surgeons who were interested in investing. He wanted to avoid a similar experience with the ninth-grade class.

Q: What is the main takeaway from Greenblatt's class at Columbia?

Greenblatt guarantees his students that if they do good valuation work of a company, the market will eventually agree with them, although he does not specify a timeframe for this agreement.

Q: How does Greenblatt value stocks?

Greenblatt values stocks based on absolute and relative measures of cheapness. He looks for stocks that are cheap compared to their intrinsic value and similar companies in the market. He also considers historical valuation data to assess whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.

Q: What is the key to outperforming the market according to Greenblatt?

Greenblatt states that the reason people don't outperform the market is due to behavioral and agency problems. However, he believes that the opportunities to beat the market exist, and if investors have a disciplined investment process and are patient, they can find these opportunities.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Greenblatt emphasizes the importance of understanding the stock market and valuing businesses before making investment decisions.

• He shares that he had a difficult time explaining stock market concepts to both orthopedic surgeons and a ninth-grade class. This led him to develop a unique way to explain the stock market to his students, using a jar of jellybeans as an analogy.

• Greenblatt believes that there is still opportunity in the stock market, as stocks are ownership shares of businesses that can be valued and bought at a discount. The key is to be patient and have a disciplined investment process.