What I Learned About Value Investing Today

When I first started learning about investing, I thought the experts—Buffett, Munger, all those big names—were running complicated calculations, predicting market movements, and using fancy formulas like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) to make their decisions. It turns out, I had it all wrong.

Value Investors Don’t Predict the Market

I’ve been reading about Charlie Munger and his approach to investing, and something clicked for me today: value investors don’t waste time trying to predict short-term cash flow changes. They don’t sit around making grand economic forecasts or obsessing over macro trends. Instead, they focus on what actually matters—buying great businesses at good prices and holding onto them.

Buffett and Munger on the Economy

Buffett and Munger talk about the economy, sure. But that doesn’t mean they make investing decisions based on it. They recognize that the economy is part of the world they operate in, but their actual strategy? That’s rooted in fundamentals. They’re looking at a company’s durability, its moat, its management, and whether it’s fairly priced. Everything else is just noise.

My Investing Approach and Lessons Learned

This realization made me reflect on my own approach. I tend to buy high-quality businesses and dollar-cost average into them. But when a great company—say, Nike—goes on sale, I go heavier. And when prices shoot up, I either continue my steady DCA or shift to another undervalued position. Turns out, that’s not some random approach—it actually aligns with what long-term value investors do.

The Power of Long-Term Investing

Then I came across this quote from Benjamin Graham:

“All the real money in investing will have to be made—as most of it has been in the past—not out of buying and selling but out of owning and holding securities, receiving interests and dividends therein, and benefiting from their long-term increase in value.”

That hit home. It explains why value investors often underperform during bull markets. When speculation is running wild and people are chasing the hottest stocks, those of us holding quality businesses might not see explosive short-term gains. But here’s the key—our real returns come from owning, not flipping. Dividends keep rolling in. Earnings grow. And over time, compounding does its thing.

Patience Is the Key to Wealth

A bull market can make it feel like we’re missing out, but when the hype dies down, the businesses we own are still standing, still producing, and still paying. That’s where the real wealth is built—not in predicting, but in patiently holding.

Final Thoughts

Everything I learned today reinforced something I already knew but hadn’t fully internalized: investing isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about keeping it simple, trusting in quality, and giving time the chance to work its magic.

And that’s exactly what I plan to keep doing.