The Defensive Investor vs. The Enterprising Investor
Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor is a foundational text on value investing, emphasizing the importance of rational decision-making, long-term thinking, and risk management in building wealth through the stock and bond market s . Benjamin Graham’s disti nguishes between the D efensive I nvestor and the E nte rprising I nvestor . The D efensive I nvestor seeks to achieve satisfactory returns with minimal effort. Th e Defensive I nvestor is not interested in poring over balance sheets or actively managing a portfolio. For the Defensive Investor , Graham recommends a simple, disciplined approach—such as allocating funds between high-grade bonds and a diversified portfolio of reliable, established stocks. For the D efensive I nvestor , the goal is stability and protection from major losses, not out-performance. Graham advises periodic re-balancing and refraining from market timing. In contrast, the E nterprising I nvestor is willing to put in substantial time, r...