Someone on Twitter recently mentioned Barnard Baruch as a legendary investor. I have just read his autobiography which is entitled “Baruch – My Own Story” and it is indeed interesting for several reasons.
Firstly he had a long life and the book covers the period from the American civil war until the 1960s. So it covers more than one period of financial crisis such as the 1929 Wall Street crash and two World Wars. Baruch’s father was a doctor and surgeon in the Confederate Army. For those interested in American history, as I am, it’s a revealing account of why the USA became so dominant in the world financial scene.
Baruch became a stock market speculator and a millionaire by his thirties when a million dollars was worth a great deal. He later became an advisor to Presidents and was involved in US responses to both major wars. But he also was almost wiped out at times in his early career. One thing he learned to do was to always reflect on and try to learn from his mistakes so as not to repeat them – sound advice for all investors.
He is scathing about share tips. So he says about his losses in American Spirits that “Nothing but my own bad judgement was responsible. My course violated every rule of speculation. I acted on unverified information after superficial investigation and, like thousands of other before and since, got just what my conduct deserved”.
It covers an age before the second world war when stock market manipulation was very common and there is an interesting mention of “bucket shops” and how they operated to wipe out their patrons (I mentioned the resurgence of bucket shops in a previous blog post).
Baruch is particularly good on the manias that sweep stock markets. He was adept it seems at knowing when the market was too high and when it was time to get out. He has a chapter on his investment philosophy that includes this advice:
- Don’t speculate unless you can make it a full-time job.
- Beware of barbers, beauticians, waiters – or anyone – bringing gifts of “inside information” or “tips”.
- Before buying a security, find out everything you can about the company, its management and competitors, its earnings and possibilities for growth.
- Don’t try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. This can’t be done – except by liars.
- Learn how to take your losses quickly and cleanly. Don’t expect to be right all the time. If you have made a mistake, cut your losses as quickly as possible.
- Don’t buy too many different securities. Better only a few investments which can be watched.
- Make a periodic reappraisal of all your investments to see whether changing developments have altered their prospects…
- Study your tax position to know when you can sell to greatest advantage.
- Always keep a good part of your capital in a cash reserve. Never invest all your funds.
- Don’t try to be a jack of all investments. Stick to the field you know best.
These are all wise words indeed.
In summary, the book is an interesting read as Baruch is a good communicator as well as it being a slice of America’s financial history when it was dominated by J.P. Morgan, the Rockefellers and other giants of the age.
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
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