The Value Trap

摘要

Sensible investors know that, in the long run, value stocks deliver superior returns to growth stocks. Furthermore, as disciples of Benjamin Graham will tell you, companies that are acquired at lower valuation multiples have a built-in margin of safety. If this is the case, how can we explain why value investors have tripped up so often in recentyears -losingmoney on cheap, U.S. housing stocks and banks prior to the financial crisis, and more recently on mining and energy stocks bought at apparently low valuations? There's a simple answer. All these value traps experienced high levels of asset growth prior to their collapse. Investors who looked only at traditional valuation measures, such as price-to-bookorprice-to-earnings, and ignored changes in industry supply conditions have been blindsided.