Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of May 9, 2017

Article Excerpt

Today, many investors might not immediately recognize the name of master investor John Templeton. In the final quarter of the last century, however, Templeton was as famous and highly regarded as Warren Buffett is today. Templeton got his start as an investor during the 1930s Depression. At the time, he felt investors were far more pessimistic than the facts warranted. Instead of dwelling on negative predictions, Templeton focused his investing strategy on the low P/E ratios, high dividend yields and other value indicators he saw in the market. In 1939, he famously ordered his broker to buy 100 shares of every New York Stock Exchange stock that traded for less than $1. Templeton based his approach on the assumption that the entire market was at bargain levels. He felt particularly confident about value in the lowest-priced stocks. They couldn’t be used as collateral for bank loans, and many investment professionals were prohibited from holding them. So there were lots of sellers and…