Just Read – The Dhandho Investor

I first saw this book in a bookshop in India. Didnt buy it then as i found the price a bit too high for my pocket.  Also i hadnt read any reviews of the book and i didnt want to spend so much money on a book that i didnt know much about.

Recently i managed to lay my hands on the book and it turned out to be a breezy read.  Mohnish Pabrai of Pabrai Funds who is the author of this book writes about the Dhandho way of doing business.  To do this he quotes examples of the Patels own the majority  of motels in the US, about Richard Branson’s way of doing business and also Laxmi Mittal who owns the Arcelor-Mittal group of steel companies.

According to Pabrai before buying into a company or before buying the stocks of a company, the investor needs to do the following checks

1. Is it a business I understand very well—squarely within my circle of competence?
2
. Do I know the intrinsic value of the business today and, with a high degree of confidence, how it is likely to change over the next few years?
3
. Is the business priced at a large discount to its intrinsic value today and in two to three years? Over 50 percent?
4
. Would I be willing to invest a large part of my net worth into this business?
5
. Is the downside minimal?
6
. Does the business have a moat?
7
. Is it run by able and honest managers?

The mantra always is “few bets, big bets, infrequent bets”—all placed when the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor.

The Dhandho Investor – The Low Risk Value Method to High Returns
Author – Mohnish Pabrai
Pages – 209
Publisher – John Wiley & Sons

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One Comment

  1. B K CHOWLA says:

    Seems very interesting. I have never laid my hands on the book. Now, I will get one.Gujarati thinking of business is of my interest.

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