Uncommon profits from common stock - new investment philosophy (vs Ben Graham - basement cigar butts strategy) that upped Warren Buffett gains

Nation building via learning and being the best in business

Phil Fisher - Common stock uncommon profits

It was Phil Fisher investment philosophy that bumped up the gains made by Warren Buffett in his investment career, not what he initially learndd from Benjamin Graham which was basically basement cigar butts hunting.    Find undervalued stocks here and there Fisher looked at something more qualitative and far enduring.  He looked  at quality of top management and their vision.  It should be same standard we should set for outselves if we are to be the darling or be in the radar of investors

15 points to look for in Growth Investing by Phil Fisher (he too was connected with Stanford - a great modern learning institution.

Fisher’s 15 Points to Look for in a Common Stock

In “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits,” Fisher outlines 15 key points to consider when evaluating a company for investment. These points are divided into two categories: management’s characteristics and the characteristics of the business itself.

1. Does the company have products or services with sufficient market potential to make possible a sizable increase in sales for at least several years?
2. Does the management have a determination to continue to develop products or processes that will still further increase total sales when the growth potentials of currently attractive product lines have largely been exploited?
3. How effective are the company’s research and development efforts in relation to its size?
4. Does the company have an above-average sales organization?
5. Does the company have a worthwhile profit margin?
6. What is the company doing to maintain or improve profit margins?
7. Does the company have outstanding labor and personnel relations?
8. Does the company have outstanding executive relations?
9. Does the company have depth to its management?
10. How good are the company’s cost analysis and accounting controls?
11. Are there other aspects of the business, somewhat peculiar to the industry involved, which will give the investor important clues as to how outstanding the company may be in relation to its competition?
12. Does the company have a short-range or long-range outlook in regard to profits?
13. In the foreseeable future will the growth of the company require sufficient equity financing so that the larger number of shares then outstanding will largely cancel the existing stockholders’ benefit from this anticipated growth?
14. Does the management talk freely to investors about its affairs when things are going well but “clam up” when troubles and disappointments occur?
15. Does the company have a management of unquestionable integrity?

This integrity is not in the radar of many investors.