Value Investing

Written by True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

Reviewed by Editorial Team

Updated on March 21, 2023

Define Value Investing In Simple Terms

Value investing means investing in stocks that are trading below their intrinsic value.

Value investors believe that the market tends to overreact to news, both positive and negative, and so a price reduction in a stock does not always correlate with a reduction in value.

They seek to take advantage of stocks they believe the market is undervaluing in order to profit from valuable but inexpensive stocks.

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What Does Value Investing Mean In Finance?

One of the ideas behind value investing is that if you know the true value of something, then you can save money by buying it when it sells at a discount.

For example, it doesn't make financial sense to buy a car for full price now if it will go on sale later and can be bought for less. The same principle applies to stocks.

Example of Value Investing

Because discounts on stocks are not usually advertised or predictable, part of value investing involves doing detective work on changes in stock prices.

Furthermore, value investors also have to determine what the intrinsic value of a stock is.

Some of the most common methods value investors use to determine the intrinsic value of an investment are the price-to-book ratio, the price-to-earnings ratio, and free cash flow.

Value Investing FAQs

About the Author

True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®

True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of Finance Strategists.

True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial Ratios Guide, a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, contributes to his financial education site, Finance Strategists, and has spoken to various financial communities such as the CFA Institute, as well as university students like his Alma mater, Biola University, where he received a bachelor of science in business and data analytics.

To learn more about True, visit his personal website, view his author profile on Amazon, or check out his speaker profile on the CFA Institute website.

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