Ben Graham articulated the fundamental principles of modern security analysis and launched one of the most successful and profitable schools of investing, called value investing. The richest man in the world, Warren Buffett, was Graham's student. But Graham made another critically important contribution to the world. In the wake of the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, security analysts were widely regarded with suspicion, and frequently with good reason. Graham argued that analysts had to raise their own standards and meet minimum requirements of knowledge and be beholden to rules of ethical conduct. In short, security analysis should become a profession, like medicine or law. This book reveals the legacy of Ben Graham as the visionary responsible for the creation of investment analysis as a profession. Graham's contributions to the Financial Analysts Journal and the CFA Program will comprise a major portion of the book. For example, in January, 1945, Graham published an article titled, “Should Security Analysts Have a Professional Rating?” in the Financial Analysts Journal. Ben Graham and the Birth of the Professional Financial Analyst will present a rare collection of the writings of Benjamin Graham, mostly drawn from those published in the Financial Analysts Journal. In this fascinating collection of 19 articles spanning some 30 years (some under the pen name “Cogitator”), readers will witness Graham's transforming vision for creating a financial profession and a science of financial analysis. The first of four sections show how Graham pushed for a formal designation for security analysts, the second discusses his push for codified standards akin to physicians, attorneys and accountants, the third shows how Graham spoke out on specific controversial investment issues, and the fourth section explores Graham's vision for what it meant to be a good financial analyst and the principles of this new profession.

Table of Contents:
Section 1: Building a Profession 1. Toward a Professional Designation 2. Should Security Analysts Have a Professional Rating? 3. On Being Right in Security Analysis 4. The Hippocratic Method in Security Analysis 5. The SEC Method of Security Analysis Section 2: A Science of Investment Analysis 6. Defining the New Profession 7. Toward a Science of Security Analysis 8. Two Illustrative Approaches to Formula Valuations of Common Stock 9. Special Situations 10. The War Economy and Stock Values 11. Some Structural Relationships Bearing Upon Full Employment Section 3: The Voice of the Profession 12. A Questionnaire on Stockholder-Management Relationships 13. Our Balance of Payments: Conspiracy of Silence 14. Which Way to Relief from the Double Tax on Corporate Profits? 15. Some Observations 16. Interview with P. Ellebracht 17. Three Forbes Articles