Who is Walter J. Schloss?

Walter J. Schloss was a well know Value Investor and former employee of Benjamin Graham at the Graham-Newman Partnership where he worked alongside Warren E. Buffett.

Born in August of 1916, he began his career on Wall street at 18 working as a runner. Having never formally attended college he was professionally trained to invest by Benjamin Gram at the New York Stock Exchange Institute. Following his wartime service as a member of the U.S Army Signal Corps he joined Graham-Newman.

Shortly before Gramm-Newman’s fund was closed in 1965, Schloss founded his own fund. Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates produced annualized returns of 15.7% over the course of forty seven years. The fund was closed in 2000 and stopped managing external funds in 2003. Investing $100 with Schloss in 1965 would have produced $94,769 vs only $6,620 for the S&P 500.

Known as “one of the good guys” on Wall Street, Walter passed away in 2012 at the age of 95. Arguably one of the best investors to ever live, his investment record contradicts efficiency market theory and provides confirmatory evidence in favor of the power of a value investment philosophy.

Major publications and articles about or by Walter J. Schloss

For informational purposes we have compiled a list of every major publication, article or lecture by or about Walter J. Schloss. Items are presented in reverse chronological with a listing of title of the document and a brief summary of the item and a link to each document.

Undated Artilces

• Walter J’ Schloss Investment Track Record – This table includes the 47 years of financial results for Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates.
• Sixty-five Years on Wall Street – Remarks by Walter Schloss at Grant’s Interest Rate Observer fall investment conference
• Three Industrial Stock Averages Contrasted – by Benjamin Graham and Walter Schloss
• A Dozen Things Ive Learned from Phillip Fisher and Walter Schloss – by CS investor

2013

• Video of 92-Year Old Walter Schloss Discussing his Investment Philosophy – by John Huber, March 13, 2013
  • This article is a brief commentary by John Huber on his major takeaways from the 2008 lecture Schloss gave at the Ivy Business school. (This lecture is below)

2009

• Finding Value Among the “Lows”: The Walter J. Schloss Approach – By Cara Scatizzi
• Stock Screening With Walter Schloss – By Cara Scatizzi
  • These two articles provides the perspective of a financial analyst looking at Schloss philosophy. They concisely summarize many of Schloss’s investment criteria and give examples of more recent companies that may have fit his criteria.

2008

• Walter J Schloss Interview at the Ben Graham Center for Value Investing, Ivey Business school, 2008

https://www.youtube.com/embed/E8UzNEapdek

• Experience – By Bernard Condon, Forbes Magazine, 2008
  • This brief article is as much a character study as is it is a review of Schloss’s track record and approach. In line with other articles at shows that his philosophy remains consistent through the years, even in light of major market movements.
    
• NYSAA Value Investing Archive Dedication: Walter Schloss, NYSAA, 2008
  • Just as the title states, this article is a brief dedication.
    
• A Discussion of Dr. George Athanassakos with Mr. Walter J. Schloss, 2008
  • This article is a brief summary of the conversation between the two men and is a general overview of Schloss’s investment philosophy and how he avoids making emotion based error.

2007

• List of Stocks – A letter from Schloss letter to Warren E. Buffett, 2007
  • In this letter, Schloss includes a list of companies Schloss owned by his fund in the 1990s. Some of the companies no longer exist. The list includes a few stocks that he shorted going into the tech bubble.

2006

• Warren Buffett on Walter Schloss – By Warren Buffett, 2006
  • This very brief article touches on the understanding of behavioral finance that Buffet shares in common with Schloss.
    
• NYSSA Honors Walter Schloss – The Value Investing Committee, 2006
  • Similar to other articles at the top if this list, this article briefly states Schloss’s philosophy.

2004

• The Other Warren Buffett: Meet Walter Schloss – Financial Intelligence report, 2004
  • Article gives perspective on how Schloss views the market and works with Edwin and the key differences between Schloss and Buffett.

2003

• Profiles in Investing: Walter & Edwin Schloss – Columbia Business School Press, Heilberg Center for Graham & Dodd, 2003
  • This article is a rare joint interview with Walter and his son Edwin that includes a number of takeaways from Walter’s time working with Graham and how security analysis has changed since his early days on wall street.

1999

• Benjamin Graham and Security Analysis: A Reminiscence –  By Walter Schloss, 1999
  • In this article Walter reflects on his early interactions with Graham and some of the most important takeaways he learned from his time working with him.

1996

• Why We Invest The Way We Do -  Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates, LP, 1996
  • A lecture delivered by Schloss at the Behavioral Economics forum at the Harvard faculty club in Cambridge Massachusetts.

1995

• Yes You Can Beat The Market – Fortune Magazine, Terence P. Pare, 1996
  • This article profiles the well-known value investors: Bill Ruane, Schloss, Munger and Buffet, among other successful but lesser known value investors. The article argues against efficient market theory in favor behavioral economics being teachable and to the benefit of an investor.

1994

• Honoring Benjamin Graham and Janet Lowe -  Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates, LP, 1994
  • A brief note by Schloss in honor of Ben Graham’s 100th birthday.
    
• Factors Needed to Make Money in the Stock Market -  Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates, LP, 1994
  • A very concise one page checklist by Schloss covering his investment criteria and process.

1993

• Seminar at Columbia Business School -  Walter & Edwin Schloss Associates, LP, 1993
  • The notes schloss used at a lecture he gave at Columbia including some aspects of behavioral finance, diligence questions and more.

1989

• OID Interview with Walter Schloss – Outstanding Investors Digest, 1989
  • This is perhaps the most detailed interview investment focused interview with Schloss and Edwin that exists.

• Walter J. Schloss: Searching for Value – Sylvia Porter’s Personal Finance, 1989
  • A one page interview covering mostly behavioral finance.

1985

• Who is Walter Schloss and why is he such a great investor – Barron’s, 1985
  • A Detailed Q&A on how and why he makes certain investment decisions including his own self-assessment of his strengths and relative weaknesses.

1984

• The Survivors
  • Mixed commentary from a lecture buffet gave in ‘ 84 that includes some modern analogies. This document was created later in the timeline but categorically fits in this section because of the historical references.
    
• The Super Investors of Graham-and-Doddsville, Warren Buffett, 1984
  • A detailed analysis of fellow value investors whom have followed in the footsteps of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. He includes Schloss as one of his super investors and explains some of the reasons for his success.

1976

• Letter to the Hilton Head Group, Warren Buffett, 1976
  • A commentary by Buffett on the idiosyncratic nature of Schloss's success relative to the tools available to Wall Street and a data shared to support his success.
    
• A Memorial Service for Ben Graham at Columbia Faculty Club
  • Schloss’s remarks at the occasion.

1974

• Intrinsic Value is Key to Valuing Stocks, Letter to the editor
  • Very concise remarks about how stocks should properly be valued. The analysis is incredibly concise, simple and correct. He clearly explains the dangers of relative valuation.

1973

• Making Money Out of Junk, Forbes, 1973
  • How Schloss uses book value in certain situations.

1965

• From the Thoughtful Businessman, Harvard Business Review, 1965
  • How Schloss views share repurchases, when they might be appropriate or not relative to book value of the company.

1956

• The Overvaluation of Some Blue Chip Stocks, Walter J. Schloss, Investor Magazine, 1956
  • Schloss provides an analysis of some well-known blue chip companies and shows how the firms are being overvalued by the then current market. It provides insight into some of the comparative metrics he used as well as his perspective on long term thinking.

1953

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average Amended, Walter J. Schloss, The Analysts Journal, 1953
  • Schloss advocates for how the DJIA should be amended and calculated. At the time of his writing the method currently in use was not, in his view, accurate. The structure has since changed and lines up with Schloss's view, he was clearly ahead of his time.
    
• In Defense of Stock Dividends, Walter J. Schloss, Letter to the editor of the Financial and Commercial Chronicle, 1953
  • Schloss advocates for companies to preserve cash for future use and how they might go about better issuing stock dividends over cash.

1952

• On Liquidations, Walter J. Schloss, 1952
  • Schloss shares his checklist for investing in liquidations and inline shows how he uses the Graham formulas to determine the probability of  the outcome being successful. This hidden gem of information shows that probabilistic outcomes in an investment are a basis for Schloss’s wider success.

1946

• The Hippocratic Method in Security Analysis, Walter J. Schloss, 1946
  • This article was clearly not written by Schloss but he re-shares it on his letterhead at some later date. This discussion covers philosophical approaches to investing rather than dogmatic ones. This dates to his time at Graham Newman. Graham was a student of classics and brought philosophy into his study of markets.

Additional Data

The physical archives of Walter J. Schloss are held at Columbia Business school and contain far more information than what could be presented here. Those assets are linked here.

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