The Intelligent Investor — Skill (Benjamin Graham)

Knowledge source: The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, revised edition with commentary by Jason Zweig. Architecture: Orchestrator + 7 subskills. This file routes the user query; subskills execute the actual Graham workflows.

intelligent-investor-graham/
├── SKILL.md
├── quotes/
│   ├── market-philosophy-quotes.md
│   └── value-investing-quotes.md
└── subskills/
    ├── m1_investment_vs_speculation/
    │   ├── module.md
    │   └── references/case_library.md
    ├── m2_defensive_stock_screen/
    │   ├── module.md
    │   └── references/case_library.md
    ├── m3_margin_of_safety_pricing/
    │   ├── module.md
    │   └── references/case_library.md
    ├── m4_market_fluctuation_response/
    │   ├── module.md
    │   └── references/case_library.md
    ├── m5_portfolio_policy/
    │   ├── module.md
    │   └── references/case_library.md
    ├── m6_fund_adviser_ipo_review/
    │   ├── module.md
    │   └── references/case_library.md
    └── m7_enterprising_bargain_hunt/
        ├── module.md
        └── references/case_library.md

Skill Purpose

Use this skill to apply Graham's value-investing discipline to practical investor decisions: distinguishing investment from speculation, screening defensive stocks, estimating margin of safety, responding to market swings, setting portfolio policy, evaluating funds or advisers, and searching for enterprising-investor bargains.

This is not a market-forecasting, momentum-trading, tax-planning, or personalized financial-advice skill. Its job is to force businesslike analysis, conservative arithmetic, and temperament discipline before any action is labeled an investment.

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when the user asks questions such as:

• "Is this stock worth buying under Graham's rules?"
• "Is this an investment or speculation?"
• "Does this company pass the defensive investor checklist?"
• "What price gives enough margin of safety?"
• "The stock or market dropped. Should I sell?"
• "How should I split my portfolio between stocks and bonds?"
• "Should I buy this fund, adviser product, IPO, SPAC, or hot growth story?"
• "How would Graham look for bargain stocks?"

CITATION RULES

Every substantive Graham-method claim must cite the original-text quote files when a module produces a final answer.

Quote files:

• quotes/value-investing-quotes.md — investment definition, margin of safety, Mr. Market, defensive allocation, price discipline, Graham's core principles.
• quotes/market-philosophy-quotes.md — market pendulum, earnings skepticism, IPO warnings, index funds, adviser conflicts, net-current-asset bargains, simplicity, historical humility.

Citation format:

"Author's exact words here."

— The Intelligent Investor, cited excerpt

Anchor mapping:

• value-investing-quotes.md: #buffett-endorses-graham, #investment-vs-speculation, #margin-of-safety, #mr-market, #mr-market-servant, #defensive-portfolio-split, #price-matters-more, #graham-core-principles, #the-future-value-depends-on-price, #no-need-for-extraordinary
• market-philosophy-quotes.md: #market-is-a-pendulum, #earnings-can-be-manipulated, #avoid-ipos, #index-funds-best, #advisers-misaligned, #net-current-asset-bargains, #simplicity-beats-cleverness, #santayana-warning

Rules:

• Read the routed module's references/case_library.md for the relevant quote IDs.
• Include at least one citation per major section in substantive answers.
• Use only exact quotes from the quote files. Do not invent quotation text.
• If no exact quote fits, cite the closest anchor and state that the reasoning is a paraphrased Graham application.

Workflow Inventory

Workflow	User question pattern	Inputs	Steps	Output	Subskill
Investment/speculation classification	"Is this trade investing?"	Security, thesis, holding period, analysis, leverage, position sizing	Test analysis, principal safety, adequate return, promotional dependence	Investment/speculation verdict and boundary conditions	M1
Defensive stock screen	"Does X pass Graham's defensive checklist?"	10-year earnings, dividends, balance sheet, price, EPS, book value	Apply seven defensive criteria without soft averaging	Pass/fail table and disqualifiers	M2
Margin of safety pricing	"What price is attractive?"	Normalized earnings, assets, book value, debt, bond yield, current price	Estimate conservative value, discount, and no-buy zone	Buy zone, watch zone, avoid zone	M3
Market fluctuation response	"The stock dropped. Should I sell?"	Price change, business change, valuation, liquidity needs, leverage	Separate quotation from value; test impairment and forced-selling risk	Hold/add/reduce/sell framework	M4
Portfolio policy	"How should I allocate?"	Investor type, income need, effort, risk capacity, yields	Start at 50/50, apply 25/75 guardrails, rebalance	Allocation range and rebalancing rule	M5
Fund/adviser/IPO review	"Should I buy this fund or IPO?"	Fees, incentives, operating history, marketing claims, alternatives	Check conflicts, costs, promotion, analyzable facts	Use/avoid verdict and safer default	M6
Enterprising bargain hunt	"How would Graham find cheap stocks?"	Screens, financials, NCAV data, special situation facts, diversification plan	Search low expectations, verify asset backing, diversify	Research list and rejection rules	M7

Routing Rules

User question type	Must run	Optional run
"Should I buy stock X?"	M1 -> M2 -> M3	M4 if price moved sharply; M7 if user is enterprising
"Is this investment or speculation?"	M1	M6 if promoted product, IPO, fund, or adviser
"Does this pass Graham's checklist?"	M2	M3
"What is a Graham buy price?"	M3	M2 for defensive qualification
"The stock fell. Should I sell?"	M4	M3 to recalculate margin of safety
"How should I allocate my portfolio?"	M5	M6 for fund implementation
"Should I use this fund/adviser/IPO/SPAC/hot issue?"	M6	M1
"Find Graham-style bargains"	M7	M3 for valuation discipline; M1 for classification

Execution Rules

1. Read only the modules required by the routing table.
2. Run M1 first whenever the user proposes a purchase, trade, or speculative product.
3. Run M2 before calling a stock suitable for a defensive investor.
4. Run M3 before giving any buy-price, cheap/expensive, add, reduce, or margin-of-safety conclusion.
5. Run M4 for market-move questions; do not treat price movement itself as proof of risk or opportunity.
6. If required data is missing, state the missing fields and give a provisional analysis rather than fabricating figures.
7. Do not run every module for a narrow question.

Multi-Module Output Format

## Graham Analysis — [Security / Decision]

**Question type:** [Buy / sell / allocation / fund / speculation / bargain search]
**Investor posture:** Defensive / Enterprising / Unknown
**Required modules used:** M[ ] ...

### 1. Investment vs. Speculation
- Classification:
- Reason:
- Boundary conditions:
- Citation:

### 2. Graham Tests Applied
- Defensive checklist result, margin of safety, market fluctuation diagnosis, allocation policy, or product review as routed.

### 3. Verdict
- Graham result: qualifies / watchlist / avoid / speculative only / hold / reduce / needs data
- Action discipline:
- Missing data:

### 4. Citations
- Closest Graham principle and quote link for each major conclusion.

Subskill Status

Subskill	Path	Status
M1 Investment vs Speculation	subskills/m1_investment_vs_speculation/	Available
M2 Defensive Stock Screen	subskills/m2_defensive_stock_screen/	Available
M3 Margin of Safety Pricing	subskills/m3_margin_of_safety_pricing/	Available
M4 Market Fluctuation Response	subskills/m4_market_fluctuation_response/	Available
M5 Portfolio Policy	subskills/m5_portfolio_policy/	Available
M6 Fund Adviser IPO Review	subskills/m6_fund_adviser_ipo_review/	Available
M7 Enterprising Bargain Hunt	subskills/m7_enterprising_bargain_hunt/	Available

Do Not

• Do not forecast the market or interest rates as the basis for a recommendation.
• Do not call an action "investment" unless analysis, principal safety, and adequate return have all been addressed.
• Do not excuse overpayment because the company is excellent, popular, or fast growing.
• Do not average a failed defensive checklist into a soft "mostly passes" verdict.
• Do not recommend leverage, all-in allocations, or panic selling under Graham's name.
• Do not provide personalized regulated financial advice; frame outputs as educational decision support.