Sublime

For the unprepared, meeting John Neff can be a "disaster." Those who meet Neff's standards appreciate thatJohn answers his own phone ("Neff!"), and he always gives as good as he gets, or better, in both information and insight. Neff's rigorous discipline in "doing his homework" has one important consequence: His portfo

The debate over top-down versus bottom-up investing has always seemed a little fuzzy to Inc. I just keep an eve on the economy and ask, where is a sector that's overdue for recognition:

Windsor was never fancy, fad-driven, or resigned to market performance. We followed one durable investment style whether the market was up, down, or indifferent. These were its principal elements:• Low price-earnings (p/e) ratio.• Fundamental growth in excess of 7 percent.• Yield protection (and enhancement, in most cases).• Superior relationship o

One time, we delivered a compressor to Tecumseh Products in Tecumseh, Michigan. We got top dollar because they needed it right away.Working for my father at least taught me that you don't need glamour to make a buck. Indeed, if you can find a dull business that makes money, it is less likely to attract competition.

Measured Participation established four broad investment categories:1. Highly recognized growth.2. Less recognized growth.3. Moderate growth.4. Cyclical growth.Windsor participated in each of these categories, irrespective of industry concentrations. When the best values were available in, say, the moderate growth area, we concentrated our investme

We never salivated for the last dollar in a major move (i.e., the oil stocks). Instead, we tried to take stocks from undervalued to fairly valued. We left "greater-fool" investing to others.

Absent stunning growth rates, low p/c stocks can capture the wonders of p/e expansion with less risk than skittish growth stocks. An increase in the p/e ratio, coupled with improved earnings, turbocharges the appreciation potential. Instead of a price gain merely commensurate with earnings, the stock price can appreciate 50 to 100 percent.

Contrarian that I am, the format for this book is intentionally unorthodox as books on investing go these days. It is not about I lail Mary passes; it's about grinding out gains quarter after quarter, year after year. My kind of investing rests on three elements: character, goals, and experience.