Intelligent Investor Graham

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 | Independent trigger? | Distinct references? | Triage score | Should be subskill? | Reason |

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---:|---:|---|---|

| 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 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | Foundation for every proposed purchase or trade. |

| 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 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | Distinct inputs, rules, and pass/fail artifact. |

| 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 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | Distinct valuation artifact. |

| 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 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | Distinct behavioral and sell-discipline workflow. |

| 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 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | Different input type and output artifact. |

| 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 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | Product review workflow with distinct warnings. |

| 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 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | Distinct research workflow and reference needs. |

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

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