History – Ernie Talley – Articles & Links
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Forbes Article
PAULETTE MITCHELL, who earns her living as a home care nurse, dreamed of owning a big-screen TV. But where would she get $3,032 all at once? Charge it to her credit card? Mitchell didn’t have one: After becoming entangled in debt a couple of years back, she’d sworn off…Read more
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Progressive Rentals Article
All seem to have one thing, or rather one person, in common: J. Ernest Talley. The 56-year-old Arkansas native is the proverbial fountainhead of rent-to-own. He began building the first chain of RTO stores in the 1960s, sold them and got out of the business by the mid-’70s, and re-entered rent-to-own as the 1990s began. Nearly every major dealer who has contributed to…Read more
Principles –
I. Always Invest w/ Margin of Safety
The secret of sound investing can be distilled into three words, margin of safety.
Investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike.
Every corporate security may best be viewed, in the first instance, as an ownership interest in, or a claim against, a specific business enterprise.
Operations for profit should be based not on optimism but on arithmetic.
You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right.
II. Expect Volatility and Profit From It
Most of the time, the market is mostly accurate in pricing most stocks – sometimes, it’s not, sometimes, it’s insane.
You can’t beat the pros at their own game, the pros can’t even win their own game! You have to play an entirely different game in order to win.
Investing isn’t about beating others at their game. It’s about controlling yourself at your own game. Self-control is key, don’t buy high or sell low just because the market is telling you “BUY!” or “SELL!”
You should invest when you can, and hold these investments continually.
III. Know What Kind of Investor You Are
The critical investment factor is determining the intrinsic value of a business and paying a
fair or bargain price.
Your goal as an investor should be simply to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily understood business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher, five, ten and twenty years from now. Over time, you will find only a few companies that meet those standards – so when you see one that qualifies, you should buy a meaningful amount of stock.
A well-chosen diversified portfolio of common stocks, based on reasonable prices, can be a sound investment.