David L. Dodd

Overview

David L. Dodd (1895–1988) was a professor of finance at Columbia University and the co-author (with Ben Graham) of the seminal text Security Analysis.

Influence on Buffett

In the 1988 Letter, Buffett penned a tribute to Dodd, who died that year at age 93.

• The Teacher: Dodd taught Buffett at Columbia and personally encouraged him during his early years.
• The Book: Buffett described Security Analysis as the "intellectual tree" from which Berkshire’s prosperity grew.
• The Practitioner: Dodd successfully applied the principles he taught, becoming wealthy through value investing. Buffett noted that Dodd’s financial performance "far outshone" that of John Maynard Keynes.

Core Legacy

Dodd, along with Graham, provided the "simple, sound, useful, and enduring" principles that define the Graham-Newman and Berkshire investment models. These principles focused on finding a Margin of Safety and distinguishing between market price and Intrinsic Value.

Related Entities

• Ben Graham
• Columbia University
• Value Investing
• 1988 Letter