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What I’m Looking For in an Expensive Market


Maintaining a long-term investment horizon is becoming more difficult with the 24-hour news cycle creating headlines over sometimes trivial matters. From a value investor's perspective these short-term movements are insignificant so long as the fundamental investment thesis still holds true.

A value investor also does not attempt to time the market, another ideology that has become harder to maintain. What does one do when there is cash that needs to be put to use when the market is at such a high multiple? The answer is to search even harder for deep value companies.

Buying during volatile times is unavoidable and the key is to understand which companies will best survive a pullback. Doubling down on deep value brings an investor to companies with clean balance sheets, strong cash flows and proven business models. Companies bought-up on growth expectations are some of the first to see major declines. A company fitting the value perspective is one that an individual would be happy to buy more of during a pullback/ correction in the market. It is a company that will survive through the headwinds.


As a value investor, it can be difficult to buy in an expensive market. The key is to double down on the characteristics that value investing is based on. Investments should be made in companies that would present even more opportunity in a pullback, rather than more risk.

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