// STUDY RESULT · 1995-01 TO 2026-07
Graham's Defensive Investor Screen
TRADE-OFFA mechanical quality-value checklist protects the amateur: size, financial strength, earnings stability, dividends, and a sane price.
| THE STRATEGY | $SPX BUY & HOLD | |
|---|---|---|
| Growth a year (CAGR) | 9.7% | 9.3% |
| Return per unit of risk (Sharpe) | 0.59 | 0.66 |
| Worst fall (max drawdown) | -64.1% | -52.6% |
// GROWTH OF $1, LOG SCALE
AMBER: THE STRATEGY · GREY: $SPX BUY & HOLD
Tested on years it never saw (from the split): 15.0% a year against 12.4% for the benchmark; Sharpe 0.47 in the training years, 0.75 after.
After 25 bps of trading costs: 8.5% a year. WITHIN RANDOM
// DECADE BY DECADE
| ERA | STRATEGY | BENCHMARK |
|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.2% | 24.3% |
| 2000s | 7.5% | -2.6% |
| 2010s | 11.0% | 11.6% |
| 2020s | 19.6% | 14.1% |
// THE IDEA, AS PUBLISHED
Benjamin Graham, 'The Intelligent Investor' (1949; criteria from the 4th rev. ed., 1973, ch. 14) · 1973
- Size: at least $100M annual sales for an industrial (1973 dollars)
- Current ratio at least 2; long-term debt no more than net current assets
- Some earnings each of past 10 years; EPS up at least one-third over 10 years (3-year averages)
- Dividends paid each of past 20 years
- Price at most 15x average 3-year earnings and 1.5x book, or P/E x P/B at most 22.5
A real computation on the QuantGPT warehouse, survivorship-free, walk-forward. Gross returns, no costs except where stated. Past performance is not a promise. Findings, not advice. COMPUTED 2026-09-24 19:41 ON THE QUANTGPT WAREHOUSE: EVERY DELISTED NAME KEPT, FUNDAMENTALS AS FILED. NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE.