Praise for What Would Ben Graham Do Now?
“With more than half the world’s GDP growth coming from developing countries and regions like China, India, Brazil, and Africa by 2020, a clear approach to participating in this new global landscape is imperative. Jeffrey Towson delivers one such view. He takes a powerful old paradigm—that of fundamental value from Ben Graham—and applies it to the financial and cultural nuances of the developing world. Towson’s real world experience and application of Graham’s theory is a thoughtful read for any business leader.”
—Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Company
“Throughout my career, I’ve found it difficult to identify international professionals with a grasp of the intricacies of investing in the Middle East. Jeffrey successfully draws on his vast experience accumulated through working closely with HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to develop an optimal investment approach, marrying the well-understood principles of international investing with the idiosyncratic aspects of emerging markets, including the requisite differentiated risk perception, eye for value, and intricate understanding of local business culture. This book is an excellent reference for any international investor looking to spot value and avoid pitfalls in emerging markets.”
—Tony Hchaime, Head of Middle East and North Africa, The D. E. Shaw Group
“Identifying and profiting from market inefficiencies has always been at the core of value investing. Yet most investors are still trying to uncover these in overworked, developed markets. Towson’s book is a wake-up call to the powerful fact that in the 21st century the real opportunities lie elsewhere: in the inefficiencies that are thrown up when developing and developed markets collide. Not only does he show investors where to look to profit from today’s globalization, he provides a practical guide as to how to go about investing on the basis of this new paradigm. Rich in ideas and examples [of] how this new approach has spectacularly delivered, this book will revolutionize your investment strategy.”
—Peter Williamson, Professor of International Management, University of Cambridge, Judge Business School
“This is more than just an offering on value investing. Without realizing it, or at least without intending to do so, the author has set before policy makers a startling analysis of the world in which America competes. If it doesn’t challenge your concepts of the global competitive environment, you aren’t paying attention.”
—Congressman Mick Mulvaney, United House of Representatives
“Jeff has a view of global investing that incorporates both the developed and developing economies that is virtually unmatched ... the dislocations occurring daily have the potential to create many opportunities ... his insights and investing framework will help investors better understand this changing world.”
—Jerry Leamon, Global Managing Partner, Services and Mergers & Acquisitions, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
“In drawing on his unique experiences in the three critical sectors affecting the geopolitics of the new century, Towson has managed the rare feat of marrying a rigorous economic prognosis with acute cultural awareness.”
—David Watt, International Director, Head of Business Development and Client Services, Asia Pacific, DTZ
“Dr. Towson, a brilliant young insider who worked for Prince Waleed, takes the reader on an exciting investing journey that goes beyond Graham’s ‘value investing’ to ‘value point,’ the latter adding the critical political dynamics factor necessary for global investing.”
—Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD, Former President of AMA, and author of On Leadership
“Towson’s book addresses one of the greatest challenges for today’s investor—the world might be globalizing, but that doesn’t make it easier to understand. Towson wisely shows how the differences between developed and developing countries are not barriers to investment, but instead value opportunities, whether by bringing Western management expertise to a deal, or leveraging political relationships. Neither East nor West has the right model. But finding the value in each is the way forward. Towson points the way.”
—Ben Simpfendorfer, author of The New Silk Road: How a Rising Arab World Is Turning Away from the West and Rediscovering China and Former Chief China Economist of RBS Global Banking & Markets
“In a decade of opening distressed asset markets in Asia, I’ve never met anyone quite like Jeffrey Towson, which explains why so many international investors lost money.”
—Jack Rodman, President, Global Distressed Solutions, LLC
“If you subscribe to the theory that equity-investing exclusively in Western markets in coming years will provide lackluster returns, read Jeff Towson’s thought-provoking analysis of how to create a modern framework for global investment. A value investor to the core, Jeff has modified the historic model with new concepts such as ‘value point’ and ‘capabilities migration’ which make value investing more effective in complex regions offering high growth potential, such as the BRIC countries and the Middle East.”
—Eric Gleacher, Chairman and CEO, Broadpoint Gleacher
“...an insightful roadmap to surgical cross-border investment in volatile emerging markets, based on a decade of successfully finding mispriced value across the globe.”
—Robin Panovka, Partner, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz; Adjunct Professor, Columbia School of Business; Founding Director, International Institute for the Study of Cross-Border Investment and M&A
“Forget the account of well-informed markets that we all learned in college—except as an ideal. Jeff Towson gives us a firsthand account of the way markets and businesses work in the emerging economies, where most of global growth is occurring. And the story is one in which state actors, affiliates, and entrepreneurs teaming up with them dominate business growth. Whether you approve or not, or believe this is a long term success formula or not, matters less at the moment than that U.S. investors and business men and women understand this new world. Towson is a first-class guide to understanding.”
—William T. Allen, Nusbaum Professor of Law & Business, NYU Stern School of Business and NYU School of Law; Director, NYU Pollack Center for Law & Business
“Investors seeking returns in emerging markets must adapt tried and tested techniques to a daunting array of country-specific circumstances. Jeffrey Towson is uniquely qualified to help value-hunters sharpen the tools they already possess to capture unprecedented opportunities in a new, hyperglobalized era.”
—Tom Mitchell, Deputy News Editor, The Financial Times
“Jeff Towson combines a fascinating narrative of his experience in emerging market investing with specifics for us all to engage on a professional level over the decades to come in securing value for our investors.”
—Steven Rockefeller, Chairman and CEO, Rose Rock Partners, LLC
“Insightful strategies to value investing in today’s global markets.”
—Ragnar Meitern, Managing Director, Regional Head of Telecoms, Media and Technology, Standard Chartered Bank
“Jeff’s book is a fantastic framework for going global—and investing into the unstructured universe of emerging markets opportunities.”
—Bertrand Valet, Head of MENA SWFs and Financial Sponsors Coverage, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
“Jeffrey Towson lives at the intersection of multiple worlds. He is able to put forth a timely and thought-provoking framework for cross-border investing. His raw intellect, interdisciplinary approach, and life experiences combine to demystify and provide a paradigm for investing in emerging markets.”
—Cary A. Kochman, cross-border M&A expert
“A fresh take on the timeless Graham and Dodd by an author with exceptional global business credentials.”
—Erik Bethel, Founding Partner and CEO, SinoLatin Capital
“Jeff Towson presents the first practical guide for global value investors. His unique experience and perspective makes this a must-read for the professional investor or for anyone interested in better understanding how the rules of modern finance apply in a global world. I recommend it highly!”
—Jonathan Woetzel, Director, McKinsey & Company