conclusions would be reached .” Kahn also noted that “ many students took [ Graham ’ s ] class year after year because they got many stock ideas from him and profited from them … Ben didn ’ t care if students made money from his ideas because he was more into analysis as an intellectual exercise than for financial reward .”
Security Analysis ( 1934 ) and Storage & Stability ( 1937 )
Kahn assisted Graham and David Dodd in the research for their classic textbook , Security Analysis , which has sold more than 750,000 copies and is still in publication . He also assisted Graham in research for his second book , Storage & Stability . He wrote the foreword for the second publication of the book in 1997 and stated several times in interviews that he believed this was Graham ’ s finest book . In the foreword , Kahn wrote :
Those who have lived through the Depression years of the 1930s can recall the heavy costs both financial and in human terms that our nation suffered . Storage and Stability was the result of the indelible impression made on the young Benjamin Graham . He lived through the wild swings in prices and currencies following World War I and their dramatic effects on the state of the world … Graham sought to make governments behave more consistently by building reserves ( based on a basket of commodities ) rather than deficits . He showed how he can increase demand beyond current needs by producing for storage and ultimate use , thus accomplishing two substantial benefits . These benefits include a cut in unemployment and a substantial accumulation of tangible goods for domestic or international use .
New York Society of Security Analysts ( 1937 )
In 1937 , a small group of security analysts decided to turn their casual lunch gatherings into a series of regular meetings . They held an organizational luncheon in a private dining room of the New York Chamber of Commerce . It was there that the New York Society of Security Analysts
( now known as the CFA Society New York ) was conceived , with a membership of approximately 20 analysts .
Kahn and Graham were founding members of the society , which is now the largest CFA society worldwide , with a membership of over 10,000 . Kahn took the CFA exam in its first year , earning Charter # 240 .
Financial Analysts Journal ( 1944 – 1971 )
Kahn was also a founding member of the Financial Analysts Journal , the CFA Institute ’ s investment research publication . In 2005 , he wrote a letter to the editor of the Journal entitled “ Early Days at the Financial Analysts Journal .” He recalled that in the beginning , the founders saw it as a way to communicate ideas : “ Everybody that worked on the Journal was an unpaid volunteer ; we did it because we wanted to make security analysis a serious profession .”
He admitted that “ many of us were interested in hands-on fundamental analysis of actual companies and actual industries ” rather than the theory and methodology pursued by academic analysis . “ The challenge ,” he wrote , “ was then and continues today : how to bridge that gap between theory and practice .”
Recollections of Benjamin Graham ( 1977 )
Kahn co-authored a research paper with Robert Milne entitled “ Benjamin Graham : The Father of Financial Analysis .” He wrote the section entitled “ Some Reflections on Ben Graham ’ s Personality ,” explaining that “ most people knew Ben through his writings . Those who were his students or worked with him got to know the man as well as the legend . Physically , Ben was quite short , but his massive head and penetrating blue eyes made people forget his diminutive stature .”
Kahn recalled that Graham ’ s “ speed of thought was so great that most people were puzzled at how he could resolve a complicated question directly after having heard it .” He attributed this quick-wittedness to Graham ’ s study of mathematics and geometry , including “ a private , but serious hobby of making improvements in the field of plane geometry ”— even holding a few patents for geometrical instruments . His mathematical studies required “ close and exact reasoning before
Irving Kahn , 1958 .
accepting or rejecting either a premise or a conclusion .” Graham also fluently read and translated Greek , Latin , Spanish and German , and he “ loved music , especially the major operas , for the wisdom of their lyrics , as well as their melodies .” Indeed , Kahn suggested that his “ real pleasure was to exercise his mind over a wide range of subjects far beyond his specialties in the world of finance .”
Graham ’ s extraordinary memory and his “ tremendous range of interests and talents ” was matched only by his personal warmth . Kahn wrote :
A needy colleague would always be helped — and always anonymously . He loved to make others laugh by means of his quick wit and large inventory of puns … Ben Graham was such a rare combination of qualities , only those who knew him well over the years can do full justice to presenting the whole man . In the world of finance Ben ’ s epitaph will be , as was Christopher Wren ’ s in St . Paul ’ s , “ If you seek his monument — look about you .”
Kahn remembers Graham ’ s “ very fair mind , entirely objective , in distinguishing between what was fair rather than what was self-serving .” It is also very clear that Graham had a huge influence on Kahn ’ s investment style and methodology . Like Graham , Kahn was focused
Courtesy of Andrew Kahn
26 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Spring 2021 | www . MoAF . org