Paul Johnson: Why "Value Investing" Was Never the Right Name. Fundamental Investing — Not Value vs. Growth Is the Real Divide in Markets

Fundamental investing centers on calculating the underlying economic value of a security to exploit discrepancies between price and value. While Wall Street often bifurcates the market into "value" and "growth," these categories are redundant; both rely on fundamental analysis to determine worth. The rise of relative performance metrics and modern portfolio theory in the 1970s shifted focus away from the traditional capital preservation strategies championed by Benjamin Graham and Roger Murray. Murray’s legacy persists through his emphasis on analytical rigor and discipline, which shaped generations of investors. Successful long-term investing requires not just identifying mispriced assets, but the emotional fortitude to hold positions through market cycles. As the economy transitions toward scale-driven, capital-intensive technology models, the ability to maintain conviction remains the ultimate competitive advantage for wealth creators.