---
title: "Value Investing Principles: Beginner-to-Advanced Curriculum"
author: "DeepValues Research"
publisher: "DeepValues Research (DeepValues / LuLu Ventures LLC)"
type: "Research article"
date: "2026-02-19"
language: "en"
section: "Value Investing Principles"
answer: "DeepValues Research, “Value Investing Principles: Beginner-to-Advanced Curriculum” (Feb 19, 2026): This syllabus organizes the full Value Investing Principles library from simple to complex for a new investor."
canonical_url: "https://research.deepvalues.ai/principles/value-investing-principles-beginner-to-advanced-curriculum/"
markdown_url: "https://research.deepvalues.ai/principles/value-investing-principles-beginner-to-advanced-curriculum/index.md"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
license_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
cite_as: "DeepValues Research, Value Investing Principles: Beginner-to-Advanced Curriculum, https://research.deepvalues.ai/principles/value-investing-principles-beginner-to-advanced-curriculum/"
publisher_url: "https://deepvalues.ai"
app: "https://deepvalues.ai"
api: "https://app.deepvalues.ai/developers"
data_note: "Reports are dated snapshots. Current data via the DeepValues API: https://app.deepvalues.ai/developers"
disclaimer: "Educational research, not investment advice."
---
# Value Investing Principles: Beginner-to-Advanced Curriculum

This syllabus organizes the full `Value Investing Principles` library from simple to complex for a new investor.

## Category design (few core buckets)

1. **Mindset and First Principles**
2. **Financial Statement Literacy**
3. **Business Quality and Compounding**
4. **Valuation and Intrinsic Value**
5. **Portfolio, Risk, and Decision Discipline**
6. **Advanced Tactics (Options and Special Situations)**

## Canonical reading order (simple -> complex)

### 1) Mindset and First Principles

1. `[Intelligent Investor] Then and Now.md`
2. `A Framework for Long-Term Value Creation.md`
3. `The Internal Scorecard - A Philosophy for Long-Term Value Investing.md`
4. `[Compounding] Finance and Life Growth.md`
5. `An Analysis of the Buffett-Munger Framework.md`
6. `'rule-of-thumb scorecard' Warren Buffett has historically favored.md`
7. `Index Fund ETF First Principles.md`
8. `Understanding Berkshire Hathaway - More Than a Fund, It's a Money Machine.md`

### 2) Financial Statement Literacy

9. `[Financial Statement] S&P 500 Analysis.md`
10. `[Income Statement] S&P 500 Analysis.md`
11. `[Balance Sheet] S&P 500 Analysis.md`
12. `[Cash Flow Statement] Explained.md`
13. `[Income Statement] Hunting Cockroaches_ Finding Hidden Risks in Financial Footnotes.md`
14. `[Balance Sheet] Understanding the Balance Sheet - Assets, Liabilities, and Equity.md`
15. `[Cash Flow] A Cash-First Framework for Corporate Evaluation.md`
16. `[Cash Flow] Investment Memorandum_ A Cash-Flow-Centric Framework for Assessing Corporate Health.md`
17. `[FCF] The Cash Flow Imperative - Why Free Cash Flow Supersedes Profit as the Ultimate Measure of Value.md`
18. `[Free Cash Flow] Analysis.md`
19. `[Free Cash Flow] Net Income vs. Free Cash.md`
20. `[EPS] Understanding Earnings Per Share.md`
21. `[Gross Profit] S&P 500 Gross Profit Analysis.md`
22. `[Shareholder Equity] Analysis and Summary.md`
23. `[Financial Statement] S&P 500.md`
24. `[Cash Flow] Analyzing S&P 500 Trends.md`

### 3) Business Quality and Compounding

25. `[ROE] The Hidden Risks of High ROE and Financial Leverage.md`
26. `[ROE] S&P 500 Analysis.md`
27. `[Retained Earnings] An Investment Thesis on Retained Earnings_ Differentiating Value Creation from Value Destruction.md`
28. `[Retained Earnings] Buffett-Style Analysis.md`
29. `[Retained Earnings] S&P 500 Companies Analysis.md`
30. `[Debt-to-Equity Ratio] Buffett-Style Analysis.md`
31. `[Earnings and Debt] Buffett Style Analysis.md`
32. `[Moat] Identifying Durable Competitive Advantages for Long-Term Growth.md`
33. `[Goodwill] An Investment Thesis on Acquiring Companies with High Economic Goodwill.md`
34. `[Balance Sheet] An Investment Thesis on Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) Through the Lens of Warren Buffett's Balance Sheet Principles.md`
35. `[Dividends] Beyond Dividends_ An Investment Thesis on the Superiority of Shareholder Yield.md`
36. `A Framework for Identifying Sustainable High-Yield Dividends.md`

### 4) Valuation and Intrinsic Value

37. `PE Ratio First Principles Analysis.md`
38. `[P:E] Investment Memo_ A Critical Analysis of the Price-to-Earnings (P_E) Ratio.md`
39. `The Fatal Flaw in Wall Street's Favorite Valuation Formula.md`
40. `PB Ratio First Principles Analysis.md`
41. `[P:B] Price-to-Book Ratio Exposed_ The Superior Economics of Light-Asset Business Models.md`
42. `[P:B] The Light-Asset Thesis_ Why a High Price-to-Book Ratio Can Signal a Superior Investment.md`
43. `[PS Ratio] Valuing Growth Over Profitability with the Price-to-Sales Ratio.md`
44. `Buffett's Views on PE, PB Ratios.md`
45. `Book Value vs. Intrinsic Value.md`
46. `DCF Valuation of S&P 500.md`
47. `[DCF] Reverse DCF vs. Traditional DCF.md`
48. `[NCAV] Investment Thesis_ The Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) Strategy.md`

### 5) Portfolio, Risk, and Decision Discipline

49. `[Beta] Beyond Beta_ An Investment Thesis on the True Nature of Risk.md`
50. `[Selling] An Investment Thesis on the Strategic Imperative of Selling.md`
51. `[Selling] When to Sell.md`
52. `[Bond] Berkshire Hathaway's Distressed Debt Investment in Amazon (2001-2002).md`
53. `[Investment Analysis] Meta's Strategic Acquisition of Manus AI.md`
54. `Fibonacci Retracements For Value Investors.md`

### 6) Advanced Tactics (Options and Tax)

55. `[Options] What a Landlord, an Ice Cube, and a Steamroller Can Teach You About Options Trading.md`
56. `[Options] Selling Call Explained.md`
57. `[Options] Selling Puts - Value Investing Strategy.md`
58. `[Options] Buffett's Options Strategy Explained.md`
59. `[Options] US Options Trading Tax Considerations.md`

## Overlap and duplicate map

Redundant variant files were removed from this folder during deduplication.  
The canonical reading order above now reflects the cleaned set.

## Newbie pacing suggestion

- **Weeks 1-2:** items 1-12
- **Weeks 3-4:** items 13-24
- **Weeks 5-6:** items 25-36
- **Weeks 7-8:** items 37-48
- **Weeks 9-10:** items 49-59