Charlie Tian, Ph.D.
Founder, GuruFocus.com

Dear Customer,

As the founder of GuruFocus.com, many people naturally assume that I have a degree in finance or some other closely related field. However, I actually possess a Ph.D. in physics.

I worked as a research scientist at a giant telecommunications company, published many scientific papers and was awarded 35 U.S. and international patents.

But I had one problem: I had absolutely no knowledge whatsoever when it came to investing. At the peak of the internet bubble, I was buying shares of fiber optic companies which I thought had the brightest future. My fiber optics stocks quickly doubled and tripled. Making money with stocks was easy, I thought. Then the bubble burst...

It was then that I learned about Warren Buffett, Ben Graham and Peter Lynch.

Learning, Growing and Building Confidence

I forgot exactly how I found out about Peter Lynch following the burst of the internet bubble. It was through Peter Lynch's books that I learned about Warren Buffett, and his mentor, Ben Graham. I then read all of Buffett's shareholder and partnership letters of the last 40 years.

Upon finishing these letters, I was exhausted. I felt like a hungry man who had his first full meal in his life. I was thinking: "This is the right way to invest. This is the right way to invest!"

I realized that successful investing is about knowledge, and about hard work. It is a life-long learning process. There is no other secret to successful investing.

Only through learning can you build confidence in your investment decision making. Knowledge and confidence help you to think rationally and independently, especially during market panics and euphoria, when rational and independent thinking is needed the most.

The good part is, if you learn, you will get better. It is very rewarding, too.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

"Invest Like a Guru" has been translated into four languages

But there are more than 10,000 stocks traded in the US market alone. Where do we get started? An idea came to my mind then: Why not generate my ideas from the portfolios of the best investors? If I started from the stocks that some of the best investors had already researched, won't my risk of being wrong drop dramatically?

And thus, in December of 2004, GuruFocus was born.

As a physicist by training, I feel that the idea of GuruFocus is exactly like what Isaac Newton said: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

A Service Unlike Any Other

The idea didn't stop with just what stocks the Gurus are buying or selling. We focus on why they buy or sell the stocks, and how they do their research. This has transformed GuruFocus into a value investing research platform with various value screeners and research tools.

Every month we also publish newsletters which analyze stocks following the processes of Warren Buffett, Ben Graham and other value investing giants.

All of the stock screeners were developed because they follow the strategies that have been proven to work by investment Gurus in their multi-decade investment careers. The financial data and valuation tools are the ones that are most important in analyzing and validating these investment ideas. I built these screeners and valuation tools originally for my own investing and they are now the only ones that I use in my investment decision making process.

We don't offer you get-rich-quick stock tips. We want you to grow, learn and build confidence in your own decision making. Because, above all, you are the one who will make these investment decisions for yourself.

Global Bargain Hunting

With the success of the US market, we expanded our coverage to global. Now all of our screeners and valuations tools work just as well for the stock markets of Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia/New Zealand. You can screen for the stocks following Warren Buffett's strategy globally and research them in the same depth as for US stocks.

Sometimes bargains are easier to find somewhere else. Didn't Warren Buffett make a killing with PetroChina and Korean stocks when no one else was paying attention to them? Now he is investing more in the European market.

Try It for Free and Without Obligation

GuruFocus Value Conference team participate in
the Berkshire Hathaway Invest in Yourself 5K race

Put our statements to the test by taking a no-obligation free trial of our Premium Membership - a perfect way to get acquainted with GuruFocus. If you decide to stay with us, it's just $499 a year.

And here's my guarantee: Should GuruFocus not measure up to your expectations, you may cancel within the trial period and you won't be charged a penny. If you change your mind any time during the subscription, we will issue you a pro-rated refund. No questions asked. Since started in 2004, GuruFocus has never had even one complaint at the Better Business Bureau. That is why GuruFocus is rated an A+ Accredited Business by BBB.

Furthermore, if you are not satisfied and cancel within 30 days, we will issue you a full refund. This is our 100% money back guarantee.

Who Are Our Subscribers

We now have more than 40,000 users daily to our site. 40,946 investors have subscribed to our premium membership. Our users focus on long-term successful investing, and are the most intelligent group of investors on the internet. We have subscribers ranging from individual investors to investment advisors of almost all brokerage firms, big and small, and to analysts and fund managers of multibillion-dollar mutual fund and hedge fund firms. Many "Gurus" that we follow are also our subscribers themselves.

An Investment in Success

I cannot promise you that success will be instantly yours if you start subscribing to GuruFocus. But I guarantee that reading our articles, following the proven investing strategies and taking advantage of our research tools will greatly reduce your risks in investing and improve your long-term returns. You will learn, gain confidence and become a better investor.

Sincerely Yours,

Charlie Tian, Ph.D.
Founder, GuruFocus.com

P.S. It's important to note that the subscription price may be tax deductible.