Warren Buffett was schooled in the art of value investing by Benjamin Graham. While he never departed from Graham’s principles of buying undervalued shares, he learnt (from Philip Fisher) that there were far greater profits to be had by paying up for high-quality businesses that retained their profits and stay in business – the kinds of companies that compound shareholder value year by year.

He buys such businesses in a wide range of sectors but has a noticeable exposure to the insurance, clothing, food and furniture retail sectors and recent excursions into chemicals.

What the screen looks for: long-term earnings growth, low debt, strong operating efficiency and high cash generation.

Towards the end of his life Benjamin Graham developed a 10-rule checklist that allowed investors to build portfolios of “deep-value” stocks. It was developed with an aeronautical engineer, James Rea. The first five rules measure “reward” (by pinpointing a low price in relation to key figures such as earnings) and the second five measure “risk” (by measuring financial soundness and stability of earnings).

What the screen looks for: market value of more than £50m; Graham “deep-value” score of more than 7.

Stocks that pass the Graham screen: Sky, Castings, Cohort, Polar Capital Holdings, Renishaw.

Sir John Templeton believed that there were no simple formulas to finding good stocks, with more than 100 factors that can be considered at times. However, he did have four criteria that he considered particularly important: p/e ratio, operating profit margins, “liquidating value” and consistency of growth rates. Templeton also looked for any potential “catalysts” (new markets and products, potential mergers or acquisitions, as well as industry changes).

What the screen looks for: cheap price to book and price to earnings ratios. Strong earnings growth and profit margins, alongside low debt.

Stocks that pass the Templeton screen: Dragon Oil, J Sainsbury, Londonmetric Property, M P Evans, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.

Screen’s past performance: 13pc annualised over almost three years.

Peter Lynch, who was for a long time a fund manager for Fidelity’s American operation, is widely regarded as among the very best “growth” investors. He was an early proponent of Jim Slater’s favourite tool, the Peg ratio. He also produced a renowned book, Beating the Street (the street being Wall Street), that encouraged investors to “buy what you know” and offered a way of chasing growth and dividends in the search for the next stock success.

What the screen looks for: track record of earnings growth, reasonably priced, low price to earnings growth rate (Peg).

Stocks that pass the Lynch screen: Cambria Automobiles, Dewhurst, Finsbury Food, IndigoVision, Matchtech.

Screen’s past performance: minus 3pc annualised over three years.

Shares tips from the gurus: the stocks Warren Buffett and Co would buy today – Telegraph.