Hagstrom, Robert - Investing: The Last Liberal Art

Columbia University Press, 2013 2nd ed, [Equity Investing] Grade 5

In the last chapter, the author writes something that perfectly sets the context for this in my mind slightly overlooked investment book (1st ed 2000): “Improving the resource condition of our System 2 thinking – that is to say, deepening and broadening our reserves of relevant information – is the principal reason this book was written”. Writing that in 2000, two years before...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Gray, Wesley R. & Carlisle, Tobias E. - Quantative Value

John Wiley & Sons, 2013, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

In these times of tight budgets, personnel intensive strategies like value investing has had to make way for indexing but also quantative investing. In the introduction to this book Gray and Carlisle give a short but comprehensive description of the field of value investing, including a wonderful...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Angenfelt, Magnus – The World's 99 Greatest Investors

Roos & Tegner, 2013, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

“The secret to success in any field is to find what successful people do, think about and act on and do the same”. The above is a quote from motivational speaker and business consultant Anthony Robbins that the author of The Worlds 99 Greatest Investors, Magnus Angenfelt - a former...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Greenblatt, Joel – The Big Secret For the Small Investor

Crown Business, 2011, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

This is according to his own admission the book that superstar investor and Columbia business professor Joel Greenblatt always wanted to but never previously succeeded to write. I’m glad he failed twice before finally nailing it. The two beta versions turned out to be among...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Carret, Philip L . – The Art of Speculation

Dover Publishing, 1930, [Equity Investing] Grade 5

Every year, every business cycle and every decade has its hero. Few keep the track record over an extended time period so one conclusion is that he or she just happened to be long or short the asset proved right to be long or short at...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Wanger, Ralph with Mattlin, Everett – A Zebra In Lion Country

Touchstone, 1997, [Equity Investing] Grade 5

When portfolio managers in the US some years ago voted on who they would prefer to manage their own money Warren Buffett only came second. Top ranked was the dean of small cap investing, Ralph Wanger, who was also the first to receive...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Heins, John & Tilson, Whitney – The Art of Value Investing

John Wiley & Sons, 2013, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

When I opened up this book my initial reaction was disappointment. It almost exclusively consists of a collection of quotations from the monthly magazine Value Investors Insight. The obvious risk with a “cut-and-paste-set up” like this is that, however excellent the magazine is, it will not give...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Risso-Gill, Christopher – There’s Always Something To Do

MQUP, 2011, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

Peter Cundill – deep value, contrarian fund manager extraordinaire, Canada’s fiercest disciple of the Benjamin Graham investment principles and a live-life-to-its-fullest-type human being, do you really know enough about him? If not, you will have the immense pleasure of reading this well...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Rotchild, John – The Davis Dynasty

Wiley & Sons, 2001, [Equity Investing] Grade 3

What’s the difference between Warren Buffett and The Davis family? The former´s compounding at 23 percent annually for over 50 years has brought him the kingdom and the princess many times over, while the latter’s equivalent number – spread over 60 years and three generations...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Greiner, Stephen P. – Ben Graham Was A Quant

John Wiley & Sons, 2011, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

Was Ben Graham really a quant? Yes, in some respects. He surely formulated lists with quality and valuation criteria that a prospective investment would have to pass. Graham also shared the quants basic premise that history gives guidance to the future. With an academic background in...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Einhorn, David – Fooling Some of the People All of the Time

John Wiley & Sons, 2011 2nd ed, [Equity Investing] Grade 5

Now and then over the last two years the positions of David Einhorn have been a part of the pitch when I meet sell side analysts. Ever since Einhorn publicly presented Lehman as a short case and Lehman subsequently blew up, the founder of Greenlight Capital has been a household... Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Gilliland, Theodore & Teufel, Andrew S. – Fisher Investments on Utilities

John Wiley & Sons, 2011, [Equity Investing] Grade 3

Gas, water and electricity companies make up the utility sector. Despite the mundane reputation it’s an interesting group of businesses. Sure, the sales growth is slow, demand is inelastic, investors are focusing on dividends etc. but in the past decade, deregulation has allowed the...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Chan, Ronald W. – The Value Investors

Wiley, 2012, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

Interview books – what’s the novelty here? Often long on philosophy, but short on actual advice. Always dominated by hedge fund characters, as if all the authors have been as awestruck by the razzle-dazzle and unconstrained world of hedge funds, as opposed to stodgy... Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Mundy, Alastair – “You Say Tomayto…” - Contrarian Investing in Bitesize Pieces

Harriman House, 2012, [Equity Investing] Grade 3

“Investing clients’ money is a serious business, but it helps not taking yourself to seriously.” This dichotomy of easy going style and discussion of key issues in classic value investing a la Ben Graham, pretty much sums up this compilation of some of Alastair Mundy’s monthly writings to... Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Oldfield, Richard – Simple But Not Easy

Doddington Publishing, 2007, [Equity Investing] Grade 5

Simple But Not Easy might very well be the best book written by a practitioner that you´ve never heard of. It certainly competes very well with the likes of the more widely acclaimed Investing Against The Tide (Anthony Bolton) and The Dhandoo Investor (Mohnish Pabrai). In certain aspects, I would...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Hagstrom, Robert G. – The Warren Buffett Way

John Wiley & Sons, 2nd ed 2005, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

This is probably the most widely read book on the way Warren Buffet invests. And there are good reasons why. The Warren Buffett Way is a perfect introduction to this subject for the targeted audience of laymen and recent professionals. Even very seasoned investors will be reminded of some of the important... Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Penman, Stephen – Accounting for Value

Columbia University Press, 2011, [Equity Investing] Grade 5

I read this book a year ago and have thought about it since then. It felt like I had missed something important and that I needed to re-read it. I’m happy I did. The Business Professors at Columbia University have done it again. Accounting for Value is another truly interesting... Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Bevelin, Peter – A Few Lessons For Investors and Managers From Warren E. Buffett

PCA Publications, 2012, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

“I think you’ll also like a short book that Peter Bevelin has put together explaining Berkshire’s investment and operating principles. It sums up what Charlie and I have been saying over the years in annual reports and at annual meetings.” If you could have one person endorsing your newly released book on investments, who...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Dorsey, Pat – The Five Rules For Successful Stock Investing

John Wiley & Sons, 2004, [Equity Investing] Grade 3

When I think of Morningstar I picture something similar to Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s, a correct, slow and slightly bureaucratic organization. This book gives a totally different insight. It takes a clear stance for the Warren Buffett “buy wonderful businesses at...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...

Fisher, Ken – Markets Never Forget But People Do

John Wiley & Sons, 2012, [Equity Investing] Grade 4

Many years ago money manager Ken Fisher with Super Stocks wrote one of the few useful books on GARP-investing. With the more recent The Only Three Questions that Counts he concentrated on the construction of a rational investment process. This time he zooms in on Behavioural Finance from a...  Further reading...  Link to Amazon...