Picador, 2009, [Economics] Grade 4
This is one of the books I have enjoyed the most during the last few years. And I believe it is an important book, too. It is an intellectual journey of the history of economic theory. One can’t avoid being amazed by all the tricks economists have played in order to try to transform economics into... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
McGraw-Hill, 2011, [Behavioural Finance] Grade 4
A system with a proven edge and good money management practices are necessary but not sufficient for someone to succeed in trading. The decisive factor is the trader’s psychological fortitude. Robert Koppel is a former commodities trader and hedge fund partner who has... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
HarperBusiness, 1997, [Business] Grade 5
I wish I had read this book a long time ago. It would have saved me a lot of problems, worries and money. I’m late to the game - I first heard of this book in Isaacson’s marvellous biography on Steve Jobs, but it was written before some of the dot.coms exploded. It was one of few books that... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Princeton University Press, 2007, [Surrounding Knowledge] Grade 4
Most equity portfolio managers will at some time come in contact with the question of gender quotas in corporate boards. Those who argue for quotas claim that these would increase the profitability of corporations. Is there any substance to this claim? As convincingly argued by... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
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...
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...
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...
John Wiley & Sons, 2012, [Equity Investing] Grade 4
The second best short cut to financial experience after working and learning from one of the great masters is reading the books they write. This is something fairly close – a book by a person who did work for a true master. Alasdair Nairn, CEO of the asset management firm Edinburgh Partners, worked for... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
© Bud Labitan, 2012, [Business] Grade 3
To write about moats in the real world is a great idea, and to focus on the moats surrounding Berkshire Hathaway’s economic castles is brilliant. Most certainly, those financial moats are the key to the... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, [Finance] Grade 3
Even though many types of hedge funds (HFs) didn’t live up to expectations in the 2008 financial crisis and the pure alpha – less both traditional and alternative betas - of hedge funds in aggregate has withered to zero during the last few risk-on-risk-off years, the money allocated to HFs has not... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
John Wiley & Sons, 2009, [Economics] Grade 4
In the end, an economic theory is just as good as its basic assumptions. One of the core assumptions for almost all Economists is the belief that all corporations always try to maximize profits. Is that assumption always valid? No, argues Richard C. Koo, Nomura’s Chief Economist. A few times during a... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
The Free Press, 1985, [Business] Grade 5
Michael Porter has unquestionably been to corporate strategy what Mendelejev was to chemistry with the periodic table or von Linné to botany with the taxonomy system. But perhaps different from these two, for our purposes here it is a tricky task indeed to... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Penguin, 2011, [Economics] Grade 5
Many of you who read this are probably avid readers of The Economist. I am always amazed at how many great articles that are written every week and especially how quickly and concisely they are able to comment on complicated and current matters. How wonderful then that... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Harper Collins, 2003 (updated version of 4th edition from 1973), [Equity Investing] Grade 5
When Benjamin Graham (for a further presentation see my review of his bible Security Analysis) was in his late 50’s (1949) he wrote the Intelligent Investor. The purpose of this book was to present his ideas for laymen, with less of technical details and more on... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
John Wiley & Sons, 2010, [Finance] Grade 5
There are many good books about bottom-up investing. It is harder to find really good books on top-down investing – tactical asset allocation. The Great Reflation, by Antony Boeckh, is my favorite. He was the editor, and owner, of Banker Credit Analyst (BCA) for more than 30 years. There are only... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Texere, 2001, [Behavioural Finance] Grade 5
The book is written by the previously unknown trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb who with this became instantly famous. He brings the concept of the black swan to life, which now forever will be associated with him. In his second book, The Black Swan, the impact of the highly improbable, he digs further into... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
1997, [Equity Investing] Grade 5
Warren Buffett is fond of saying that he loves Coca-Cola (the stock) because of the virtue of knowing how its business will look a decade from now (i.e. the same). One can almost certainly say the same about his own writings: A century from now people will still marvel at... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Forth Estate, 2001, [Finance] Grade 5
This book is an overview of the rise and fall of a hedge fund called Long Term Capital Management (LTCM), 1994-1998. It gives the reader timeless knowledge of how the financial industry works from time to time. The author, Roger Lowenstein, has written several books, many critical of... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Marketplace Books, 1988, [Finance] Grade 5
Some of my favourite investment reads have always been the monthly issues of publications such as Outstanding Investor´s Digest and Value Investor Insight. Why? Because of the simple but brilliant idea that as a reader you feel like you are effectively... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
Public Affairs, 2008, [Finance] Grade 5
Can we observe the market objectively, being participants as well? What is reflexivity, and why is it a must to understand it? What is George Soros’ long-term scenario for the financial markets? This book consists of two parts: (1) Perspective and (2) The Current Crisis and Beyond. The second part is good. The first is... Further reading... Link to Amazon...
