Here is a list of 10 books as recommended by Lisa Smith as worth investing in to increase one's knowledge of investment and how to increase your value in the marketplace.
"The Battle For The Soul Of Capitalism" (2005) by John C. Bogle
John Bogle, a mutual fund giant and long-time advocate for the little guy, takes a hard-hitting look at everything that ails the financial system in the United States. From overcompensated CEOs and overpriced mutual funds to Wall Street research scandals and the focus on short-term results over long-term gains, Bogle lays bare the truth behind what went wrong with capitalism. He also highlights the impact that mutual funds and their boards of directors have on the corporate policies of the companies that they run, and he provides a prescription for how stockholders can exercise their will, reclaim the companies they own and put the financial system back on track.
"Conspiracy Of Fools: A True Story" (2005) by Kurt Eichenwald
Written by a senior investigative reporter at The New York Times, this entertaining look at the Enron meltdown introduces readers to the rogues' gallery behind the biggest failure in corporate history. From influencing the nation's energy policy to misleading investors and analysts, the audacity, arrogance and greed of these characters is presented in a novelistic style that will keep you reading from the first page to the last. (For further reading, see What Enron Taught Us About Retirement Plans, Cooking The Books 101 and The Biggest Stock Scams Of All Time.)
"Freakonomics" (2005) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Popular, thought provoking and controversial are all good words to describe this look at how a self-proclaimed "rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything". This is an economics text written for the average reader, not for Rhodes scholars, and it explores a host of real-world topics ranging from violent crime and the hierarchy of drug dealers' networks to backyard swimming pools and baby-naming patterns. It is an interesting departure from the financial services genre's usual fare.
"Fooled by Randomness" (2004) Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Taleb draws on his experiences as a professional trader and math professor to provide an intellectual look at the role of luck in achieving financial success. He provides food for thought to anyone curious about the role of skill in stock picking and the value of psychology in decision making. Whether you believe that great fortunes are made through hard work and persistence or merely via the fickle hand of fate, this book will bring a new perspective to your ruminations. Fortune declared it one of "the smartest books of all time".
"Bull's Eye Investing" (2004) by John Mauldin
When John Mauldin took a look at the future, he didn't see the traditional buy-and-hold methodology as a viable stock market strategy. Mauldin highlights the virtues of absolute return investment vehicles such as hedge funds, and old standbys like gold, as ways to make money in a decade which he predicts will be marked by stagnant markets. Citing factors such as new accounting standards and rising pension costs, he paints a bleak vision of the future and uses a variety of studies to make a compelling argument for his outlook and investment approach.
"A Mathematician Plays The Stock Market" (2003) John Allen Paulos
Most people know that numbers play a huge role in stock market analysis, and they assume that mathematical genius provides some hidden insight that mere mortals cannot hope to match. Using personal insight from his own efforts to beat the Street, Paulos provides a humorous and entertaining look at the mathematical theories and technical analysis methods that all too often fail. If you like math, you will love this book!
"Value Investing Today" (2003) by Charles H. Brandes
Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett and Charles Brandes are all giants in the field of value investing. Their stock screening, portfolio construction and insight into the markets made them all famous - and rich. Brandes provides a solid introduction to the strategies behind the success of the value approach. The third edition of this book, originally published in 1989, updates supporting data and adds several new chapters, including strategies to capitalize on international markets.
"The Millionaire Mind" (2000) by Thomas J. Stanley
In his earlier book, "The Millionaire Next Door", Thomas J. Stanley collaborated with William D. Danko to provide a profile of the "average" millionaire. In "The Millionaire Mind", Stanley provides a detailed look at the type of thinking that helped these millionaires amass their wealth. Everyone who aspires to millionaire status shouldn't just read this book, they should study it.
"John Neff On Investing" (1999) by John Neff
The legendary manager of Vanguard's Windsor Fund built his reputation as a bargain hunter extraordinaire. With a contrarian approach to picking stocks, Neff bought low and sold high. For investors that count themselves among Neff's many fans, this account of how he got the job done is well worth the read. That said, anyone reading this book in hopes of finding a shortcut to making a few bucks will likely be disappointed - there are no quick fixes offered here.
"The Millionaire Next Door" (1996) Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
If you have ever had a burning desire to know "how the other half lives", this is the book for you. When looking for the rich, "The Millionaire Next Door" advises us to forget the Lamborghinis, yachts and personal helicopters and focus instead on the people who live across the street, because the average millionaire isn't who you might expect it to be. Many of the folks with seven-figure bankbooks live in average suburban neighborhoods, drive average cars and live just like the rest of us!
So many books, so little time! This list of books is sure to give you new food for thought and may even make you question what you already know. Regardless of which you choose to read, when it comes to finance and investing, a little knowledge can go a long way.
Showing posts with label John Neff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Neff. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
World's Greatest Investors
Investopedia enumerated a list of the world's greatest investors. Some may be familiar to the business world while others who are just starting out their investment portpolio may benefit from knowing who they want to emulate as an investor.
Great money managers are like the rock stars of the financial world. The greatest investors have all made a fortune off their success and in many cases, they've helped millions of others achieve similar returns.
These investors differ widely in the strategies and philosophies they applied to their trading; some came up with new and innovative ways to analyze their investments, while others picked securites almost entirely by instinct. Where these investors don't differ is in their ability to consistently beat the market.
(1) Benjamin Graham
Ben Graham excelled as an investment manager and financial educator. He authored, among others, two investment classics of unparalleled importance. He is also universally recognized as the father of two fundamental investment disciplines – security analysis and value investing.
The essence of Graham's value investing is that any investment should be worth substantially more than an investor has to pay for it. He believed in fundamental analysis and sought out companies with strong balance sheets, or, those with little debt, above-average profit margins, and ample cash flow.
(2)John Templeton
One of the past century's top contrarians, it is said about John Templeton that "he bought low during the Depression, sold high during the internet boom and made more than a few good calls in between." Templeton created some of the world's largest and most successful international investment funds. He sold his Templeton funds in 1992 to the Franklin Group. In 1999, Money Magazine called him "arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century." As a naturalized British citizen living in the Bahamas, Templeton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his many accomplishments.
(3)Thomas Rowe Price, Jr.
Thomas Rowe Price, Jr. is considered to be "the father of growth investing." He spent his formative years struggling with the Depression, and the lesson he learned was not to stay out of stocks but to embrace them. Price viewed financial markets as cyclical. As a "crowd opposer," he took to investing in good companies for the long term, which was virtually unheard of at this time. His investment philosophy was that investors had to put more focus on individual stock-picking for the long term. Discipline, process, consistency, and fundamental research became the basis for his successful investing career.
(4)John Neff
Neff joined Wellington Management Co. in 1964 and stayed with the company for more than 30 years managing three of its funds. His preferred investment tactic involved investing in popular industries through indirect paths, and was considered a value investor as he focused on companies with low P/E ratios and strong dividend yields. He ran the Windsor Fund for 31 years (ending 1995), and earned a return of 13.7%, versus 10.6% for the S&P 500 over the same time span. This amounts to a gain of more than 55 times an initial investment made in 1964.
(5)Jesse Livermore
Jesse Livermore had no formal education or stock trading experience. He was a self-made man who learned from his winners as well as his losers. It was these successes and failures that helped cement trading ideas that can still be found throughout the market today. Livermore began trading for himself in his early teens, and by the age of fifteen, he had reportedly produced gains of over $1,000, which was big money in those days. Over the next several years, he made money betting against the so-called "bucket shops," which didn't handle legitimate trades – customers bet against the house on stock price movements.
(6)Peter Lynch
Peter Lynch managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990, during which time the fund's assets grew from $20 million to $14 billion. More importantly, Lynch reportedly beat the S&P 500 Index benchmark in 11 of those 13 years, achieving an annual average return of 29%.
Often described as a "chameleon," Peter Lynch adapted to whatever investment style worked at the time. But when it came to picking specific stocks, Peter Lynch stuck to what he knew and/or could easily understand.
(7)George Soros
George Soros was a master at translating broad-brush economic trends into highly leveraged, killer plays in bonds and currencies. As an investor, Soros was a short-term speculator, making huge bets on the directions of financial markets. In 1973, George Soros founded the hedge fund company of Soros Fund Management, which eventually evolved into the well-known and respected Quantum Fund. For almost two decades, he ran this aggressive and successful hedge fund, reportedly racking up returns in excess of 30% per year and, on two occasions, posting annual returns of more than 100%. (For related reading, see Introduction To Hedge Funds - Part 1 and
(8)Warren Buffett
Referred to as the "Oracle of Omaha", Warren Buffett is viewed as one of the most successful investors in history.
Following the principles set out by Benjamin Graham, he has amassed a multibillion dollar fortune mainly through buying stocks and companies through Berkshire Hathaway. Those who invested $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 are above the $50 million mark today.
Buffett's investing style of discipline, patience and value has consistently outperformed the market for decades.
(9)John (Jack) Bogle
Bogle founded the Vanguard Group mutual fund company in 1974 and made it into one of the world's largest and most respected fund sponsors. Bogle pioneered the no-load mutual fund and championed low-cost index investing for millions of investors. He created and introduced the first index fund, Vanguard 500, in 1976.
Jack Bogle's investing philosophy advocates capturing market returns by investing in broad-based index mutual funds that are characterized as no-load, low-cost, low-turnover and passively managed.
(10)Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn is an activist, and pugnacious investor that uses ownership positions in publicly held companies to force changes to increase the value of his shares. Icahn started his corporate raiding activities in earnest in the late 1970s and hit the big leagues with his hostile takeover of TWA in 1985. Icahn is most famous for the "Icahn Lift." This is the Wall Street catchphrase that describes the upward bounce in a company's stock price that typically happens when Carl Icahn starts buying the stock of a company he believes is poorly managed.
(11)William H. Gross
Considered the "king of bonds," Bill Gross is the world's leading bond fund manager. As the founder and managing director of the PIMCO family of bond funds, he and his team have more than $600 billion in fixed-income assets under management.
In 1996, Gross was the first portfolio manager inducted into the Fixed-Income Analyst Society Inc. hall of fame for his contributions to the advancement of bond and portfolio analysis.
Who among the best investors you want to pick as your choice to copy depends on your needs and personality.
Great money managers are like the rock stars of the financial world. The greatest investors have all made a fortune off their success and in many cases, they've helped millions of others achieve similar returns.
These investors differ widely in the strategies and philosophies they applied to their trading; some came up with new and innovative ways to analyze their investments, while others picked securites almost entirely by instinct. Where these investors don't differ is in their ability to consistently beat the market.
(1) Benjamin Graham
Ben Graham excelled as an investment manager and financial educator. He authored, among others, two investment classics of unparalleled importance. He is also universally recognized as the father of two fundamental investment disciplines – security analysis and value investing.
The essence of Graham's value investing is that any investment should be worth substantially more than an investor has to pay for it. He believed in fundamental analysis and sought out companies with strong balance sheets, or, those with little debt, above-average profit margins, and ample cash flow.
(2)John Templeton
One of the past century's top contrarians, it is said about John Templeton that "he bought low during the Depression, sold high during the internet boom and made more than a few good calls in between." Templeton created some of the world's largest and most successful international investment funds. He sold his Templeton funds in 1992 to the Franklin Group. In 1999, Money Magazine called him "arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century." As a naturalized British citizen living in the Bahamas, Templeton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his many accomplishments.
(3)Thomas Rowe Price, Jr.
Thomas Rowe Price, Jr. is considered to be "the father of growth investing." He spent his formative years struggling with the Depression, and the lesson he learned was not to stay out of stocks but to embrace them. Price viewed financial markets as cyclical. As a "crowd opposer," he took to investing in good companies for the long term, which was virtually unheard of at this time. His investment philosophy was that investors had to put more focus on individual stock-picking for the long term. Discipline, process, consistency, and fundamental research became the basis for his successful investing career.
(4)John Neff
Neff joined Wellington Management Co. in 1964 and stayed with the company for more than 30 years managing three of its funds. His preferred investment tactic involved investing in popular industries through indirect paths, and was considered a value investor as he focused on companies with low P/E ratios and strong dividend yields. He ran the Windsor Fund for 31 years (ending 1995), and earned a return of 13.7%, versus 10.6% for the S&P 500 over the same time span. This amounts to a gain of more than 55 times an initial investment made in 1964.
(5)Jesse Livermore
Jesse Livermore had no formal education or stock trading experience. He was a self-made man who learned from his winners as well as his losers. It was these successes and failures that helped cement trading ideas that can still be found throughout the market today. Livermore began trading for himself in his early teens, and by the age of fifteen, he had reportedly produced gains of over $1,000, which was big money in those days. Over the next several years, he made money betting against the so-called "bucket shops," which didn't handle legitimate trades – customers bet against the house on stock price movements.
(6)Peter Lynch
Peter Lynch managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990, during which time the fund's assets grew from $20 million to $14 billion. More importantly, Lynch reportedly beat the S&P 500 Index benchmark in 11 of those 13 years, achieving an annual average return of 29%.
Often described as a "chameleon," Peter Lynch adapted to whatever investment style worked at the time. But when it came to picking specific stocks, Peter Lynch stuck to what he knew and/or could easily understand.
(7)George Soros
George Soros was a master at translating broad-brush economic trends into highly leveraged, killer plays in bonds and currencies. As an investor, Soros was a short-term speculator, making huge bets on the directions of financial markets. In 1973, George Soros founded the hedge fund company of Soros Fund Management, which eventually evolved into the well-known and respected Quantum Fund. For almost two decades, he ran this aggressive and successful hedge fund, reportedly racking up returns in excess of 30% per year and, on two occasions, posting annual returns of more than 100%. (For related reading, see Introduction To Hedge Funds - Part 1 and
(8)Warren Buffett
Referred to as the "Oracle of Omaha", Warren Buffett is viewed as one of the most successful investors in history.
Following the principles set out by Benjamin Graham, he has amassed a multibillion dollar fortune mainly through buying stocks and companies through Berkshire Hathaway. Those who invested $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 are above the $50 million mark today.
Buffett's investing style of discipline, patience and value has consistently outperformed the market for decades.
(9)John (Jack) Bogle
Bogle founded the Vanguard Group mutual fund company in 1974 and made it into one of the world's largest and most respected fund sponsors. Bogle pioneered the no-load mutual fund and championed low-cost index investing for millions of investors. He created and introduced the first index fund, Vanguard 500, in 1976.
Jack Bogle's investing philosophy advocates capturing market returns by investing in broad-based index mutual funds that are characterized as no-load, low-cost, low-turnover and passively managed.
(10)Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn is an activist, and pugnacious investor that uses ownership positions in publicly held companies to force changes to increase the value of his shares. Icahn started his corporate raiding activities in earnest in the late 1970s and hit the big leagues with his hostile takeover of TWA in 1985. Icahn is most famous for the "Icahn Lift." This is the Wall Street catchphrase that describes the upward bounce in a company's stock price that typically happens when Carl Icahn starts buying the stock of a company he believes is poorly managed.
(11)William H. Gross
Considered the "king of bonds," Bill Gross is the world's leading bond fund manager. As the founder and managing director of the PIMCO family of bond funds, he and his team have more than $600 billion in fixed-income assets under management.
In 1996, Gross was the first portfolio manager inducted into the Fixed-Income Analyst Society Inc. hall of fame for his contributions to the advancement of bond and portfolio analysis.
Who among the best investors you want to pick as your choice to copy depends on your needs and personality.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)