“Read more” usually means you should read more books about economy, history, philosophy, science and so on. Unfortunately most people who are on the receiving end interpret it as “read more of what I’m already reading, which often is crime or drama”, while what they really need is a huge dose of biographies, science, investing or economics litterature.
The problem is that neither the advisor, nor the advisee realize they have different perspectives of what reading means.
It works both ways by the way. Here’s how:
If you usually only read facts and research, you could really use the change in perspective and inspiration that some good sci-fi or fantasy could provide.
So, whenever you get the impulse or recommendation to read more, make sure to read elsemore, i.e., more of something else. In addition, be sure to clarify this distinction whenever you recommend somebody else they read more.
Speaking of reading, you can always find my reading lists (past and present) here under Recommendations. Some of the best books I’ve read in 2018 include (you can find details about those, as well as my most urgent top 30 of what to read next under Recommendations) :
Sapiens
The Fourth Turning
From Zero To One
The Fabric Of Reality
Peak
Signals
Utopia
More Money Than God
Fed Up
The Death Of Money
Beyond Blockchain
After On
The Bobiverse trilogy
So, for the holidays this year, wish for books in a genre you typically don’t spend much time on. Relax with some jaw dropping and inspirational good quality science fiction if you’re an avid economics and investment books reader; or try a biography if you usually read crime and drama novels.
Don’t forget to always consider the opposite of any course of action, in particular when it can be considered “normal” or “mainstream”
P.S. If you haven’t yet checked out David Simpson’s amazing hard sci-fi series Post-Human, there’s no time like the present! (my all time favorite sci-fi book [Amazon affiliate link])
P.P.S. Or, alternatively, check out Peter Schiff’s incredibly pedagogical How An Economy Grows… (my all time favorite non-fiction book [Amazon affiliate link])
Tip: this post is really just a long [50-ish items] book list for the aspiring investor
SpreZZaturian’s guide to becoming an investor
You want to work in finance, become a finance mogul?! You want to know the truth? You think you’re entitled to?
You can’t handle the truth!
You will not get rich working in finance
Unless you went to the right school, hardly any firm will look twice at your application (more on how to write one here)
Job opportunities in finance are shrinking, and it will get much worse. If hired at all, prepare to be fired soon.
Before being fired, expect long and meaningless hours as a general “resource” (at best collecting data and preparing power point presentations, at worst working as a caterer).
The skill set for getting in has hardly anything to do with the skill set needed to invest. Consequently, if hired at all, you will waste a lot of time collecting and serving instead of learning, understanding and practicing.
You won’t learn much useful on the sell-side (analyst) either. And it will take forever before you make any money on the buy-side (founding partners and seniors will take it all, and you, my friend, are replaceable). Joining a new fund won’t make much difference, since any outfit that would consider you will be sub-scale, potentially forever.
DIY investing is a better way
But if you really want to be an investor anyway, do it yourself.
Apart from HFT/algo and bonds, you won’t need any fancy math, high up-front investments in infrastructure or complicated strategies. Investing in stocks (and some other asset classes) is mostly about psychology (not least patience).
You don’t need to get coffee for bosses to learn about investing. You don’t need to prepare giant spreadsheets or power points during the weekends to understand the basics. You need to read good books, and take risk with your own money.
If you are good enough and can prove your results, who knows, maybe after a little while, some hotshot will hire you or buy your operation. If you still want to by then.
You’ll get all the fun of investing, of being your own man, and at least the potential of making serious money sooner or later.
If you are not good enough, how did you ever expect to make money in the finance industry?
Do you want some reading tips for becoming a better investor? Can you handle the required reading list? Here goes…
Required reading
To become an investor you need a little bit of money, some basic accounting skills (being able to read an annual report), patience and a bit of luck. And most important of all, you need the right frame of mind, stability and being aware that investing is mostly about psychology, not math and accounting.
Not least you need a frame of reference and perspective.
The following are my best book recommendations for reading up on (mainly the psychology of) investing. And some for historical references and perspective in case you just started investing (less than 15 years ago) and don’t have good sources of long term financial records.
It’s really all you need to become aware of the most important pitfalls and opportunities in investing. This one is truly required reading; many times over.
Reminiscences of a stock operator – Edwin Lefevre
This book covers one of the greatest traders/investors ever, from his humble beginnings as a quotation boy to becoming one of the richest people in the world and a stand off against the U.S. government. His mistakes, luck and success imprint the reader with the foundations of investing psychology, technical analysis, macro/micro and sound, productive, investment.
Remember that “technical analysis” isn’t all about drawing arbitrary patterns in a stock chart, it’s about trying to infer the psychology that drives human herd behavior and stock prices.
Technical analysis has been a dirty word since my first finance classes in college, but prices still do hold some information.
Exactly what and how to use it is another story. I don’t think it’s black or white but a lot of shades of grey between macro, micro and technicals.
The Most Important Thing – Howard Marks
Everything you need to know about risk. Marks is a master of breaking down “risk” in components of risk, which clarifies the concept, and educates the reader on how to manage risk. You might think risk is just (historical) price volatility, or earnings volatility, VaR or something similar.
Nope. Marks will teach you about dozens of different risks that will make you see investing in a whole different light.
Hedgehogging – Barton Biggs
Biggs’ story of how he started a hedge fund, managed setbacks in funding as well as investing (not least in oil). It’s entertaining and very useful. I learned more reading that book, than in my previous 10+ years in the market (I said something similar in an Amazon review way back).
You will literally feel Barton’s angst as he struggles with whether to cut his losses, or hold on to sinking assets that might be about to bounce or turn around. Better him than you.
Fooling some of the people all of the time – Einhorn
The perils of shorting, of being right but early and alone – and drawing fire from the authorities. If you are at all enticed by the dark side of shorting, you need to read this.
The Black Swan – Taleb
More about hidden risks and how to take them into account. Taleb’s epic book about the unknown unknowns that risk undoing everything unless you manage the fat tails of (im)probable outcomes.
BULL! – Maggie Mahar
The breathtaking story of the worst stock market mania ever in the late 1990s. Read and compare the IT bubble 1995-2000 with the central bank bubble of 2010-2015.
The great crash – Galbraith
The only objective recount of the markets and the economy in the early 1930’s. Did investors actually commit suicide? Didn’t anybody warn before. What responsibility did the Federal reserve have? Back then, the world’s greatest economist right before the crash claimed stock prices had reached a permanently high plateau. Should celebrity pundits like that be trusted?
How an economy grows and why it crashes – Peter Schiff
It’s about macro, I know, but it’s also about the foundations of entrepreneurship, investment, productivity and wealth creation. It’s the best book on economics ever written. It’s required reading on every book list. Here, it might just keep you a little more level headed when feeling the urge to buy into the Snapchat or Uber IPOs.
The death of money – James Rickards
What might happen to fiat money when the current money printing era draws to an end. Also, why you might want to buy gold instead of most stocks. Perhaps a bit dystopian and scary for a young investor, but nevertheless a good reminder that stocks are not all about stocks…
My own honest tale about taking risk, and the importance of realizing the difference between luck and skill and avoiding hubris.
Very useful and readable, but perhaps not required per se
Thinking Fast And Slow – Kahneman (About the limitations of the human mind. Economic psychology and behavioral finance 101. You’ve already read it all if you have a masters degree in finance, but it’s a good summary nevertheless)
The user illusion – Norretranders (insightful and important regarding the interplay between the conscious and the subconscious; the real self and the narrating I). Learn to trust your intuition (which is the 1m times faster subconscious way of trying to communicate important things to your slow I) and be fascinated to learn that your “I” actually live half a second in the past, which is how long it takes the self to filter and sort and communicate the info (as well as make a fake time stamp -0.5s).
The Logic of Life – Tim Harford (a new slant on homo economicus, how superficially illogical decisions actually are super rational. It can help explain why some unlikely companies prosper and some ‘sure things’ fail)
Abundance – Diamandis & Kotler (about the wonderful future of technology and mankind [not sci fi; very concrete actual technologies]. Great for insulating yourself against doomsayers and perhaps understanding which new new things are more likely than others, and what kind of competition they will soon face)
Tomorrow’s gold – Marc Faber (Macro. Power centers and currencies you thought would last forever didn’t. None. The dollar and the U.S. won’t either, and definitely not the euro. Please note though that the time scale is in the hundreds or thousands of years, not next Monday)
Lords of finance – Ahamed (important lessons from central banking’s early days, not least the quick-step dance between currencies, real estate, stocks and bonds required to protect your savings during the Weimar hyperinflation)
Manias, panics and crashes – Kindleberger (everything you ever needed to know about the history and dynamics of manias and panics. The book is unfortunately a bit of a slow read, but the information is important and useful to gain perspective on what a bubble is, how it forms, the psychology behind its build-up and its bursting, what parts are fundamental and what parts are irrational feed back loops, how long to ride a bubble and how to trust a strong advance actually isn’t a bubble at all)
Endgame – Mauldin (not as good as I had hoped, but interesting macro take on the future for various [all] geographies. China, Japan, Russia… here is a prescient look into the future of geopolitical risk)
Irrational exuberance – Shiller (bubble theory from the man behind the Shiller cyclically adjusted price earnings ratio: CAPE)
Holy grail of macroeconomics – Koo (what really happened in Japan, and what was done about it, albeit not updated for the last few years’ insanity)
Animal Spirits – Akerlof/Shiller (the micro behind the macro of recoveries and bubbles)
The return of depression economics – Krugman (believe it or not, it was actually quite good – I read it in 2001 but he’s released an update including both crashes since then)
The great reflation – Boeckh (perhaps it’s over now, but here Boeckh shows the opportunities created by reflating the world after a trough. For next time, perhaps.)
Esoteric
Gödel Escher Bach – Hofstadter (A heavy and dificult tome about recursivity, reflexivity, self reference and feed back loops. No market talk at all, but a very important book about the limitations of math, where consciousness comes from, and related to the circular issue of central banks basing their decisions on variables that are affected by earlier CB decisions).
More fun than important, but still offer some psychological insights into markets and its participants
Cityboy – the ugly truth about financial analysts (you’ll never trust a recommendation again)
Wall Street Meat – A great book for understanding the immoral machinations that underpinned the IT mania (good IPOs go to insiders, bad go to you)
Liar’s Poker – Early days of the stock market’s comeback from the dead in the 1980’s. My guess is we could very well end up in a “death of markets” situation again in a few years; the early 2020’s?
The new new thing – Lewis’ story about the IT mania in the end of the 1990’s
Trading with the enemy – Jim Cramer’s colleague recounts Cramer’s borderline illegal antics at his hedge fund’s office and in the stock market
These you can do without:
The Intelligent Investor – Graham (Boring, dated, methods still works though but it’s way too long for saying keep stocks and bonds in your portfolio, buy more of whatever falls in proportion to the other)
Market Wizards – Schwager (Wtf?! Utter junk. Some fun stories, but nothing actionable – just hundreds of recounts of gut feeling and luck)
Wealth, War and Wisdom – Barton Biggs (I learned a few things about WWII, but the market stuff is borderline ridiculous – almost religious)
I haven’t read the following myself but they are probably worthwhile:
Antifragile (what is actually new here vs. The Black Swan?)
The little book of sideways markets (expect sideways markets for decades, with huge swings… this book might come in handy)
Flash boys (Lewis is always entertaining and educational, here in a scary tale about HFT front running and rigging. Do you really want to invest in that environment?)
When genius failed (interesting tale about the Nobel prize winners that almost broke the financial system, by miscalculating the thickness of financial tails)
The big short (Lewis’ narrative of the house price boom and bust, its main characters and companies)
School text books I’ve kept but you easily can do without
Statistics – Newbold (way too much formulas for most, albeit some important lessons on which statistics to trust and which not to)
Basic Econometrics – Gujarati (some regression analysis techniques can be useful, but mechanistic investing on this level is useless anyway)
Futures and Options – Hull (skip this one and take market prices for granted. You won’t be doing any option arbitrages anytime soon, or ever)
Principles of Corporate Finance – Brealey & Myers (here’s what you’ll learn: companies take on debt, and issue equity. Some proportions are expensive and/or risky. Sometimes companies acquire each other. Sometimes too dearly)
Valuation – Copeland (not completely useless, but do you seriously think you’ll forecast cash flows 20-50 years out and discount them with some arbitrary factor? And then invest your own money based on what comes out of the model? I don’t think so)
Macroeconomics -Dornbusch and Fischer (among all the laughable [EMH] charts and graphs there are some insights into economics, but you’ll learn so much more in Schiff’s book)
Zerohedge (fast, frequent, news comments – unfortunately with a paranoid and bearish bias that seldom has any bearing on current events, even if it might hold true in the long run)
GMO (Legendary investor Jeremy Grantham has researched bubbles, all bubbles, defined them and followed their conclusion (all crash). Register for free and read his quarterly letters, including his past ones). Please note that he doesn’t quite think that we’re in a stock market bubble (yet).
Gloom Boom Doom by Marc Faber (“there is always an opportunity somewhere, perhaps in Vietnam”)
The high tech strategist monthly newsletter by Fred Hickey (originally a letter about high tech companies, sales and earnings developments and investment opportunities, but lately more and more about central bank shenanigans and opportunities in gold)
Other
You probably should read up on marketing and accounting too, even if I think it’s a bit overkill. I suck at marketing, always have, and it didn’t hurt my investing.
I’m not particularly good at accounting either, but you won’t learn the necessary skills in school anyway – just some shallow mechanics.
Actually, accounting is one of few areas where sell side analysts are good to have around. They know a lot about accounting tricks and valuable key ratios.
Anyway, you’ll get pretty far by following, albeit somewhat blindly, my 50-step formula presented in an earlier post (called The magical 2-step formula).
In a future post, I’ll add a beginner’s guide to stock screening (i.e., how to go from thousands of available stocks to just a few dozen relevant to choose from).
Summary
Start investing. If you can’t get a boss (a job) in finance, do it yourself.
Read, read a lot, re-read. Start with Margin Of Safety, at least two times. Then the other 9 required reads.
Sign up for newsletters and updates from Grantham (GMO), Howard Marks, Contrarian Edge (Katsenelson) and check in on Hussman Weekly every Monday. Read their historical production as well. Just keep reading backwards in time.
Trade/invest with real money. Start with a little. Increase your stakes slowly.
Make a check list of what to consider before pouncing, and what you need to cut a holding. Follow that plan. When in doubt get out. Then restart. That goes for the upside as well; don’t be afraid to take a profit and a pause.
Keep a log of exactly what you do and why – in particular your feelings. You’ll want to get back to those notes when in trouble.
Most important of all: There is no rush whatsoever to invest. Markets will be there tomorrow too. Do not make an investment or hold on to it unless you know what you are doing. Keep a margin of safety.
