4 Books to Kickstart Your Investing Journey
The basic building blocks to invest like a pro.
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I believe that if a larger % of our society were invested in the markets, our society would function better. Our incentives would be more alligned and we could achieve more efficient levels of cooperation — which is ultimately what the economy is about. In this post, I will share with you 4 books that kick started my investment journey and that enabled me to build a strong foundation. The more people read these books, the better the world will be. The more you take them in, the wealthier and more alligned you will be with the world.
Before we go on, consider that succesful investing varies in definition. Outperforming the market requires a great level of skill, knowledge and intuition. However, by and large, the only way to make money in investing is by assessing the fair price of an asset, buying below that price and then holding the asset through thick and thin, until a compelling selling opportunity presents itself. This, I believe, is the bottom line in investing and pretty much anything that deviates from this will eventually cause pain.
In the abstract, the above seems like a simple rule, but once you are out in the market it is easy to get carried away. Arguably, the most important organ in investing is not the brain, but the stomach, to not get too excited when prices go up or too depressed when they come down. Onto the books now.
1. Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd
A 700 pager which instills the succesful reader with a sense of what “fair value” is in the world of assets and how to deal with “Mr. Market”. The book is technical, but nonetheless, the takeaway is rather qualitative. By closely studying this book, you will get a sense for how to avoid overpaying for assets and how to avoid the pitfalls and illusions that “manic Mr. Market” sets up for the uninitiated.
