Book picks similar to
Mastering the Market Cycle: Getting the Odds on Your Side by Howard Marks
investing
finance
business
economics
Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter
Dan Ariely - 2017
Emotions play a powerful role in shaping our financial behavior, often making us our own worst enemies as we try to save, access value, and spend responsibly. In Dollars and Sense, bestselling author and behavioral economist Dan Ariely teams up with financial comedian and writer Jeff Kreisler to challenge many of our most basic assumptions about the precarious relationship between our brains and our money. In doing so, they undermine many of personal finance’s most sacred beliefs and explain how we can override some of our own instincts to make better financial choices.Exploring a wide range of everyday topics—from the lure of pain-free spending with credit cards to the pitfalls of household budgeting to the seductive power of holiday sales—Ariely and Kreisler demonstrate how our misplaced confidence in our spending habits frequently leads us astray, costing us more than we realize, whether it’s the real value of the time we spend driving forty-five minutes to save $10 or our inability to properly assess what the things we buy are actually worth. Together Ariely and Kreisler reveal the emotional forces working against us and how we can counteract them. Mixing case studies and anecdotes with concrete advice and lessons, they cut through the unconscious fears and desires driving our worst financial instincts and teach us how to improve our money habits.The result not only reveals the rationale behind our most head-scratching financial choices but also offers clear guidance for navigating the treacherous financial landscape of the brain. Fascinating, engaging, funny, and essential, Dollars and Sense provides the practical tools we need to understand and improve our financial choices, save and spend smarter, and ultimately live better.
Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties
Beth Kobliner - 1996
And who could blame them? These so-called millennials have come of age in the wake of the worst economic crisis in memory, and are now trying to get by in its aftermath. They owe record levels of student loan debt, face sky-high rents, and struggle to live on a budget in an uncertain economy. It’s time for them to get a financial life. For two decades, Beth Kobliner’s bestseller has been the financial bible for people in their twenties and thirties. With her down-to-earth style, she has taught them how to get out of debt, learn to save, and invest for their futures. In this completely revised and updated edition, Kobliner shares brand-new insights and concrete, actionable advice geared to help a new generation of readers form healthy financial habits that will last a lifetime. With fresh material that reflects the changing digital world, Get a Financial Life remains an essential tool for young people learning how to manage their money. From tackling taxes to boosting credit scores, Get a Financial Life can show those just starting out how to decrease their debt, avoid common money mistakes, and navigate the world of personal finance in today’s ever-changing landscape.
DIY Financial Advisor: A Simple Solution to Build and Protect Your Wealth (Wiley Finance)
Wesley R. Gray - 2015
By way of background, a family office is a company, or group of people, who manage the wealth a family has gained over generations. The term 'family office' has an element of cachet, and even mystique, because it is usually associated with the mega-wealthy. However, practically speaking, virtually any family that manages its investments—independent of the size of the investment pool—could be considered a family office. The difference is mainly semantic. DIY Financial Advisor outlines a step-by-step process through which investors can take control of their hard-earned wealth and manage their own family office. Our research indicates that what matters in investing are minimizing psychology traps and managing fees and taxes. These simple concepts apply to all families, not just the ultra-wealthy. But can—or should—we be managing our own wealth? Our natural inclination is to succumb to the challenge of portfolio management and let an 'expert' deal with the problem. For a variety of reasons we discuss in this book, we should resist the gut reaction to hire experts. We suggest that investors maintain direct control, or at least a thorough understanding, of how their hard-earned wealth is managed. Our book is meant to be an educational journey that slowly builds confidence in one's own ability to manage a portfolio. We end our book with a potential solution that could be applicable to a wide-variety of investors, from the ultra-high net worth to middle class individuals, all of whom are focused on similar goals of preserving and growing their capital over time. DIY Financial Advisor is a unique resource. This book is the only comprehensive guide to implementing simple quantitative models that can beat the experts. And it comes at the perfect time, as the investment industry is undergoing a significant shift due in part to the use of automated investment strategies that do not require a financial advisor's involvement. DIY Financial Advisor is an essential text that guides you in making your money work for you—not for someone else!
A Wealth of Common Sense: Why Simplicity Trumps Complexity in Any Investment Plan (Bloomberg)
Ben Carlson - 2015
The financial market is a complex system, but that doesn't mean it requires a complex strategy; in fact, this false premise is the driving force behind many investors' market "mistakes." Information is important, but understanding and perspective are the keys to better decision-making. This book describes the proper way to view the markets and your portfolio, and show you the simple strategies that make investing more profitable, less confusing, and less time-consuming. Without the burden of short-term performance benchmarks, individual investors have the advantage of focusing on the long view, and the freedom to construct the kind of portfolio that will serve their investment goals best. This book proves how complex strategies essentially waste these advantages, and provides an alternative game plan for those ready to simplify. Complexity is often used as a mechanism for talking investors into unnecessary purchases, when all most need is a deeper understanding of conventional options. This book explains which issues you actually should pay attention to, and which ones are simply used for an illusion of intelligence and control. Keep up with—or beat—professional money managers Exploit stock market volatility to your utmost advantage Learn where advisors and consultants fit into smart strategy Build a portfolio that makes sense for your particular situation You don't have to outsmart the market if you can simply outperform it. Cut through the confusion and noise and focus on what actually matters. A Wealth of Common Sense clears the air, and gives you the insight you need to become a smarter, more successful investor.
The Acquirer's Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market
Tobias E. Carlisle - 2017
The book shows how investors Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn, David Einhorn and Dan Loeb got started and how they do it. Carlisle combines engaging stories with research and data to show how you can do it too. Written by an active value investor, The Acquirer’s Multiple provides an insider's view on deep value investing. The Acquirer’s Multiple covers: How the billionaire contrarians invest How Warren Buffett got started The history of activist hedge funds How to Beat the Little Book That Beats the Market A simple way to value stocks: The Acquirer's Multiple The secret to beating the market How Carl Icahn got started How David Einhorn and Dan Loeb got started The 9 rules of deep value The Acquirer’s Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market provides a simple summary of the way deep value investors find stocks that beat the market.
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World
Niall Ferguson - 2007
Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it’s the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it’s the chains of labor. But in The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress. What’s more, he reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history. With the clarity and verve for which he is known, Ferguson elucidates key financial institutions and concepts by showing where they came from. What is money? What do banks do? What’s the difference between a stock and a bond? Why buy insurance or real estate? And what exactly does a hedge fund do? This is history for the present. Ferguson travels to post-Katrina New Orleans to ask why the free market can’t provide adequate protection against catastrophe. He delves into the origins of the subprime mortgage crisis.
Traders, Guns & Money: Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives
Satyajit Das - 2006
Read this sensational and controversial account of the often dazzling business of derivatives trading, and see if you agree.No money is ever really made in financial markets. Markets merely transfer wealth. As to how to make money? Well, it is basically theft, misrepresentation, lies, cheating, deception or force. It is impossible to make the staggering amounts made in derivatives in good years honestly.Traders, Guns & Money is a wry and wickedly comic exposé of the culture, games, and pure deceptions played out every day in trading rooms around the world, usually with other people's money. Whether you move in the financial world yourself, know people who do, or have money invested in stocks, shares or derivatives, this is a fascinating read guaranteed to make you think.
The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success
William N. Thorndike Jr. - 2012
Others might point to the qualities of today’s so-called celebrity CEOs—charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.In this refreshing, counterintuitive book, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in investing, closely evaluating the performance of companies and their leaders. You will meet eight individualistic CEOs whose firms’ average returns outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of twenty—in other words, an investment of $10,000 with each of these CEOs, on average, would have been worth over $1.5 million twenty-five years later. You may not know all their names, but you will recognize their companies: General Cinema, Ralston Purina, The Washington Post Company, Berkshire Hathaway, General Dynamics, Capital Cities Broadcasting, TCI, and Teledyne. In The Outsiders, you’ll learn the traits and methods—striking for their consistency and relentless rationality—that helped these unique leaders achieve such exceptional performance.Humble, unassuming, and often frugal, these "outsiders” shunned Wall Street and the press, and shied away from the hottest new management trends. Instead, they shared specific traits that put them and the companies they led on winning trajectories: a laser-sharp focus on per share value as opposed to earnings or sales growth; an exceptional talent for allocating capital and human resources; and the belief that cash flow, not reported earnings, determines a company’s long-term value.Drawing on years of research and experience, Thorndike tells eye-opening stories, extracting lessons and revealing a compelling alternative model for anyone interested in leading a company or investing in one—and reaping extraordinary returns.
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics
Richard H. Thaler - 2016
Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans—predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth—and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.Traditional economics assumes rational actors. Early in his research, Thaler realized these Spock-like automatons were nothing like real people. Whether buying a clock radio, selling basketball tickets, or applying for a mortgage, we all succumb to biases and make decisions that deviate from the standards of rationality assumed by economists. In other words, we misbehave. More importantly, our misbehavior has serious consequences. Dismissed at first by economists as an amusing sideshow, the study of human miscalculations and their effects on markets now drives efforts to make better decisions in our lives, our businesses, and our governments.Coupling recent discoveries in human psychology with a practical understanding of incentives and market behavior, Thaler enlightens readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioral economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building, to TV game shows, the NFL draft, and businesses like Uber.Laced with antic stories of Thaler’s spirited battles with the bastions of traditional economic thinking, Misbehaving is a singular look into profound human foibles. When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers, and policy makers are both profound and entertaining.
Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard: How to Achieve Super Performance in Stocks in Any Market
Mark Minervini - 2013
-- JACK SCHWAGER, bestselling author of Stock Market WizardsMark's book has to be on every investor's bookshelf. It is about the most comprehensive work I have ever read on investing in growth stocks. -- DAVID RYAN, three-time U.S. Investing Champion[Minervini is] one of the most highly respected independent traders of our generation. His experience and past history of savvy market calls is legendary. -- CHARLES KIRK, The Kirk ReportOne of Wall Street's most remarkable success stories. -- BEN POWER, Your Trading EdgeTHE INVESTOR'S GUIDE TO SUPERPERFORMANCE! Dramatically increase your stock market returns with the legendary SEPA system!For the first time ever, U.S. Investing Champion Mark Minervini reveals the proven, time-tested trading system he used to achieve triple-digit returns for five consecutive years, averaging 220% per year for a 33,500% compounded total return.In Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard, Minervini unveils his trademarked stock market method SEPA, which provides outsized returns in virtually every market by combining careful risk management, self-analysis, and perseverance. He explains in detail how to select precise entry points and preserve capital--for consistent triple- digit returns.Whether you're just getting started in the stock market or you're a seasoned pro, Minervini will show how you how to achieve SUPERPERFORMANCE! You'll gain valuable knowledge as he shares lessons, trading truths, and specific tactics--all derived from his 30-year career as one of America's most successful stock traders.Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard teaches you:How to find the best stocks before they make big price gainsHow to avoid costly mistakes made by most investorsHow to manage losses and protect profitsHow to avoid high-risk situationsPrecisely when to buy and when to sellHow to buy an IPOWhy traditional valuation doesn't work for fast-growing SuperperformersExamples of Minervini's personal trades with his commentsWith more than 160 chart examples and numerous case studies proving the remarkable effectiveness of Minervini's methodology, Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard puts in your hands one of the most effective and--until now--secretive stock investing systems in the world.MARK MINERVINI has a trademarked stock market method that produces outsized returns in virtually every market. It's called Specific Entry Point Analysis--SEPA--and it has been proven effective for selecting precise entry points, preserving capital and profi ts with even more precise exit points--and consistently producing triple-digit returns.Now, in Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard, Minervini shares--for the fi rst time ever--his coveted methodology with investors like you!
Fool's Gold
Gillian Tett - 2009
Drawing on exclusive access to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and a tightly bonded team of bankers known on Wall Street as the "Morgan Mafia," as well as in-depth interviews with dozens of other key players, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Tett brings to life in gripping detail how the Morgan team's bold ideas for a whole new kind of financial alchemy helped to ignite a revolution in banking, and how that revolution escalated wildly out of control.The deeply reported and lively narrative takes readers behind the scenes, to the inner sanctums of elite finance and to the secretive reaches of what came to be known as the "shadow banking" world. The story begins with the intense Morgan brainstorming session in 1994 beside a pool in Boca Raton, where the team cooked up a dazzling new idea for the exotic financial product known as credit derivatives. That idea would rip around the banking world, catapult Morgan to the top of the turbocharged derivatives trade, and fuel an extraordinary banking boom that seemed to have unleashed banks from ages-old constraints of risk.But when the Morgan team's derivatives dream collided with the housing boom, and was perverted -- through hubris, delusion, and sheer greed -- by titans of banking that included Citigroup, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and the thundering herd at Merrill Lynch -- even as J.P. Morgan itself stayed well away from the risky concoctions others were peddling -- catastrophe followed. Tett's access to Dimon and the J.P. Morgan leaders who so skillfully steered their bank away from the wild excesses of others sheds invaluable light not only on the untold story of how they engineered their bank's escape from carnage but also on how possible it was for the larger banking world, regulators, and rating agencies to have spotted, and heeded, the terrible risks of a meltdown.A tale of blistering brilliance and willfully blind ambition, "Fool's Gold" is both a rare journey deep inside the arcane and wildly competitive world of high finance and a vital contribution to understanding how the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression was perpetrated.
You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want
Jesse Mecham - 2010
A guide based on the tenets of the award-winning financial platform, "You Need a Budget," argues that a well-planned budget does not involve deprivation and counsels readers on how to prioritize financial goals, reduce stress through strategic cash flow allocations and meet the challenges of unplanned expenses.
Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World
Adam Tooze - 2018
In fact it was a dramatic caesura of global significance that spiraled around the world, from the financial markets of the UK and Europe to the factories and dockyards of Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, forcing a rearrangement of global governance. In the United States and Europe, it caused a fundamental reconsideration of capitalist democracy, eventually leading to the war in the Ukraine, the chaos of Greece, Brexit, and Trump.It was the greatest crisis to have struck Western societies since the end of the Cold War, but was it inevitable? And is it over? Crashed is a dramatic new narrative resting on original themes: the haphazard nature of economic development and the erratic path of debt around the world; the unseen way individual countries and regions are linked together in deeply unequal relationships through financial interdependence, investment, politics, and force; the ways the financial crisis interacted with the spectacular rise of social media, the crisis of middle-class America, the rise of China, and global struggles over fossil fuels.Finally, Tooze asks, given this history, what now are the prospects for a liberal, stable, and coherent world order?
The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust
Diana B. Henriques - 2011
Many have speculated about what might have happened or what must have happened, but no reporter has been able to get the full story -- until now.In The Wizard of Lies, Diana B. Henriques of The New York Times -- who has led the paper’s coverage of the Madoff scandal since the day the story broke -- has written the definitive book on the man and his scheme, drawing on unprecedented access and more than one hundred interviews with people at all levels and on all sides of the crime, including Madoff’s first interviews for publication since his arrest. Henriques also provides vivid details from the various lawsuits, government investigations, and court filings that will explode the myths that have come to surround the story.A true-life financial thriller, The Wizard of Lies contrasts Madoff's remarkable rise on Wall Street, where he became one of the country’s most trusted and respected traders, with dramatic scenes from his accelerating slide toward self-destruction. It is also the most complete account of the heartbreaking personal disasters and landmark legal battles triggered by Madoff’s downfall -- the suicides, business failures, fractured families, shuttered charities -- and the clear lessons this timeless scandal offers to Washington, Wall Street, and Main Street.
Warren Buffett: The Ultimate Guide To Investing like Warren Buffet. Learn the Warren Buffet Way, the Warren Buffett Portfolio and the Warren Buffett Stocks
Richard Borrows - 2015
Learn the Warren Buffet Way, the Warren Buffett Portfolio and the Warren Buffett Stocks The stock market has developed a reputation among the people of the world as a mystical entity. It has become a realm with the top closed in on Wall Street with a circle of seemingly impenetrable suits even though the reality is that anyone can become an investor. Although the average Joe might be at an immediate disadvantage in terms of safety funds and insider knowledge on the best deals and short term fluctuations of a stock, there are most definitely options such as mutual funds like index funds that are easy to use and relatively safe in comparison to filling a portfolio with a narrow range of risky securities. Warren Buffett is known today as a massively successful entrepreneur and investor. However, all successful people had to make their way from the beginning, Warren Buffett included. It is often both inspiring and a key to understanding to look at a successful person’s journey to success, and so in this book I cover Warren Buffett’s success story, the Warren Buffett Way, his portfolio and stocks, quotes, and tips. I hope that with this book, you will not only learn to be a smart investor, but become successful in more ways than one while gaining insight into the business world as a whole. Specific topics covered in this book include: ● Warren Buffett’s Road to Success ● The Warren Buffett Way ● The Warren Buffett Portfolio ● The Warren Buffett Stocks ● Motivational Warren Buffett Quotes ● Final Warren Buffett Investing Tips