Books on Other Master Investors

It’s worth studying the methods of as many other Master Investors as you can find, especially if you discover that neither Buffett’s nor Soros’s approach fits you. Here are some suggestions:

Only one book has been written about Carl Icahn: King Icahn by Mark Stevens. It’s a fascinating journey into his mind and his methods.



Peter Lynch has written about his way of investing in several books, including One Up on Wall Street and Beating the Street.


Philip Fisher deserves a far higher profile than he has. I urge you to read his book, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits.



Benjamin Graham, of course, needs no introduction. His Intelligent Investor should be required reading for anyone planning to buy stocks. And if you’re really serious, pick up a copy of his classic Security Analysis as well.


Bernard Baruch is another legendary investor. James Grant wrote an excellent biography, Bernard Baruch, the Adventures of a Wall Street Legend.


A more obscure book that I can highly recommend is You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt. The title still turns me off — but the book is well worth reading. It’s a wonderful reinforcement of the importance of specializing in your own investment niche.



John Train has several books profiling the methods of successful investors: The Midas Touch, The Money Masters, The New Money Masters and Money Masters of Our Time. This is a great way of being introduced to a variety of different approaches, one or more of which you may want to study further.

Investment Gurus by Peter J. Tanous is another book along the same lines.



In Market Wizards and New Market Wizards, Jack Schwager has done a sterling service by finding and interviewing some of the greatest traders of our generation. Traders talk far more about their systems, methodology and thought processes than most investors do. As a result, even if the last thing you want to do is buy a futures contract, you’ll find these two books of interviews a valuable source of proven ideas for building and testing your own investment system.

 

 

For other views on investing from people not directly involved in the industry (including academics) some of the better choices include A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel, Stocks for the Long Run by Jeremy Siegel and Irrational Exuberance by Robert Shiller.

Charles Mackay’s The Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is the classic study of how crowd psychology can grab hold of the market.

And I recommend Roger Lowenstein’s When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management. Read this so you can avoid making the same mistakes!

If you’d like to follow up on Harry Browne’s Permanent Portfolio approach to investing, you’ll find it outlined in detail in his Why the Best-Laid Investment Plans Usually Go Wrong (mentioned above). Or check out Fail-Safe Investing, available from his website, harrybrowne.org. (You’ll also find what I believe is some of the sanest and best-written commentary on current issues you can read anywhere.)

Another option is a mutual fund based on Harry Browne’s investment philosophy. It’s called The Permanent Portfolio Fund. Call 1-800-531-5142 or visit www.permanentportfoliofunds.com if you’d like to see a prospectus. (Note: I was an independent director of this fund until December 2004.)

Other Recommended
Investment Books

Antidotes to the Seven
Deadly Investment Sins

Warren Buffett

George Soros

Other Master Investors

Risk and Uncertainty
Probability
Trading
Living Within Your Means
Taxes, and
Transactions Costs

A Computer Game
(Highly Recommended!)

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