30 books I wish I read before Investing my hard-earned money:
1. You can be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt 2. Common Stocks, Uncommon Profits by Phil Fisher 3. Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman 4. The Crowd by Gustave Le Bon 5. Winning the Loser's Game by Charles Ellis
6. The Zurich Axioms by Max Gunther 7. The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks 8. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman 9. The Intelligent Investor by B. Graham 10. A Zebra in Lion country by Ralph Wanger and Everett Mattlin 11. Learn to Earn by Peter Lynch
12.Poor Charlie's Almanack - The wit and wisdom of Charles T Munger
13.Speculative Contagion by Frank Martin 14. The Long and the Short of it by John Kay 15. More than you know by Michael Maubossin 16. Influence - The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
17 Most important Lessons from the first book I ever read on Value Investing:
1) Learn to Stand against the Crowd:
Being a value investor usually means standing apart from the crowd, challenging conventional wisdom, and opposing the prevailing ideas. It can get very lonely.
2) Forecasting is a bad strategy:
Those who think who can predict the future should participate fully, using borrowed money, when the market is about to rise and get out of the market before it falls.
3) Simple but NOT easy:
Value investing requires a great deal of hard work, unusually strict discipline, and a long-term investment horizon.
1) Invest only a part of savings (not the actual earnings) into stocks:
> As per your age, only invest a certain "%" based on your risk-taking capacity.
(if you are <50 years = ~25 to 50%,
and if >50 years = ~10 to 25%).
2) Your investment belongs to the market and the profits belong to you:
> As long as you are invested, the profits belong to the market.
> Don't spend just because your portfolio has increased because tomorrow stock prices can collapse.
3) Book profits periodically: Invest those profits in buying real estate (securing a house first is very important).
4) Don't trade or leverage: Trading is a full-time business. Don't even try doing it part-time and never do it with borrowed money.
• Debt to Equity Ratio < 1
• 3 year average Revenue growth > 10%
• 3 year average Net profit growth > 15%
• 3 year average Return on Equity / ROCE > 20%
• Promoter Holding > 50%
2) Business Model:
• What is the nature of the product a company sells or services it offers?
• How the company makes a profit from its operations?
• Does the product or service exist or has a potential to exist even after 50 years?
3) COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
• Does the company have a sustainable competitive advantage in respect of cost structure, brand reorganization, product quality, distribution network etc.
• Are there any entry barriers?
40 harsh truths I wish someone told me at the start of my Investing Career:
1. The market doesn't care how much you paid for a stock or what you think is a fair price.
2. Saying "be greedy when others are fearful" is much easier than actually doing when the opportunity arises.
3. Most of what is taught about investing in school is theoretical nonsense. There are very few rich professors.
4. Being emotionally detached from your stocks will save you from a lot of blunders.
5. It is hard to time the markets. Small investors tend to be pessimistic and optimistic precisely at the wrong times. Predicting the short-term direction of the stock market is futile. The long-term returns from stocks are relatively predictable.
The Ultimate thread on Must-Watch Stock Market Movies and Documentaries:
1) Boiler Room (2000):
Focused on the lowest of the low, Pump, and Dump scheme operators, this film is excellent and gives an insight into the operations that are still around today.
2)The Wolf of Wall Street:
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption, and the federal government.
3) Inside Job (2011):
Award-winning documentary and the best movie on the financial crisis made with high profile interviewees and a fast-paced gripping narration by Matt Damon, this film really explains what happened leading up to the financial crisis.