What I Learned About Investing from Darwin PDF Download

Author: Pulak Prasad
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231555075
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
The investment profession is in a state of crisis. The vast majority of equity fund managers are unable to beat the market over the long term, which has led to massive outflows from active funds to passive funds. Where should investors turn in search of a new approach? Pulak Prasad offers a philosophy of patient long-term investing based on an unexpected source: evolutionary biology. He draws key lessons from core Darwinian concepts, mixing vivid examples from the natural world with compelling stories of good and bad investing decisions—including his own. How can bumblebees’ survival strategies help us accept that we might miss out on Tesla? What does an experiment in breeding tame foxes reveal about the traits of successful businesses? Why might a small frog’s mimicry of the croak of a larger rival shed light on the signs of corporate dishonesty? Informed by successful evolutionary strategies, Prasad outlines his counterintuitive principles for long-term gain. He provides three mantras of investing: Avoid big risks; buy high quality at a fair price; and don’t be lazy—be very lazy. Prasad makes a persuasive case for a strategy that rules out the vast majority of investment opportunities and advocates permanently owning high-quality businesses. Combining punchy prose and practical insight, What I Learned About Investing from Darwin reveals why evolutionary biology can help fund managers become better at their craft.

Author: Anurag Sharma
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231541694
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
Financial markets are noisy and full of half-baked opinions, innuendo, and misinformation. With deep insights about investor psychology, Book of Value shows how to apply tools of business analysis to sort through the deceptions and self-deceptions in financial markets. Anurag Sharma joins philosophy with practical know-how to launch an integrated approach to building high-performance stock portfolios. Investors at all skill levels should learn to be mindful of their psychological biases so they may better frame investment choices. Book of Value teaches novices that investing is not a game of luck but a skill—and it teaches the emotional and analytical tools necessary to play it well. Intermediate investors learn how to effectively control emotions when investing and think strategically about their investment program. Advanced investors see the formalization of what they already know intuitively: that the philosopher's methods for seeking truth can be profitably applied to make smart investments. A groundbreaking guide full of lasting value, Book of Value should be on the shelf of anyone who takes investing seriously.

Author: Robert Hagstrom
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231160100
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
In this updated second edition, well-known investment author Hagstrom explores basic and fundamental investing concepts in a range of fields outside of economics, including physics, biology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and literature.

Author: Guy Spier
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1137471247
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
What happens when a young Wall Street investment banker spends a small fortune to have lunch with Warren Buffett? He becomes a real value investor. In this fascinating inside story, Guy Spier details his career from Harvard MBA to hedge fund manager. But the path was not so straightforward. Spier reveals his transformation from a Gordon Gekko wannabe, driven by greed, to a sophisticated investor who enjoys success without selling his soul to the highest bidder. Spier's journey is similar to the thousands that flock to Wall Street every year with their shiny new diplomas, aiming to be King of Wall Street. Yet what Guy realized just in the nick of time was that the King really lived 1,500 miles away in Omaha, Nebraska. Spier determinedly set out to create a new career in his own way. Along the way he learned some powerful lessons which include: Spier also reveals some of his own winning investment strategies, detailing deals that were winners but also what he learned from deals that went south. Part memoir, part Wall Street advice, and part how-to, Guy Spier takes readers on a ride through Wall Street--but, more importantly, provides those that want to take a different path with the insight, guidance, and inspiration they need to carve out their own definition of success.

Author: Lee Freeman-Shor
Publisher: Harriman House Limited
ISBN: 0857195026
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 106

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Book Description
Over seven years, 45 of the world's top investors were given between $25 and $150m to invest by fund manager Lee Freeman-Shor. His instructions were simple. There was only one rule. They could only invest in their ten best ideas to make money. It seemed like a foolproof plan to make a lot of money. What could possibly go wrong? These were some of the greatest minds at work in the markets today - from top European hedge fund managers to Wall Street legends. But most of the investors' great ideas actually lost money. Shockingly, a toss of a coin would have been a better method of choosing whether or not to invest in a stock. Nevertheless, despite being wrong most of the time, many of these investors still ended up making a lot of money. How could they be wrong most of the time and still be profitable? The answer lay in their hidden habits of execution, which until now have only been guessed at from the outside world. This book lays bare those secret habits for the first time, explaining them with real-life data, case studies and stories taken from Freeman-Shor's unique position of managing these investors on a day-to-day basis. A riveting read for investors of every level, this book shows you exactly what to do and what not to do when your big idea is losing or winning - and demonstrates conclusively why the most important thing about investing is always the art of execution.

Author: Shane Parrish
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593719972
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Discover the essential thinking tools you’ve been missing with The Great Mental Models series by Shane Parrish, New York Times bestselling author and the mind behind the acclaimed Farnam Street blog and “The Knowledge Project” podcast. This first book in the series is your guide to learning the crucial thinking tools nobody ever taught you. Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields. Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back. The Great Mental Models: Volume 1, General Thinking Concepts shows you how making a few tiny changes in the way you think can deliver big results. Drawing on examples from history, business, art, and science, this book details nine of the most versatile, all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making and productivity. This book will teach you how to: Avoid blind spots when looking at problems. Find non-obvious solutions. Anticipate and achieve desired outcomes. Play to your strengths, avoid your weaknesses, … and more. The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.

Author: David Gardner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743216121
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of the New York Times Bestseller That Focuses on Personal Finance for Every Budget -- and Every Stage of Life Taking control of your personal finances is the first -- and most important -- step toward successful investing and a secure future. The Motley Fool You Have More Than You Think, now fully updated and expanded, provides guidance for anyone trying to balance lifestyle aspirations and financial realities. The latest edition of this Motley Fool bestseller covers topics such as: Getting out of debt...and into the stock market Turning your bank account into a moneymaker Using Fool.com and the Internet to learn about all things financial -- from buying a home to getting the best deal on a car Saving enough to send your children to the colleges of their dreams

Author: Peter Bevelin
Publisher: Texere
ISBN: 9781587991882
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
"Peter Bevelin begins this quest for wisdom by embarking on an ambitious journey into the Darwinian forces at the reins of human decision-making, illustrating just how our pre-agrarian genetic hard-wiring all too-often leads us into disastrous lapses in judgement, whether in financial transactions, business decisions or in everyday life, and ultimately offering us methods to sidestep error and enhance success. Bevelin argues that by being aware of the driving forces behind human nature, we can then more effectively approach our responsibilities in the workplace by conditioning ourselves to approach everyday problems through the logistical anchors of mathematical and scientific thinking. The philosophy of Berkshire Hathaway's Director and Vice-Chairman Charles Munger is offered as counterpoint to the notion that we are simply pawns of our own nature; instead, by actively engaging our knowledge of the natural determinants - biology, math, physics, etc. - and through studying diligently the philosophies of those who have weathered the storm and emerged victorious, we can use this knowledge to our distinct advantage in not only business but in all walks of life."

Author: Thomas P. Au
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0471652377
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
An updated approach to classic security analysis The principles of value investing outlined by Graham and Dodd in the 1940s continues to be used today by individuals and companies who face challenging investment decisions. A Modern Approach to Graham and Dodd Investing examines the classic Graham and Dodd approach to valuation and updates it for the twenty-first century. Thomas Au, a credentialed analyst with a leading insurance company and an ex-Value Line analyst, reworks the basics of value investing from net present value, financial statement analysis, and return on capital to return and leverage, asset allocation, and diversification. Through case studies and real-time analysis, A Modern Approach to Graham and Dodd Investing presents readers with examples that will make analysis and portfolio theory more relevant and powerful. Thomas P. Au (Hartford, CT) is a Vice President and Portfolio Manager for the investment arm of a large insurance and healthcare provider. His specialty is emerging and international markets. He received his BA, cum laude, with a double major in economics and history, from Yale University, and an MBA in finance from New York University.

Author: Frederik Vanhaverbeke
Publisher: Harriman House Limited
ISBN: 0857193511
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
An analysis of the investment approach of the world's top investors, showing how to achieve market-beating returns It is possible to beat the market. Taking this as a starting point, Excess Returns sets out to explore how exactly the most famous investors in the world have done it, year after year, sometimes by huge margins. Excess Returns is not a superficial survey of what investors have said about what they do. Rather, Frederik Vanhaverbeke applies a forensic analysis to hundreds of books, articles, letters and speeches made by dozens of top investors over the last century and synthesises his findings into a definitive blueprint of how exactly these investment legends have gone about their work. Among the legends whose work has been studied are Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Anthony Bolton, Peter Lynch, Charles Munger, Joel Greenblatt, Seth Klarman, David Einhorn, Daniel Loeb, Lou Simpson, Prem Watsa and many more. Among the revealing insights, you will learn of the striking similarities in the craft of great investors, crucial subtleties in their methods that are ignored by many, and the unconscious errors investors commonly make and how these are counter to successful investing. Special attention is given to two often overlooked areas: effective investment philosophy and investment intelligence. The investing essentials covered include: • Finding bargain shares • Making a quantitative and qualitative business analysis • Valuation methods • Investing throughout the business cycle • Timing buy and sell decisions • And much, much more! Excess Returns is full of timeless and practical insights, presented in a unique style, to help investors focus on the most promising opportunities and lead the way to beating the market.