Welcome back to The Winning Investor’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Beating the Market! I'm your host Andrew Horowitz and I'm glad that you've joined me for this episode.
Which Investment Books Should You Read?
We've had a few questions from listeners, wanting to know what books I recommend to get started in investing and trading. I wanted to recommend two books that almost everyone lists as starting points when looking to learn more about becoming an investor, or even a trader.
Most people list Jack Schwager's two "Market Wizard" books as a good starting point. In the 1980s and 1990s, Jack interviewed dozens of top traders at the time and asked them all sorts of questions about their investment style, trading method, tips, secrets, and strategies on how they consistently pulled money from the market. What was interesting about the book was that almost every single trader used different methods for making money for their funds they managed or their investments on their own. So this book gives you a broad survey of what types of strategies professional traders use.
His first book was simply titled "Market Wizards - Interviews with Top Traders" and after its success, he went back and interviewed more traders for his second book "The New Market Wizards." You'll almost certainly recognize some of the names in both books and I encourage you to check it out.
After interviewing all these traders, Mr. Schwager made a list of all he had learned. He concluded there are no magic secrets to making money, but that it takes hard work, discipline, a good strategy, and dedication. Check out the book for all the interviews and insights from top traders of all types of markets!
“Reminiscences of a Stock Operator”
The second book most people recommend is a narrative entitled "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" by Edwin Lefevre published in 1923. It's a thinly veiled biography of famed trader Jesse Livermore, but it reads like a lengthy story or interview with a top trader who learned many of the market secrets. I know -- you're asking "How can a book written in 1923 help me in today's wild markets?!"
Throughout the whole book, we learn Livermore's secrets. Many traders today use his sayings and concepts in their own trading, perhaps the most famous of which is "Let your winners run and cut your losers short." If you ever wanted to know where that came from, that's where it is! The book contained some of the earliest insights into trading psychology, mostly on fear and greed and crowd movements, and how to exploit these for profit.
It's an exciting read (or a listen as this book is also available on Audible.com) and the action and excitement will keep you turning the pages and learning about the darker side of Wall Street and how fortunes are made and lost. Along the way, you'll pick up valuable bits of information and advice that traders today still swear by!
“The Disciplined Investor”
I will also recommend my book “The Disciplined Investor”, give me a moment on this. It contains valuable information for beginners on not only the QuantaFundaTechna method that we use, but information on mutual funds, bonds, websites to use, and so much more.
Those books should get you started in your quest to becomming a Winning Investor! Keep with us as we discuss even more ways to become a winning investor in our next podcast! If there’s a question you’d really like to ask, just email me at
winninginvestor@quickanddirtytips.com Until next time, this is Andrew Horowitz with The Winning Investor’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Beating the Market wishing you all the best on your quest to investment success.
or call 206-338-0836. That’s 206-338-0836 and maybe your question will appear on the show. And if you like the show, tell a friend or leave a review on iTunes.
