End of Summer Reads

Here are the last of the summer financial reading books I told myself I would finish and finally did. I don't believe I'd mentioned any of these on this blog yet:

The Little Book That Beats the Market - Joel Greenblatt

The Magic Formula really seems like a great way to strategize for value, if not at the very least serve as one of the best screens for value out there.

Predicting the Markets of Tomorrow - James P. O'Shaughnessy

O'Shaugnessy has some good tips for Portfolio Allocation in this book, but leans a little bit too far towards the growth sector. I did like his idea of having growth simply as an emotional hedge for the average investor who would get upset during those few unlikely short-term periods where growth may well outperform value briefly.

What Works On Wall Street - James P. O'Shaughnessy

This book is simply a huge tome of back-tested data. O'Shaughnessy utilizes Compustat to confirm most of what we already knew statistically: Go with low price/book, low price/earnings, etc. Small companies outperform large companies over the long run, but with greater standard deviations along the way... However the book is a good reference tool to have on the financial bookshelf.

Mosaic: Perspectives on Investing - Mohnish Pabrai

Succinct, beautifully written chapters on the essence of value investing. I especially liked his chapter on "Buffett Succeeds at Nothing", for the thesis is truly a great lesson for investors of any background.

Fortune's Formula - William Poundstone

An interesting book that reads almost like a spy-caper or investigative piece about the mob, recommended by Charlie Munger.

Monkey Business - John Rolfe & Peter Troob

Hysterical. If you have any friends who are debating going into investment banking, or indeed any field related to high-finance, get them this book.

More Books reviewed at the following posts:

Summer Reading, and an MBA

The Davis Strategy

Time Travel Investing

21 Trading Rules

Speculation Will Never Disappear

Buying Value and Selling Hysteria

Latest Read: The New Market Wizards

Some Great Financial Reads