jimtron
Illuminator
What do you consider the best source or sources for advice and other information regarding investing? Books, sites, economists, columnists--whatever. And/or, what investing approach do you favor?
I tend to favor books, because they're written for the long term and the authors tend to have less of an axe to grind. Columnists, in particular, are almost without exception writing to favor their own personal interest, either pushing their particular newsletter/investment product or else simply pushing stocks that they own right this minute (the classic pump and dump scheme.)
I'm a firm believer that if you need to ask questions about what you are doing, then you should buy and hold index funds. Vanguard, in particular, does some very nice ones. While you're watching your index fund tick over, I can recommend A Random Walk Down Wall Street (Malikiel), Beating the Street (Lynch), and The Intelligent Investor (Graham). Once you've finished those books, you should have a much better idea of investing principles and should have a much clearer idea of more specific questions and advice you need.
roger
Penultimate Amazing
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It's a much newer book than the classics that drkitten recommended, but I suggest The Little book of Value Investing,by Christopher Browne, as the first book to read. It's an excellent overview of the topics you will find in the books recommended by drkitten, synthesizing them into a coherent framework which you can then bring to these other books. It does a great job of taking the ideas in these other books, and describing how to actually create an investing strategy, while walking you through such things as how to read a balance sheet, etc.
BonkingBear
Scholar
Oracles
Matthew Best
Penultimate Amazing
I've never gone wrong following any advice that BeAChooser has to offer.
Nor has anyone who has the sense not to follow that advice.
The_Animus
Illuminator
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Magic 8 Ball. It knows its stuff.
RecoveringYuppy
Penultimate Amazing
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I've got an odd recommendation that may work for you depending on how you learn.
Read one of Wade Cook's books on investing. One of them really got me started in a serious way. It wasn't dry, it was easy to read. It offered an engaging fantasy of getting rich quick. It introduced a lot of the basic concepts, terms and processes.
Most importantly there was a constant feeling of "that can't be right" in his strategic advice that tweaked me the way a lot of people on this board get tweaked when someone says something wrong. It made me want to think about the subject. After reading it it was a lot easier to read other books on the subject.
Read one of Wade Cook's books on investing. One of them really got me started in a serious way. It wasn't dry, it was easy to read. It offered an engaging fantasy of getting rich quick. It introduced a lot of the basic concepts, terms and processes.
Most importantly there was a constant feeling of "that can't be right" in his strategic advice that tweaked me the way a lot of people on this board get tweaked when someone says something wrong. It made me want to think about the subject. After reading it it was a lot easier to read other books on the subject.
Matthew Best
Penultimate Amazing
All investment advice needs to be looked at very skeptically. I always wonder why the investment advice industry exists. Think about it. If someone really knew how to make a killing why would they tell you about it? Wouldn't they just shut up and keep doing it? The moment they let their idea out into the public domain its effectiveness is destroyed.
corplinx
JREF Kid
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- 8,952
If you want good investment advice, google for "warren buffet quotes".
The Buff has a gift for putting complex ideas in easy to remember snippets. It qualifies as "advice" to me. I would rather remember 10-15 of Buffets best quotes on investing than have to read an entire book by anybody.
The Buff has a gift for putting complex ideas in easy to remember snippets. It qualifies as "advice" to me. I would rather remember 10-15 of Buffets best quotes on investing than have to read an entire book by anybody.
BTMO
Overlord of the Underthings
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Nameless, faceless people in internet discussion fora.
Hey - if you can't trust random strangers, who can you trust?
They have lost their edge. Maybe they were once contrarian but now they are so big as to be mainstream. But, I love their ads. Very nice advertising copy!
roger
Penultimate Amazing
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Here's all the advice you need: buy cheaply, sell dearly.
Yes, it sounds like I am being sarcastic, but I am not. So many so-called investment strategies focus on anything but. They try to time markets, guess whether things will be going up or down in the short term, etc. Think about it - if you were an experienced barber and wanted to buy a barbershop, would you a) figure out what a barbershop is worth to you, and then go find one at an apporpriate price, or b) find out what other people are bidding to pay, and go buy the shop where people are bidding it up the fastest? I'd sure hope a. Yet the vast majority of investment advice focus on b. Given you are buying a company when you buy stocks, why not do a?
Now, actually valuing a business is not so easy. Hence, some study is required. But treat my first statement as a litmus test - if somebody is not talking about the value of a business, and are instead talking about what sectors are hot (tech is in!), how to day trade (would you own a barbershop for 3 hours?), and otherwise ignoring the value of what you buy, be sceptical. Sure, you may find a greater idiot (someone to buy your property at a higher price), but would you buy anything else in the world without knowing its value?
edit: if you don't see yourself able to value a company, then should you be buying companies? No, but yes. there are funds - index funds - which allow you to buy the entire market with very little extra costs. Look at any of the John Bogle books for explanations and techniques.
Yes, it sounds like I am being sarcastic, but I am not. So many so-called investment strategies focus on anything but. They try to time markets, guess whether things will be going up or down in the short term, etc. Think about it - if you were an experienced barber and wanted to buy a barbershop, would you a) figure out what a barbershop is worth to you, and then go find one at an apporpriate price, or b) find out what other people are bidding to pay, and go buy the shop where people are bidding it up the fastest? I'd sure hope a. Yet the vast majority of investment advice focus on b. Given you are buying a company when you buy stocks, why not do a?
Now, actually valuing a business is not so easy. Hence, some study is required. But treat my first statement as a litmus test - if somebody is not talking about the value of a business, and are instead talking about what sectors are hot (tech is in!), how to day trade (would you own a barbershop for 3 hours?), and otherwise ignoring the value of what you buy, be sceptical. Sure, you may find a greater idiot (someone to buy your property at a higher price), but would you buy anything else in the world without knowing its value?
edit: if you don't see yourself able to value a company, then should you be buying companies? No, but yes. there are funds - index funds - which allow you to buy the entire market with very little extra costs. Look at any of the John Bogle books for explanations and techniques.
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kosai
Recently Audited Thetan Cluster
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2005
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- 565
I think investment advice is very dependent on a few factors:
1.) time frame
2.) risk tolerance
3.) liquidity
4.) (key one) How much management are you willing to do of your investments. For example, Rental Property (extreme high maintenance) vs. Target Retirement Funds in an IRA (extreme low maintenance)
In other words, what are you looking to do with this money in how long and with how much work?
Without that it's almost impossible to give investment advice.
For long term investing though (such as retirement investing) listen to drkitten's recommendations. Index Funds + A long time horizon will save you a ton of headaches and probably a ton of money. I'd add "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" to your reading list as well, by John Bogle, founder of Vanguard.
1.) time frame
2.) risk tolerance
3.) liquidity
4.) (key one) How much management are you willing to do of your investments. For example, Rental Property (extreme high maintenance) vs. Target Retirement Funds in an IRA (extreme low maintenance)
In other words, what are you looking to do with this money in how long and with how much work?
Without that it's almost impossible to give investment advice.
For long term investing though (such as retirement investing) listen to drkitten's recommendations. Index Funds + A long time horizon will save you a ton of headaches and probably a ton of money. I'd add "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" to your reading list as well, by John Bogle, founder of Vanguard.