What are the best investing books of all time? Successful Investors are addicted to knowledge and this makes them read voraciously.
The billionaire investor Warren Buffett reads over 500 pages daily. In fact, he dedicates 80% of his day to reading books.
Reading is a necessary activity for investors. The more you consume, the more information you get to adequately analyze your investments and carry out your due diligence.
As an investor, you must always make the time to read and stay updated on the latest business developments, not just on companies you’re interested in but overall industry trends.
Studying investment materials is a habit that must be cultivated as it keeps your mind focused on the task and sharpens your thinking. Keep in mind that what you read is as vital as the time spent reading.
Reading the wrong books not only wastes valuable time but can mislead you by giving you the wrong information, ending in terrible investment decisions.
But even though there may be many investment courses you are currently undergoing like those offered by Dr Wealth or books on finance and stocks lining your favorite online or local book store, there are certain books that always make their way into the shelves of the savviest investors.
The crucial question though is does reading pay for an investor? Reading is important for two main reasons:
1. It allows investors to stay updated on market trends
2. Properly written investment books give an in-depth analysis of previous investment moves of successful investors and profitable insights on future moves; this provides an outline for what doesn’t work or works in the business world and Wall Street.
We also read to be exposed to continuous changes in industries, which occur on a daily basis. It’s like the Chinese saying “Avoid being the frog in a well” – meaning don’t have a tunnel vision. This is a scenario where a person has a fixed viewpoint because of limited exposure to various viewpoints or knowledge spheres.
With that said, what should we read? What are the best investing books of all time?
As a newbie investor, you should aim to read a broad range of materials and not just materials that revolve around business.
Warren Buffett’s business partner Charlie Munger has once stated that investors use the “latticework of mental models” in investments, and this requires information from various disciplines to form a complete view of investment.
But as a beginner, you may not be as savvy as Munger, so it’s recommended that you start by reading books relevant to investing like industry news, psychology, general business news, accounting topics, and business models.
If later on, you can handle the load, then you’d want to start consuming materials of diverse disciplines.
Studying the right investment materials or going through investment courses can give you as an investor a clear road map to financial freedom and success. And these are invaluable benefits.
While we’ve emphasized reading a whole lot as an investor, most investors end up going through numerous materials but retaining just minute aspects of the books they read. This ruins your reading efforts when it’s time to use your acquired information during investments.
The best approach would be to take notes or create a checklist while studying and keep vital points to a few lines to boost your knowledge absorption capacity. There’s no backdoor approach to this so you’d need to practice over and over to perfect it.
However, not all books are of the same standard when it comes to investing. If an author aims to capitalize on day trading, short term trading trends or popular trading fads they may not excel in teaching readers everything needed to be known.
Another author may offer strategies that can help potential and beginner investors gain individual financial freedom with tremendous financial profits. It’s about knowing how to separate the chaff from the wheat.
In this article we will list the best investing books from the the perspective of legendary Warren Buffett. These books are either recommended by Buffett, about Buffett, or something Warren Buffett would read. So let’s see the 20 best investing books of all time you should be reading:
#20 Principles – Ray Dalio
This book is a how-to guide and memoir combination that focuses on how to design your life the way you want based on principles that are important to you.
The legend Ray Dalio reveals immense wisdom here from his experience of running the most valuable hedge fund globally. In a nutshell, it’s about building and leading via solid principles and it isn’t just for CEOs as there’s knowledge for everyone including beginners.
#19 Prisoners of Geography (10 Maps that Explain Everything About the World – Tim Marshall
Prisoners of geography isn’t so much a financial book, but it’s a great book that’ll give you a clear understanding of what controls the markets. You’ll get knowledge on borders and nations that hold a stake in the current financial world.
#18 The Education of a Value Investor – Guy Spier
This is a good read as it follows the transformation of Guy Spier who began his career trying to be like Gordon Gekko, by being shortsighted, brash and self-centered. He later underwent transformations that moved him from his job as an investment banker to oversee his own fund, which generates amazing returns for investors.
#17 Simple But Not Easy – Richard Oldfield
This book is great for amateur investors and for starters, the whole focus of the book is to point out that investment is easier than non-professionals think it is. And that it can be expressed in simple English and understood by anyone.
#16 The Investment Checklist – Michael Shearn
So many newbie investors make decisions based on emotional factors, which is a mistake. This material provides a framework to help investors make logical investment decisions.
#15 Antifragile – Nassim Talib
This amazing book by Nassim Talib points out that fragility is the major cause of investment mistakes and antifragile techniques are vital to continuous success.
#14 Irrational Exuberance – Robert Shiller
Irrational Exuberance is a masterpiece from Robert Shiller; the Nobel Prize economist in the book he argues that psychologically driven volatility is a major feature of all asset markets. Simply put, Irrational Exuberance is as relevant as it has ever been.
#13 Security Analysis – Ben Graham and David Dodd
Ben Graham and David Dodd laid out the foundational blocks of value investing in this one. Initially published in 1934, with over 1 million copies sold, it has proved its worth as possessing timeless value investing techniques and philosophies.
#12 Conscious Capitalism – John Mackey
Written by one of the world’s greatest CEOs, Conscious Capitalism covers four tenants – stakeholder integration, conscious culture and management, higher purpose and conscious leadership. And how these tenants can create a positive environment for everyone, build powerful businesses and help move capitalism to its deepest form.
#11 The Outsiders – William Thorndike
What makes a great CEO? What aspects define exceptional performance by a CEO? According to William Thorndike in The Outsiders, it is the returns that shareholders of that organization receive long-term.
In this book, Thorndike will expose you to analytical wisdom that’ll help your investment career by revealing techniques to evaluate company and leader performance.
#10 Business Adventures – John Brooks
To give you an idea of how cool this book is, Warren Buffet gave it to Bill Gates when asked by Gates what his favorite read is. The book covers 12 stories of different companies that reveal how crucial management is. From the scandal at Texas Gulf Sulphur to the scandal at General Electric, it’ll give you knowledge on what those events all had in common and how they affect you as a new investor.
#9 Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits – Phillip Fisher
This is an interesting read on how to choose investments by evaluating the management team of a business. Fisher is also one of the people that influenced Warren Buffett’s investment strategy.
#8 Misbehaving – Richard Thaler
Written by Nobel Prize Winner Richard Thaler, Misbehaving frames the study of economics and is an excellent choice for people interested in learning more about investing and adhering to the moves of the market.
#7 The Essays of Warren Buffet – Lawrence Cunningham
Certainly one of the best books on investment that was ever written, it contains key letters that Buffet sent to Berkshire shareholders and his partnership. It is a compilation of Buffett’s thoughts.
#6 The Making of an American Capitalist – Roger Lowenstein
This is another great book written another about Warren Buffet, the book gets deep into the deals Warren made and the reasons for making them. It takes an in-depth look at how Warren’s values motivated his investment decisions.
#5 Poor Charlie’s Almanack – Peter D. Kaufman
This book consists of the humor and knowledge of Charlie Munger; his lectures, public commentary, and talks. So you can get both valuable investments from this book as well as a good laugh.
#4 The Superinvestors of Graham And Doddsville – Warren Buffett
If you’ve ever heard the Modern Portfolio Management’s claim that it’s impossible to beat the market except via luck, this material exposes such thought patterns as foolishness.
#3 The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham
Written in 1949, The Intelligent Investor focuses on Graham’s technique of loss minimization instead of profit maximization. It’s an excellent read for beginners.
#2 Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman in this book reveals how your thought processes could affect your investments. Daniel shows how you can lock your bias towards anything away and make your investments logically and rationally.
#1 The Dhandho Investor – Mohnish Pabrai
In a straight to the point way, The Dhandho investor shows how you can start with nothing as an investor and hit it big via solid business principles. The book also expands on the principles of value investing used by investment greats such as Charlie Munger, Benjamin Graham, and Warren Buffet.
Conclusion
That’s a wrap! Those are the best 20 investment books of all time that you should have on your bookshelves. Knowledge is money in investment so acquire as much as you can to make profitable investments!
