Classics: An Investor's Anthology

how some of the theories and rules of investing are still being discussed today even though the book was the early sixtes. Somethings don't change

This book is currently out of print, so you will need to find it at a used book retailer or in your favorite library, perhaps. Regardless of how you get it, it is well worth the effort. It consists of 80 or so original short articles by the best investors and financial authors of all time--people like Paul Cabot, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, Jesse Livermore, T. Rowe Price, John Burr Williams, David Babson, Peter Bernstein, Phil Fisher, G.M. Loeb, Harry Markowitz, Warren Buffett, Edward C. Johnson, William Sharpe, Arthur Zeikel, Barton Biggs, David Dreman, Charlie Ellis, Bennett Goodspeed, Roy Neuberger, John Train, Richard Brealey, John Templeton and Byron Wein. If there's a better collection of important investment writings, I don't know what it is. (There is a Classics II, however, which is a follow-on book to this one.) As they say on those television infomercials, it would take you forever and cost a small fortune to duplicate this collection of the most memorable writings of the finest minds in investing. In terms of what you'll get for what you pay, this book is simply a steal.

this sector's most outstanding book

Nice product.

As the authors claim, this is a collection of the most enduring writings on investment theory and practice, and offers you invaluable insights from the industry's leading thinkers. I would have to agree that the 82 selected articles, chapters from books, and career observations by some of the best investors and financial authors, round out a mini-education in itself. Some of just a few of the authors selected are heavy weights like Benjamin Graham, Phil Fisher, Warren Buffett, Jesse Livermore, John Burr Williams, David Dreman, John Templeton and many many others. Topics as diverse from Buffett's 1965 letter to the partnership, to Jesse Livermore's "How to trade stocks" are spread throughout. The book is segregated into five (5) sections starting with the Pre-WW II section, then the 50's, 60's, 70's, and finishes with the 80's. (The book was originally published in 1989)I am somewhat partial to Roy Neuberger's Almanac, Ben Graham's Chapter 20, and Phil Fisher's 15 Points, but there many others to comment on but let's just say this should be in everyone's collection that is a serious student of the market as the 700 plus pages are well worth the time invested. Of note: Since this is no longer published, one of the used book services will be needed.

This tome belongs to a different era when men wrote with fountain pens and spoke in measured tones and could trace their ancestory back to the Mayflower. Back then “Reversion to the Mean” was a truism and an immutable law of investing. Every industry had several players and there was room for all of them. Economic beasts with trillion dollar market caps like Walmart, Google, Apple and Facebook... did not exist Things are different today. Take Amazon and Walmart for example. These guys have never heard of “Reversion to the Mean” concept. They just keep getting bigger and bigger and their competitors keep getting smaller and smaller until they just disappear.Another point these old timers keep harping about is to buy stocks only when they are available at a steep discount. They loved talking about book values and tangible assets and buying at 40 cents to the dollar in truckloads when the market was in decline.Well, in the world we live in today book values and tangible assets have lost much of there relevance. The only things you can buy at 40 cents to the dollar today are crappy businesses like hotel, airlines and steel mills. And let me tell you that what you purchased for 40 cents to the dollar will go down to 30 cents and then to 20 and then to 10. So much for Mean Reversion.Also none of the articles talk about the power of brands in the business world. Most of the authors seem to be fixated on commodity type businesses. They would rather buy a commodity play cheap then a super franchise like Nestle or Johnson & Johnson at a premium.Also there is no mention of depreciation and capital allocation at all. Most companies that have delivered spectacular returns to shareholders have been in businesses where depreciation and amortisation was tiny relative to the size of the business ( Microsoft, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s).Even though this collection of articles has been penned in a scholarly style and make for interesting reading, their range and scope is very limited. There is not much learning in this so called Anthology.It does not deserve to be called a classic even though it makes for enjoyable reading.I have just read “Zero to One” by the founder of PayPal and here is a book that is very relevant to the world we live in today. If you want to make money in the stock market today you have to search out people like Peter Thiel and discover how they think. Benjamin Graham doesn’t count for much even though he could speak in Latin and co authored a very thick book with Dodd.**13th of July in the year 2021/The Captain of The Titanic is an outstanding piece of investment literature. This small piece will help you understand what distinguishes really good investors from the run of the mill. I also find Barton Biggs very good. These three or four chapters make the book a worthwhile find.