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The Education Of A Value Investor: My Transformative Quest For Wealth, Wisdom, And Enlightenment (2014)

by Guy Spier(Favorite Author)

4.19 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1137278811 (ISBN13: 9781137278814)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Palgrave Macmillan Trade

review 1: A wonderful book, especially for a young investor forming a career. Guy knows that he can do young people like me a great service by explaining his mistakes and letting us learn vicariously. He does an excellent job.I really liked this book because I really empathize with Guy, I'm risk-averse to what others may consider a fault, I was VERY caught up pleasing teachers and sounding intellectual rather than learning what really mattered and looking at the real world. One thing I will always remember is about how happy Guy became after leaving NYC for Zurich. I have read so many accounts of why it's not good for a value investor to work in NYC, but Guy puts it the best of any reason with a simple psychological concept that I'd read before.The longer you resist temptation, the ... moreless rationally you behave. It is so tempting to worry about the daily movements of the market, become curious about the stock picker who has grown 2000% in two years, wonder about new macro-quant hedge funds started by 19 year old wiz kids, etc. To resist that, if you even can, really takes a toll on you. The best lesson I've taken away is to stay away from the temptation that is irrationality occurring all around you. I think I'd like to set up shop in my hometown of Carmel, Indiana one day, rather than NYC.Spier also wrote something I'd never heard about before - win-win investments. I don't mean you either win or you win, but the first win is in your benefit, and the second win is for society. Put more simply, Guy invests only in companies that are undervalued and provide value for society - he didn't invest in ridiculously profitable Philip Morris and he didn't invest in a cash-generating machine that was a lottery in Greece, because neither add value to society. Ben Franklin taught us not that honesty is the best moral, but that honesty is the best policy. I wonder if investing in win-win companies is not only the best moral, but also the best policy. What a magnificent concept. Thank you, Guy.Lastly, while Guy has 1000+ books on Goodreads, he lists some of his favorite books by category in this particular book. This saves me from flipping through 1000 books, each of whose impact on him I am not sure of.And now I'm on to the Dhando Investor by Monish Pobrai!
review 2: This is the book of the year 2014 for me. The is not the best investing book that I've read but this certainly is the best book about investing in recent years. Having said that, in my opinion, not everyone would be able to appreciate 'The Education of a Value Investor'. But it would be a wonderful book for a person who has been investing for some time, who has at least some knowledge of value investing, Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger, Ben Graham and Mohnish Pabrai.Guy Spier is not telling us how he invests, but he is telling us what are the conditions and environment which brings out the best in an investor. He studied in Oxford and Harvard and had his family to rely on in times of need. But he had some early trials and took wrong decisions in his own career. He has discussed his mistakes and short comings in a very honest way. He has discussed the people, the events and the books which had a deep impact on him as investor and as a person. He shows us that to become better at investing, how improving the other aspects of our life are equally important. He tells us to value people, be honest in all our dealings and finding role models who can show us how live our lives. He also emphasizes on the importance of checklists in the investment process.I'm not a professional investor but a part-time investor. But this book was a real eye-opener for me. Thanks Guy Spier! less

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