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The Most Important Thing Illuminated: Uncommon Sense For The Thoughtful Investor (2013)

by Howard Marks(Favorite Author)

4.22 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0231162847 (ISBN13: 9780231162845)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Columbia University Press

review 1: In the style of the value investors, Howard Marks provides a valuable perspective on markets, psychology, valuation, and market cycles. Every investor can get something of value out of reading this collection. This book is a compendium of letters Marks wrote to his investors, in the style of Warren Buffett, Ralph Wanger, John Bogle, and other distinguished practitioners of Ben Graham's style. Some of the letters seem dated in the context of the runup to 2006 and the aftermath.The book would have been better if some of the letters were edited out for age and repetition. A more current "letter" would have been helpful also. This aside, it is valuable reading in the current market euphoria.
review 2: A good book on investing. This book is written kind of like ... moreJoel on Software (not a good comparison) in that it summarizes years of newsletters from Howard Marks' to his clients. While I feel some of the advice is a bit obvious and even repetitive, it does lay out, in a somewhat meditative way, the foundations of value investing.Anyone looking to familiarize themselves the principles of slow-and-steady investing and get a perspective outside the currently valued wisdom of "buy and hold the American stock market" should read this. Indexing and market tracking are popular today but as soon as there is another market crisis most of those investors will panic and miss out on the recovery, just like last time.Marks' outlines the value of true value investing and good portfolio management. It isn't about beating the market all the time, it's about reducing the risk associated with being in the market while not missing out on most of the gains. Die hard indexers won't get this, but anyone who feels even a bit of anxiety (read: most of us) around investing will realize the value of achieving good returns with lower volatility. less

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