5 Great Books For The Serious Investor

Peter Lynch ran Fidelity’s Magellan Fund from 1977 to 1990, beating the S&P 500 in all but two of those years. He averaged annual returns of 29%. It means that $1 grew to more than $27. In other words, if you invested as little as $37,000 with him in 1977, you were a millionaire in 1990.

If you ever wanted to how our modern economic system ticks, this is the book for you. I was fortunate enough to interview Mr. Bernstein shortly before his death in 2009. Always the gentleman, he was actively engaged, funny and quite brilliant. His interview stands as one of our most cherished.

This was one of my very first introductions to the thinking behind the genius of Warren Buffett. Bob Hagstrom provides the step-by-step method into Buffett’s value investing style for the novice and expert alike. A great first book on the subject.

This seminal work studies the psychology of crowds and mass mania throughout history, including accounts of classic scams, grand-scale madness and deceptions. Some of these include the Mississippi scheme that swept France in 1720 and the South Sea Bubble that ruined thousands in England at the same time.

This is the book that started it all. Ben Graham was Buffett’s professor at Columbia University and it changed the way Buffett saw the world forever. Graham’s precise approach to valuation and understanding of the conservative and enterprising investor has stood the test of time and Jason Zweig’s additional commentary helps the uninitiated along the way.