Investment Reading

Well, it’s nearly Christmas, buy someone you care about something useful, a book on investment, to help get them started on the road to financial security.
People, who are interested in investing, invariably will at some stage buy, or be given book/s about investing. I am no different than most, probably having consumed more financial literature than anyone I know. There are lots of really ordinary books out there, don’t let that stop you read everything you can lay your hands on.
I highly recommend this (scatter-gun) approach. It is my opinion, barring a couple of really ordinary books that, virtually every book on finance or shares or stocks or investing or property or trading or options or derivatives I have read added to or improved my understanding of finance and investing in some way.
What is entirely undeniable is that some books will do substantially more to enhance your knowledge than others.
Depending on your level of interest and/or experience in investing will depend on where you should look first. If you are fairly new to investing in shares, or simply aren’t inclined to read hundreds of books to have a completely rounded knowledge of the subject, the first book you should read is Motivated Money by Peter Thornhill. Thornhill presents an outstanding analysis of the importance of using shares as a principal theme in building the wealth and income stream needed to retire self-funded. I have never met Peter, but I guarantee that even if you have an extensive understanding of markets, you will benefit from this book. I was lucky to stumble across this book; in fact it was my business partner, Dave who found a copy in a second-hand bookstore. Irrespective, you can order the book from the website: https://www.motivatedmoney.com.au/ and it is well worth paying full retail. As an aside, Peter Thornhill uses his website to periodically make comment on the state of the markets, or whatever is on his mind and the information is well worth reading also.
For the investor with more experience and who is inclined to spend more time developing a fuller knowledge of how to properly value individual companies. The best book for such a person would be ‘The Intelligent Investor’ by Benjamin Graham. Graham is considered the ‘Father of value investing’ and deservedly so, this book is in my view central to building a complete framework within which to analyse shares.
Finally, for the really passionate investor, in my view, you can’t be considered to have completed your education in the markets (you never really 'complete' your education) until you have waded through ‘Security Analysis’ by Benjamin Graham & David L. Dodd. It is a pretty epic read and not as user-friendly as the other two books mentioned here, but it is really a solid capstone for an investor who wants to knowledgably analyse potential investments in a truly businesslike manner. If you are going to take the time to read investment books, then start with the best. These are the best place to start – Tony Hansen 15/12/10.