5 comments about The Commercial Real Estate Investor's Handbook: A Step-by-Step Road Map to Financial Wealth.

1. The Commercial Real Estate Investor's Handbook A Step-by-Step Road Map to Financial Wealth is an in-depth guide to entering the commercial real estate market. The author takes the reader by the hand in a logical progression from understanding the market to closing the deal. The book is straight forward and makes no promises of instant profit; the author lays out the facts and lets the reader learn what is needed to undertake a commercial real estate investment. The book is written in a way that takes all the mystery out of the whole process and the reader is left feeling that commercial real estate investment can be achieved by anyone willing to follow the steps laid out in black and white.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever contemplated trying to enter this market. It will, at the very least, let the reader know if it is right for him or her. This book is also useful to those who have already entered the market but would like to expand into other commercial endeavors.



2. THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTOR'S HANDBOOK: A STEP-BY-STEP ROAD MAP TO FINANCIAL WEALTH is for any who would invest in a commercial building, whether it be a warehouse, apartment, shopping center, hotel or other type of commercial income property. Beginners receive tips on how to find deals, how to finance wisely, and how to make purchase offers, with many case history examples and tips on taxation and development included along with math calculations and sample forms. It's a 'must' for any collection catering to real estate readers.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. Five of five stars! This book covers the risks and rewards of real estate investing, along with types of investments, the basics of getting started, factors affecting commercial real estate values, understanding real estate market psychology, sources of financing, finding profitable deals, and financing. In short, it covers everything a beginner would need or want to know before embarking on this type of investment.
   
   That's not all it covers. There's also information about commercial real estate loan documents, an explanation of leases, negotiating purchase agreements, managing tenants, insurance, sale of commercial real estate properties, marketing real estate properties, and taxes. Two appendices include sample lease forms. A glossary is beneficial to beginners who haven't yet mastered real estate and investment terminology.
   
   The Commercial Real Estate Investor's Handbook: A Step by Step Road Map to Financial Wealth is definitely not boring or dry. It's an interesting, practical and informative book that anyone considering real estate investing should invest in (no pun intended).



4. Before I started reading "The Commercial Real Estate Handbook for Investors," I tried to prepare myself for a "dry read". However, I was pleasantly surprised. The concepts and explanations are written in a crisp and conversational tone. The author also explains the buzz words in real estate and how it pertains to the bottom line of your investment strategy. This book has it all, from goal setting to definitions of real estate terms to sample emails that should be sent to keep a deal alive. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. The concepts are such that you can apply them to not only real estate but other types of business as well.



5. When a book claims to be "a step by step road map to financial wealth," one might raise a cynical eyebrow and move on. Doing so in the case of Steven D. Fisher's The Commercial Real Estate Investor's Handbook would be foolish. This is no get rich quick manual, however, and Fisher is clear to point out that winning in commercial real estate requires hard work, a determined effort, and the proper mindset.
   
   Borrowing concepts espoused by wealth producing experts Napoleon Hill, Stephen R. Covey, Dale Carnegie and others, Fisher has created a powerful step-by-step commercial real estate guide by implementing classic self-improvement principles and applying them to a specific field.
   
   Highlights include a mindset questionnaire, how to get started, career options in real estate, sources available, different types of financing, negotiating, and closing the deal. Unlike most real estate investment handbooks, Fisher explains how to manage the property after the purchase, and how to sell it down the road.
   
   The ultimate question is whether or not an average person could take the information contained in The Commercial Real Estate Investor's Handbook and transact a profitable deal. If you're looking to invest in commercial real estate or are open to new methods of amassing wealth, I suggest you pick up the book, and find out for yourself. You'll be very pleased.

4 comments about The Intelligent Investor CD: The Classic Text on Value Investing.

1. Have the book and the CD. They work well together. The CD is great just after reading the book to hammer some of the big picture concepts. The CD is wonderful rush hour material to get you out of that rush hour driving sooner! It is worth the $$ to have both.



2. This book is specifically for invertors not speculators. Haveing this on CD and a book format, its easier to grab the ideas that were written couple of decades and still its worth.



3. I am an eager reader of books on Warren Buffett's investing methods. I really want to like "The Intelligent Investor", but I don't. Unfortunately, Benjamin Graham did not write his books to be timeless. Instead, he wrote them specifically for the investing environments as they existed at the times of publication. This audiobook is of the 1972 edition of "The Intelligent Investor", and it reflects the investing environment of the early 1970's.
   
   The story of Mr. Market and the principle of "a margin of safety" are important concepts contained in this book, but they can be found in other writings by and about Warren Buffett.
   
   There is an updated edition of "The Intelligent Investor" by Jason Zweig. It was published in 2003. Hopefully that is better than the older, outdated editions. It is not (yet) available in audio format.
   
   If you are looking for a good audiobook on Warren Buffett's investing methods, I highly recommend "How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett" by Timothy Vick. The best book on Buffett's investing methods that I have read is "The New Buffettology" by Mary Buffett, but it is not available as an audiobook.



4. Great historical review, a good staple for any investor that is already in the game and understands the basics.

5 comments about Study Guide for Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management.

1. Not as advertised, this book will not work alone -, and the added value will not be that much You need to have the book "Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management" and the combination will be great. ...



2. I ordered the guide along with the actual book and really never did use it. It may be cheap, but I think the book itself should be enough.



3. In order for this book to work you need to have the initial Trading for a Living. With both books together you will begin to have all of the necessary tools to conquer the most persistent troublemaker of the market...yourself.

   In 200 questions you will learn a lot about yourself, your motives, and most of all your personality. This is where Dr.Elder's background shine. In order to conquer the markets you must conquer yourself.

   After being involved with futures trading for 11 years and writing several books on the subject I still find books like Dr.Elder's inspirational and mentally clarifying.




4. What is your learning style? If you don't trust that you know something until you've taken a test, this book can help. It does an excellent job of pulling out the key topics and quizzing you on them. There are no 'silly' questions here--only the important stuff. On the other hand, if you like to read and underline, then return to the text when you are actually 'doing' the activity, then this book is probably a waste of money. One nit complaint: some of the labeling of chart features is a bit unclear. Since it is sometimes tough to tell which letter goes with which feature, answering some questions is difficult, even when you know the material.



5. This book provides a basis for accountability in making trades as you do. I found the psychological part the best. It is somewhat hard to implement the basic structure required by the author for me personally. However it all rings truth in it's wording. This is a work book and therefore leads the reader through a series of questions to let you know how good you understand the basic fundamentals prescribed of his book "Trading For A Living".
   It has increased awareness and led me to stop making the same repetitive mistakes. And that is the basis for success in trading.

5 comments about All About Index Funds (All About).

1. I value Richard Ferri's books and this one is no exception. While the writing is easy to grasp, it is most complete. The book covers just about everything you need to know to master investing in index funds or ETFs.
   
   Although the book is not about allocation (Ferri has a great book on that subject), it does discuss it. He shows how to actually cut risk by using a more aggressive approach.
   
   I found the history of index funds most interesting. But I also appreciated the discussion of tax advantage in indexing, the different benchmarks, bonds and commodities.
   
   This book can make you money if you read it, study it and apply it to your own investing. The more you know about and understand index funds and their close kin, ETFs, the better able you will be to profit by using them.
   
   Highly recommended.



2. I'm a total noob to the market and investing but this book explained so much. I think its a must read for anyone looking into investing for their future and have no idea where to start.



3. This book does a good job of explaning the concept and history of index funds as well as the emerging presence of EFT's
   
   I liked John Bogle's 1994 book on mutual funds better, but his book touched on facets Mr. Bogle's book did not. Of course that book was copyright 1994 IIRC.
   
   I learned about indexing and the various indicies they emulate as well as the advantages and pitfalls of EFT's
   
   A worth while read.
   
   Members of AAII [...] have access to the 2007 EFT review which is excellent at analyzing the catagories and expenses of the various EFT's.



4. I have taken advantage of the latest market volatility to confirm my long-term financial strategy. I ordered several books from Amazon on asset allocation and using low-cost index funds or ETFs for investment.
   
   Rick Ferri's books (I also ordered his new ETF book) are well-researched, complete guides to sensible, long-term investing. He avoids the fads, and provides information in clear, understandable terms without all of the emotional "hype" present in many books about the capital markets.
   
   In my opinion, Mr. Ferri's prior books (and the articles he has published in journals for financial professionals) have made me a better investor.
   
   I highly recommend All About Index Funds.



5. I have been doing a self-study on investing topics this year and previously read several books on indexing by Jack Bogle [my hero, and an erudite writer], and Morningstar's Christine Benz [Clear and concise], but I think this is my favorite. Ferri is laser sharp in explaining investing concepts, and reads like you are learning one-on-one from an excellent business school professor. I bought this book because I had already read his also excellent book on asset allocation. This would be a perfect book if it was better edited. The text and content is fine but there are typos, repeated words, etc. Ferri's work deserves better, but I still very highly recommend the book.

5 comments about You Can Be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits.

1. I don't think you can find the information and ideas presented in this book anywhere else. These ideas can come only from a smart investor with a long experience like Greenblatt.
   
   The book teaches you how to utilize special corporate events like spinoffs, mergers, and bankrupcies to make big profits in the stock markets. The ideas are very useful and supported by many real life examples.



2. Don't make my mistake. I avoided this book because of its title which makes it seem cheap and superficial. I finally decided to give it a try and I'm very glad that I did. Greenblatt is funny, direct, and easy to understand. His advice is practical that can be put to use immediately by investors at all levels. He actually "spoon feeds" a lot of this info to the reader which is rare. Of course no how-to book can completely do this and effort and time by the reader is absolutely required and essential to fully take advantage of this book from a financial standpoint. As Greenblatt points out this is good otherwise if investing were easy then there would be too many people competing with you and the profits would disappear.
   
   At the end of the book he also lists many other sources (newspapers, magazines, book, publications) where the reader can gain further knowledge. Even if you do not benefit financially from Geenblatt's book, it is still worth reading due to it entertainment value. It is delightful. From a practical standpoint this book is far better than The Little Book That Beats the Market also by the same author.



3. 1999 Fireside reissue of 1st edition (1997), 299 pages (of which 261 pages form the main body of the book).
   
   Despite the awful title, I really enjoyed `You can be a Stock Market Genius'. Greenblatt laces his (excellent) content with plenty of jokes, which I always think of as a somewhat risky approach: some readers who would otherwise appreciate the content will not like the delivery.
   
   By the time of publication, Greenblatt's investment firm had already achieved 50% compound annual growth for 10 years, so could write his book however he pleased. I like it when people don't need to write books for financial reasons - you get a better look at the author.
   
   Greenblatt's book reminds me strongly of Mohnish Pabrai's `The Dhandho Investor', which I read a few months ago. I don't think one should be particularly surprised, as they both belong in that tiny group of investors who have not just beaten the stock market, but have absolutely smashed it. The following summary points for `You can be a Stock Market Genius' could be used for either book:
   
   1. Concentrate your efforts on areas where bargains are likely to occur ("If you preselect investment areas that put you ahead of the game even before you start ... the most important work is already done.")
   2. Limit downside risk ("If you don't lose money, most of the remaining alternatives are good ones.")
   3. Load up on only a few best ideas ("...don't screw up a perfectly good stock-market strategy by diversifying your way into mediocre returns.")
   
   The second point, which is the same as the concept of `margin of safety,' works because it - unlike the world of analyst earnings forecasts - acknowledges the severe uncertainty that is reality. I particularly enjoyed Nassim Taleb's `The Black Swan', partly because the world he reveals ties in so well with the `value' approach to investing. Both good and bad large, unpredictable events occur more frequently than we expect. If you organise your investing (and your life) so that you are protected from some of the negative shocks, but left exposed to the positive ones, this is likely to serve you well.
   
   Pabrai focuses on distressed situations (what he calls `high uncertainty, low risk') and Greenblatt likes special situations (spin-offs, merger securities, etc). But the theme is the same: in order to get really good results you've got to be looking in areas other people are not.
   
   Greenblatt is willing to concentrate more than Pabrai, who simply limits his positions to a maximum 10%, to protect himself against error. But these are differences in style rather than substance. They both look for promising situations/ideas and only then do the necessary work. Both profess to avoid use of Excel spreadsheets (In 2006 Greenblatt was asked if he used spreadsheets: "I really don't know how to build spreadsheet models. But the good news is that you don't need spreadsheets to make money.") In other words, they keep it simple.
   
   Before he gets into the specifics of special situation investing, Greenblatt spends a chapter going over `some basics'. This short section of the book is either an excellent primer or reminder of the general requirements of a successful investment strategy - and I commend it to you without reservation.
   
   His book also contains some excellent advice about selling. It is something I have been thinking about a lot recently after reading Pabrai's `The Dhandho Investor' and Katsenelson's `Active Value Investing' - both of which make a strong case for the need to learn to sell in order to get significantly above market returns. The problem with this advice is that selling well is somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible (as various super investors, such as Greenblatt, Marty Whitman, Munger, etc. have said).
   
   Greenblatt's advice is very simple:
   
   "The bargain created or unmasked by the special corporate event - that's what draws me in. The quality and nature of the business - that's what usually determines how long I stay. So trade the bad ones, invest in the good ones."
   
   (You may note that this is essentially the same as Buffett's counsel, who wrote: "when we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favourite holding period is forever.")
   
   I was struck by how often Greenblatt rammed home the importance of incentives throughout his book:
   
   "Insider participation is one of the key areas to look for when picking and choosing between spinoffs - for me, the most important area."
   
   His understanding of the critical importance of incentives is very wise and is surely one of the key reasons for his outstanding success (although I wonder if he still holds stock options in such high regard, now it is clearer that the lack of downside risk can encourage excessively risky behaviour?). Charlie Munger said this about incentives in `The Psychology of Human Misjudgement':
   
   "...almost everyone thinks he fully recognizes how important incentives and disincentives are in changing cognition and behaviour. But this is not often so. I think I've been in the top five percent of my age cohort almost all my adult life in understanding the power of incentives, and yet I've always underestimated that power. Never a year passes but I get some surprise that pushes a little further my appreciation of incentive super-power."
   
   It's also one of the reasons why I like Karen Pryor's book, `Don't Shoot the Dog,' so much. Munger pointed out in the same talk I quoted him from above, that what economists call `incentives' is the same as what psychologists call `reinforcement'. Reading an excellent book on training using positive reinforcement (like Pryor's) is thus extremely useful in improving your understanding and critically, practice of making use of incentives.
   
   So long as you're not the type who objects to a light-hearted approach, you're likely to find Greenblatt's book a lot better than the title suggests. Highly recommended.



4. I get up in the morning and walk my dog on the walking path just off the beach (Pacific Ocean adjacent). On my walk I always say hello to Mrs. Rothchild who is reading the Investor's Business Daily while sitting on her polished teakwood patio set. I jibe her that she should switch to the Wall Street Journal and get a real job investing like I do. After a quick but nutritious breakfast, I settle down to my state of the art computer where I E-trade my way to this lavish lifestyle I currently enjoy (takes no more than an hour!). After my "investing", I'll cruise PCH in my new convertible BMW and work on that driving tan. Thanks Joel Greenblatt!
   
   What the heck? Oh drat, the alarm went off. I was having that dream again; now I must get ready for the drive to Pomona in my '98 Daewoo. So kick me, I am not yet a stock market genius. Can I be if I apply the lessons of this book? Maybe... but I have neither the time nor the money. For the person with both it might still be a great idea to have a stock market genius walk them through the paces for a few months.
   
   On the merits of readability, Greenblatt dishes out the drudgery in a well presented and entertaining style. You get case studies, nifty chapter summaries, advice not to run through dynamite factories with lit matches, and a Gilligan's Island hit in the glossary (not bad for fourteen Yankee Dollars).
   
   P.S. All you reviewers and review readers out there, have any of you struck pay dirt following the advice in this book?



5. This book was copyright 1997! Old information, very confusing for 2008 (old references, which are in my opinion, now irrelevant). B. Hodgson

5 comments about After the Trade Is Made, Revised Third Ed.: Processing Securities Transactions.

1. The topics suggested by the title (settlement, etc) are well addressed, but the first half of the book is dedicated to marketplaces and here the book comes up short. Many recent market developments, even those that were in place at the time of writing, appear to be inadequately or inaccurately addressed. Examples:
   
   ATSes/ECNs are much more center stage than the book would suggest and are not sufficiently discussed
   
   Hybrid market mechanics are not discussed much
   
   Dark pool liquidity is not addressed
   
   Options market making is not addressed beyond a single paragraph that sheds no light into how Citadel et al make continuous markets electronically
   
   
   And unfortunately, given that the major development of Reg NMS took place after the book, this makes the marketplace info even less useful.



2. Each and every concept is well explained with examples. I would request the author to add separate chapter for derivatives as well.



3. I had the fortune to be personally tought by Mr David Weiss. He used this incredible book as the basis of a 2 week series of lectures on the minutiae of trade processing. He made up for the shocking content of the book with his array of monogrammed Brooks Brothers shirts and sandwiches with english mustard. What can you say about this fine gentleman....hats off to you for making a great career about such fascinating stuff! I remember the time vividly as it was my first job and a unique life experience.



4. The first edition of this book was written back when computers and automated processing was emerging and 'a new thing' so much of the information this book started with is pretty dated. The second edition was updated in the '90s and correspondingly updates some things but, suffice it to say, is still dated now. I would argue though that the information contained therein is still very, very valuable for reference, particularly for purposes of following the 'money and paper trail'. The concepts and theories still apply and the methods by which things are done today are effectively the same (just done electronically not with paper). It also provides good overviews of the processing and bookeeping of various product types.



5. I can't recommend this book highly enough. I own a second edition, and it literally made me tens of thousands of dollars (which, being young and irresponsible, I have spend almost entirely on alcohol, laptops, and occasionally girls). Now I am a successful consultant in Geneva, Switzerland, designing and development trading platforms for buy-side and sell-side companies in foreign exchange markets. My expertise started with this book.

5 comments about Short-Term Trading in the New Stock Market.

1. I just finished reading Toni's newest book, Short-Term Trading in the New Stock Market. I am happy to report that each chapter has given me helpful advice. I have been trading for five years, and even in the initial chapters, which talk to newer traders, I learned useful points and strategies that I had forgotten, or had not previously known.
   
   Toni teaches trading with a fast-paced writing style and a sense of humor that I appreciate. I particularly liked her chapters on ETFs: their origins, the benefits of trading and hedging with these funds, and where to find them. (She provides a list of the most actively traded.) Her discussion on market internals, meaning futures, TICK, TRIN, put/call ratio and VIX were very helpful to my day trading strategies.
   
   Unlike other trading authors, Toni keeps her ego out of the picture. And, she adds very useful information between chapters on behavioral concept that help keep your trading mindset clear and constructive. All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and have recommended it to my trading friends.



2. I read a lot of trading books and have been trading for quite a while. I am always searching for a better book and new ideas. While this book doesn't have any revelations, it does do a wonderful job of reviewing the basics in an easily digestive manner. The author even has some review questions at the end of each chapter to see if you have a good understanding of the material. I particularly like the way the author discusses her stock picks and tells you what she is looking at and her decision process. It helped me ask some different (and better) questions concerning my stock selection before I entered a trade. There are some intermediate level discussions of indicators but very little on system trading (which I am currently researching). All in all an enjoyable book.



3. Toni Turner has written an overall informative and fairly comprehensive guide to investing in the stock market. If you have read a lot of other investment books, you won't find a lot of new material in this book. But, as with most books on trading, there are almost always a couple of little gems hidden in the pages that justify the expense.
   
   This book is certainly a good 'primer' for anyone just getting into investing or who wishes to get past just sticking money in their 401K account. It is a good next book past "Investing for Idiots," and a good prerequisite before tackling a book like John Murphy's "Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets."
   
   For those more interested in simple, long-term investing, I would recommend a book like Leslie Masonson's "All ABout Market Timing."



4. Most of the info on stock trading is full of the same thecnical analysis jargon that makes you lose a lot of times.
   
   Basically most tehcnical trading books tell you the same story but organized in different chapters using different words and charts as examples.
   
   [...]
   
   Understanding how to trade a rally is one of the most important aspects of trading, since for us traders it's all about the rally, either for shorting or going long.



5. I've just been introduced to the Investools.com course, took their 2 day training, finished their online training, and am still studying the subject.
   
   The title of this book described what I was looking for after the above activity and it proves to tie information together, plus provides direction and greater depth.
   
   I am a technical writer by trade and based on that, am amazed at the clarity and amount of detail Toni Turner packs into each paragraph. Because of that, this shouldn't be the first book to introduce you to the subject, but it should be among the first books you read. If you are already a successful, experienced trader, I'm not sure of its value unless you are switching from a "buy and hold" mold.
   
   My approach to this book is to do a 100% read-through, marking pages of particular interest, then returning to those pages of particular interest, along with other activities on Investools.com (which, itself, seems to be a worthy educational tool).

5 comments about How to Succeed in Commercial Real Estate.

1. This book is a hands on approach on how to make it on the commercial real estate arena,anyone who thinks they can come and make the big money on the ultra competitive world of commercial real estate easily is dreaming.He give you the stepping stones on how to build your business from scratch and it comes from someone "who's been there" not someone trying to peddle you into a "magic" way to make the big money.I applied some of his techniques and they DO work if you are willing to put the time and energy.The stuff he shares with you here will take you an average of 5 to 7 years to learn if you start on the business with little or no experience. (and more than half of your commision if you work for a big kahuna commercial brokerage firm)Good Job!!



2. I would say the book was pretty informative and relatively insightful. It seems there are very few good books on commercial real estate brokerage - and I would recommend this one.
   
   The book is a good broad brush of concepts...if you hunger for knowledge about commercial real estate, this is a good book.



3. Don't be mislead by the introduction to the author at the start of the book. The author appears to have been a professional student in his younger days, who had no idea what he wanted to do in life. He has two liberal art undergraduate degrees from two different colleges with a major in philosophy, then he started to work in his dad's commercial real estate firm. I thought oh boy! Do I really need to waste my time on this book?
   
   The book is an excellent primer for those who might be interested in selling commercial real estate. It would even be a worthwhile read for most residential RE agents. It covers many areas which could transfer knowledge to residential agents. While I can see some of the reviewers would be disappointed because it includes many basics in real estate a person considering entering the field should know and gives them a feel for what it's like to work in the field. The author has a variety and good understanding of the entire field of commercial RE, as has had many management positions within the field. What more this isn't book written by someone who has never been in real estate. There are plenty of those books in the market place. Likewise this is not a book about how to get rich quick, which are plentiful in the market place.
   
   Is the book general - yes! Is it informative - yes! Is it interesting reading - yes! If you're a pro in commercial real esate with over ten years experience it's not the book for you.



4. This should be a must read for any beginning broker, and it should be a skills improvement book for any experienced broker.



5. This book was well written and had some solid information, but I felt it lacked detail. The book spends a lot of time talking about salesmanship and very little time really explaining the details of either evaluating or negotiating commercial deals. Honestly, I really liked Loren Keim's book The Fundamentals of Listing and Selling Commercial Real Estateand John Peckham's A Master Guide to Income Property Brokerage : Boost Your Income By Selling Commercial and Income Properties , 4th Edition better. Both went into detail on where and how to find clients, particularly online, and both did some detailed explanations of evaluation techniques, pricing strategies and understand the terminology.

5 comments about Contrarian Investment Strategies in the Next Generation.

1. The author is very knowledgeable on the subject but his prose could use some improvement - its hard to read more then 1-2 hrs at a time.



2. I have read this book three times now, and intend to do so again. Dreman is obviously an outstanding investor, and his strategies flesh out and arguably "modernize" the techniques used by the noted fundamental investor Benjamin Graham, who was the mentor to Warren Buffett (although, I might add, this book does not emphasize the study of financial statements, which is something Benjamin Graham did in painstaking detail).
   
   Dreman's approach is most notable because of his use of investor psychology and his forceful rejection of the efficient market hypothesis. Instead, Dreman cites any number of studies and examples to support his main thesis: investors over-react to events, and those over-reactions create opportunities for savvy investors to make money. His approach involves a two-part strategy: first, preserve capital, and second, take advantage of market over-reactions to profit. His point is that the market is like a casino, but one in which the odds can favor a knowledgeable investor. In other words, no one can guarantee that a particular stock will do well, but over time, investors who follow a contrarian strategy will outperform the market generally.
   
   Dreman's approach to investing is notably different than much of what is considered "conventional" wisdom within the financial markets (for a good contrasting view, read "Expectations Investing" by Rappaport and Mauboussin). In particular, Dreman takes the position that experts err predictably and often, and that humans base decisions on a minute portion of the information thrown at them. In this respect, his skepticism differs notably from some other authors (example: Mauboussin in "More than What You Know").
   
   From this, he demonstrates how buying low p/e, high yielding, low price/book, and low price/free cash flow stocks results in higher-than-average returns. Dreman shows how favored stocks tend to underperform the market, while out-of-favor companies tend to outperform. However, reappraisal can happen slowly, even glacially.
   
   I found this book to be both enjoyable and informative, and it inspired me to read a couple books about behavioral finance (Paulos, "A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market" and Belsky and Gilovich "Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them").
   
   In all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in investing. A few other recommendations (other than those listed above) include:
   
   Klarman - "Margin of Safety" (out of print)
   Whitman - "The Aggressive Convervative Investor" and "Value Investing"
   Greenblatt - "You Can be a Stock Market Genius" (horrible title, great book)
   Graham - "Security Analysis" and "the Intelligent Investor"
   
   Each of these books sets forth a somewhat different approach to investing, but at the core, each of them shares a skepticism of the principals underlying the efficient market hypothesis.



3. Dreman makes a persuasive case here that the financial experts and analysts as well as the average investor are terrible in predicting which way the stock market is going. If you want to beat the market, you need to do the opposite of everyone else, by investing in currently out-of-favor value stocks with low P/E ratios.
   
   To his credit, Dreman correctly forecast the big market crash of 2000-2002. Published in 1998, Dreman here observed that the market of the late 90's was way overpriced and that a major correction was in the works. He was correct, although the crash was 2 years off when this was published.
   
   His whipping boy in this book, as in almost every other investing book on the shelves, is the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). But in truth, his investing strategy does not contradict EMH. In its simplest form, EMH argues that, statistically speaking, the past movements of a stock have no significant relationship to its future movements. Dreman indeed agrees with this, and the assertion has never been disproved.
   
   Dreman has lots of fun poking fun at the assertion of EMH that investors are rational and that current stock prices reflect all known information about the company. But the claim that investors are rational is not really controversial: all it adds up to is that investors seek to maximize returns and avoid losing money. Investors may act for poor reasons, but there is always a reason for the movement of a stock. There are good and poor reasons, but those only emerge in hindsight.
   
   Dreman also says that Beta is completely worthless as a measure of risk and returns, and that may be true for individual stocks, but for mutual funds it's very useful. The Beta for a small-cap fund will be significantly higher than a large-cap value fund, and investors are generally rewarded for taking on that risk, at least in the long run.
   
   All but the most extreme forms of EMH accept that stocks may be undervalued or overvalued *in the short run.* In the long run, the market is in fact completely rational. If it wasn't, there would be no point in investing in the market at all, since stock movements would be completely random. And if there are temporary irrationalities in stock prices, then it follows that investors can profit from those under- or overvaluations. Some theorists argue that it's not wise to try to beat the market, but most EMH theorists advocate a value strategy identical to Dreman's. See for example Larry Swedroe's excellent "The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need."



4. I was bummed out before I read this book- had just read A Random Walk Down Wall Street and had become a believer in a)the efficient market hypothesis and b)the inability to beat the market over the long term.
   
   Then comes this book. Chapter by chapter, Dreman dissects efficient market arguments that I saw as fact and showed that they were folly. Dreman states that the market is not efficient because investors are many times not rational. In fact, they are predictably irrational. And then Dreman gives data to prove this. He presents research to show that investing in a certain way allows you to beat the market.
   
   And he gives more research and data. And more, and more. Some people will complain that this is boring and overwhelming, but he does so to prove the validity of his methods. I've read many investment books, and usually an author will give his guidelines for picking stocks, with return numbers taken at a certain point in time, and holding stocks for a certain period, and maybe a few other stipulations. And in the end, I never trusted the author enough to invest any real money in his strategy.
   
   Not so with Dreman. The wealth of research convinced me that Dremans methods were not datamining and were not limited to certain market environments.
   
   Its the most imporant investing book I have read. Dremans method is very similiar to value investing preached by a number of other famous investors. The difference is that Dreman proves to you through his research that value investing works. Everybody addicted to Mad Money and Jim Cramer needs to give this book a peek.



5. I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it has so much valuable information that every investor should read it. On the other, the structure and organization are just terrible. Topics are revisited multiple times in different chapters. Topics that are well covered as part of one chapter re-appear several chapters later as a chapter of their own. Entire chapters seem out of place or pointless. For example, after 300 pages of dense material, we are treated to a chapter on the basic "why investing in stocks is better than bonds, etc." topic. Believe me, if someone waded 300 pages into this book, they already know that.
   
   But, having said all that, do yourself a favor and read it. And when you get that deja-vu feeling, just start skimming.

5 comments about Deal Terms - The Finer Points of Venture Capital Deal Structures, Valuations, Term Sheets, Stock Options and Getting VC Deals Done (Inside the Minds).

1. I recently finished your book "Deal Terms" and found it extremely
   helpful as we are looking into our first round of financing.

   This book showed me numerous issues that I would have definitely overlooked or simply not thought of.
    
   Thanks for writing Deal Terms. Definitely an invaluable
   reference for anyone in business!




2. 'Deal Terms' is a solid reference for entrepreneurs with 'need-to-read' (as opposed to 'nice-to-read') information regarding venture financing deals. I find Wilmerding's interviews with various relevant players (e.g. legal counsellor, venture capitalist, entrepreneur) to be a good differentiator of the book; the quick analysis of actual term sheet is also pragmatic. The 'Valuation' section is relatively generic & is the weaker part of the book.



3. After enjoying his first book, Term Sheets and Valuations, I was looking forward to this one. I regret to say that I found it a big waste of time and a bigger waste of money.
   
   It appears as if the marketing of the book by the pblisher sought to take advantage of his first book by raising the price by 500%, giving the impression that this book was better or more comprehensive. However, nothing could be further from the truth.



4. This author definitely knows his stuff - but even better is author's new product called Negotiating Term Sheets and Valuations in Venture Capital Deals (ISBN 1597010987). It is a 100 minute DVD that has a lot of different material in it that is critical for doing venture capital deals. It also covers specific negotiation strategies and roles and motivations for each key deal participant - which is not covered in this book or the authors other book (Term Sheets & Valuations).



5. This book, one claimed by the publisher to fall into the need-to-read category rather than the nice-to-read, is aimed at giving the businessman the information he needs to know to be able to hold an intelligent conversation with a venture capitalist.
   
   It's a pretty quick and easy read, but the businessman who has gotten his business up to the stage where outside money is needed is probably not a financial type but an engineer, or scientist or perhaps just plain businessman. This book, written from the venture capitalist standpoint, will explain to him such things as how to value a company, verious types of stock, dilution of the ownership, in short, all of the things that will need to be understood when a big time financial deal goes down.
   
   It's not an in depth book, each of these subjects can and has several books describing them 'in depth.' Instead it is a small book that gives you what you need to know quickly.