5 comments about Invest Like a Dealmaker: Secrets from a Former Banking Insider (Agora Series).

1. I'm about a third of the way through....and am taking a break. I don't know very much about the details of stocks, but bought the book to become better educated and a better investor. I'm in what the author calls "the hardest chapter to get through"...and it is. A lot of technical info that a sample balance sheet or income statement would make a lot easier to understand. Something to refer to so you could see what the heck he's talking about would be nice. Like I said I am a novice when it comes to evaluating the value of investors...I'm sure someone with more experience would understand it better.
   I'll pick it up again...maybe it will come around and be easier to understand.



2. Started off really well and I though I was in for a treat! The author makes a lot of sense in the first hundred pages by challenging the reader to look past the usual 'value' rations such as P/E and to focus on real tangible value and assets.
   
   The next half of the book read more like a book review where his favourates were glorified.
   
   Wished it was stronger - you are better of just reading the first half.



3. Having been reading Chris Mayer's articles (in which he recognised the housing bubble already in 2003) and his investment newsletters, I was really happy when he finally published a book about investing.
   
   If you will read only one book about investing I wouldn't recommend this one because this one is simultaneously something more and something less than an ordinary investing guide.
   
   ILDM is a book about investors own attitude towards stock investing and the whole wealth creation process and how you should think the whole philosophy of investing (and what great names have thought about it). It is also about how to avoid making the usual mistakes in investing. I had a little Deja Vu feeling having already read Mark Tier's book "Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett and George Soros", which I recommend warmly.
   
   This book is not a "How to become a millionaire"- style book about the physical process of picking stocks. It is not a book about cyclical analysis either (as an co-advocate of the Austrian School I was a little disappointed). And there is actually hardly any mention about competing asset classes such as bonds, commodities or gold.
   
   Fun to read although occasionally too anecdotical, and maybe should have needed more graphical illustrations and some examples on how to use for example EBITDA/EV - model.
   
   Perhaps not a classic like "Intelligent Investor" (Graham) or "Margin of Safety" (Klarman), but absolutely worth of reading if you already know something about the subject.



4. I can't recommend this book as a standalone contribution to the how-to world of personal investing. The title is misleading, and the book itself...well, it isn't really a book. It's more like a lengthy newsletter followed by a summary of a bunch of other books and newsletters.
   
   Here's what you get in the 200 pages...
   
   1. The simple notion that a 'Dealmaker' doesn't think in terms of earnings, as earnings are regularly massaged and manipulated to satisfy Wall Street analysts. Instead, look at enteprise value, cash, and assets that are actually worth something and may be understated on the balance sheet (i.e. land). This is essentially the only real investment discussion in the book.
   
   2. Constant plugging for the author's Capital & Crisis newsletter.
   
   3. Meandering summaries of different fund managers' philosophy styles, and constant plugs for their newsletters, books, memoirs, etc...
   
   The positive of this book is that it essentially lists many different books and styles to explore, briefly summarized here. It is a good jumping-off point for examining other literature. The summaries though are highly superficial. Things like 'Joe Blow beat the S&P500 10 years in a row by not following the herd. He explains this in his book called...'
   
   A cynic would say that the general summary of this book is "Investing is hard, here are some investing generalities, you probably won't feel comfortable investing with these generalities, so invest in my newsletter and I'll add context to the generalities".
   
   I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt though for compiling summaries of many different books that you may not have heard about, and may interest you.



5. I think it was in the Money Game that I read that everything important about money and markets has already been written (many years ago.) So I did not expect to pick up anything new, despite the seductive title.
   
   Invest Like a Deal Maker, has managed to put together some timeless concepts in a new way. And in doing so gives us an intersting, entertaining and easily readable reminder of basics and more advanced ideas of value investing (as espoused by Graham, Buffet, Munger and others.) As well as the techniques of many less well known masters of the Game.
   
   What I found most useful in this book were the 8 hunting grounds where Chris (the author) finds new original stock ideas. I would guess his unique contribution (I haven't seen this list anywhere else.)
   
   [...]

5 comments about Fire Your Stock Analyst: Analyzing Stocks On Your Own (Definitive Guides (Financial Times/Prentice Hall)).

1. Harry Domash, entrepreneurial investor, has laid out methodologies for analyzing stocks that any investor can follow. I would recommend his book to anyone who manages his or her own investments. Everything of importance for stock analysis seems to be covered with descriptions of where to find data and how to manipulate it. Of special interest to myself were his sections on estimating stock values and on determining a business' financial fitness and profitability.
   
   In his section on stock valuation he expresses disdain for conventional intrinsic value methods based on discounted earnings flow, claiming that stocks have no intrinsic value other than what someone will pay for them. In their place he offers two alternative methods: (1) implied earnings growth and (2) growth at a reasonable price, (GARP.) In both methods earnings growth is key. For (1) he obtains implied earnings growth from Benjamin Graham's intrinsic value formula by equating that value to current market price and solving for the (implied) growth rate. A reasonable approach but any such valuation formula could be used, including one of the maligned discounted earnings flow formulae. Domash gives no reason for his choice, but Graham's formula is simpler - a questionable criteria in the age of the computer. For (2) earnings growth is obtained from analyst's forecasts. The use of this alternative to his implied earnings growth is unexplained.
   
   In his sections on financial fitness and profitability he compiles a collection of recipes for determining both. His `cookbook' approach seems to be the industry practice. (see B. Graham & C. McGolrick, "The Interpretation of Financial Statements") I had hoped for a more logical flow to the process, but since there may not be one Domash can't be faulted for lacking it. Maybe he could develop such a flow for his next edition.
   
   In sum, Domash's book left me a bit perplexed, but what I found was comprehensive, informative, useful, interesting, and well worth the price.



2. This book is well written, simple and easy steps to analyze any stock traded. It is written in easy language and very simple steps. I use it in my investments class with my college students and I have had great feedback from my students. So much so that many of my students have moved on to banking jobs and they carry this book to their trading desks with them.



3. 
   I liked this book very much. But I did not love it. Hence, the 4 star rating. To me the book sounded like a crash course in what is involved in doing due diligence during a merger and acquisition project. People who are interested in learning a lot of what must be done during due diligence will greatly appreciate this book. And I suspect any wanta-be entrepreneur will get a lot out of this book, too.
   
   The book is overflowing with content. And I thought it was very logical and pretty straightforward. However, if I really want to get the full benefit this book has to offer me, then I will have to go back and outline each of the chapters. There are just too many asides thrown in during the writing that I feel as though another drafting or two of the book would make a world of difference in how easily it can be read and digested on a first read.
   
   Arguably there were too many examples of real companies because they tend to date the book. And the title was off a little for me since all the subscriptions necessary to do what the author suggests can cost a bit. Probably my favorite aspect of the book was all the online resources that were cited and explained to be used as tools when researching and analyzing companies from a value (undervalue) or growth persepective.
   
   Certainly this book provides one way (and a good one at that) to look at stock analysis. But there are other takes on this same subject. I recommend someone interested in the subject matter definitely read this one, but also seek out some other tomes, too. 4 stars!



4. The Book is exactly correct on what needs to be done. I wonder if Stock Brokers really do all of these things.



5. Domash has done it. This is the book that covers everything you need to know abaout analyzing a stock. And that is what makes the book "the best" book on stock investing. Many say that Graham's Intelligent Investor is the best, but I think it is not, since although valuable all it does is giving you a bunch of screening criteria at the end of the day. This is coming from a person who knows the CFA curriculum inside out!!
   
   The book covers many areas from equity valuation to detecting financial shenanigans, from Porter's five forces to technical analysis. Of course, all of these subjects can not be covered in detail in a 300 page book, but beginners will find most of these information quite interesting and valuable. Experts and professionals, on the other hand, will not find a new info on this book, but they will still benefit from the presented methods and the system on analyzing stocks.
   
   If I have to add few negative comments here they are:
   
   1- Domash stirictly differentiates between a "value stock" and a "growth stock". So a stock can't qualify to be both. I don't believe any stock investment can be so black and white.
   
   2- Target price forecast: I would like it if Domash also covered DCF valuation models like FCFE and FCFF. But then it would be necessary to explain the concepts such as equity risk premium, WACC, growth assumptions, terminal value. It would have added maybe 30 more pages. Links between balance sheet, income statement, book value, dividends so on.. is not explained. A beginner may find some lose ends reading the book.
   
   3- Forecasting sales and margins requires a little better research I think. By just looking at the trend, analyst forecasts and saying "I am assuming that the company will not grow in 2002 but it will resume its growth in 2003" is not very well justified. But the idea clear only you have to do a better research.
   
   4- I would also like to see financial models done on a spreadsheet for demonstration.
   
   This list could go on but then I would be unrealisticly expecting too much from a 300 page book. So I will stop here. Nontheless, I don't say this cliche often, and I say it now. This is a MUST READ for any non-pro individual who is interested in equity analysis.

5 comments about An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund.

1. This book is awesome!!!! You will probably finish this book very quickly, because this book is very interesting and enticing.
   
   Tim has taught me so much in this book! Tim cuts the "bullship", and teaches you lessons you will never forget. I am only 15 and recently begun playing the stock market, and thanks to this book I have avoided many beginner mistakes.
   
   This book is truly amazing, I would recommend buying it for anyone even if they're not into finance! Tim has truly inspired me and he will inspire you too!
   
   -Liam



2. Where to begin? All of the other people that have reviewed this book and given it a 1-star rating are spot on. Like everyone said, he got lucky during the dotcom bubble and doesn't know how to make money any more. I love the fact that he's obsessed with selling short while he has his hedge fund - then the arrogant prick has the audacity to blame industry regulations for this failures as a hedge fund manager. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over again and expecting something different - according to this definition, Sykes is definitely insane. I'm sorry, but if you can't make money with $2 million USD, how is having $10 million USD going to improve your trading?
   
   More than anything, I'm angry. I normally find that I can rely on Amazon's ratings for a book, but this one was a HUGE let down. I can't believe I wasted valuable time and money on this garbage.



3. I was given this book as an audible version... I actually had it for over 3 weeks then on a long drive in my car it was the only thing I had on my IPHONE so I decided to listen to it. Not bad until I learned this kid was investing in Penny Stocks..... OH HOW I WISH TIMOTHY DID NOT WRITE THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT WILL JUST SUCKER PEOPLE INTO DANGEROUS TRADING.........
   
   I was mortified... Sure you can make money in penny stocks but you can also make money on a slot machine... A loose slot machine....
   
   His lack of wanting to spend money in his hedge Fund was a joke... Timothy states when he had a broken monitor he didn't want to spend money on a new one... Yet he was able to take all his class mates out to lavish dinners. Timothy wanted to start a hedge fund yet he was upset by the amount of traveling and cost it took to go meet clients and also spending $1500 to have access to a large list Hedge Fund information or some website.... If you are making a few million and trying to build a business such as a Hedge Fund, expenses to make it great should be last on your list....The whole story is strange and the title of the book is sour (American Hedge Fund?) . The book should be called The Penny Stock Success and Fall of Timothy Skypes... Didn't it ever occur to this guy that the reason he could not get investors was because NO SERIOUS INVESTOR WANTS THEIR MONEY IN PENNY STOCKS?
   
   Timothy kept calling the bigger stocks such as Yahoo the bigger names on CNBC to expensive.. Has it ever occurred to him that the bigger stocks are more expensive because they are proven companies. If he had only took his lucky earned capitol from the pump and dump stocks and placed them in solid companies, He could have been the hedge fund he wanted to be.....
   
   So basicly the story is Timothy fell in the Dot Com bubble and made easy money and when it was over
   he found it hard to continue the game. That is because with penny stocks there are no second and third chances. They run up and then pop.. With a solid company with solid growth if stock consolidates you don't have to freak out and sell. Most good solid stocks will consolidate and move up or move down for a while.
   Penny stocks do not do this because they have nothing solid. They are penny stocks for a reason. I won't even
   touch a stock until I see growth with future growth ahead , proven earnings, and stability. Of coarse even solid companies have problems but with Penny Stocks its hit or miss.
   
   Timothy's way is not investing, it is suicide. If you are going this route please be careful. Eve though Timothy says he made millions, take into consideration the time he was doing his investing. The DOT COM bubble was a time when any stock would run up for no reason and people were making a killing. These companies that were running up high didn't even have one earnings Report. Earnings didn't matter it was all about what stock was hot today on the message boards. That is not investing...
   And that is why Timothy didn't get his Hedge Fund. There is no way I would hand over a couple million dollars to a guy that even though had great past earnings, would put my money in penny stocks...
   
   Then I also think about the next reason Timothy wanted to start a hedge fund, as he stated it was because
   he didn't want to risk his own wealth anymore......
   
   If he was such a great investor then why would he be worried about risking his own wealth..If he understood risk management and he was as good as he said he was in stocks why would he worry about risking his own wealth?
   This is not a reason to start a Hedge Fund... You start a HEdge Fund for more leverage to buy high quality companies not so you can play other peoples money on the Penny Stock Slot Machine.......
   
   According to Timothy's website he now sells high priced DVD's for over 200.00 and trains people in penny stocks....If Timothy is truly helping people, more power to him, but I wish he would take his talent and turn it to companies that are solid that don't trade up to $1.00 and then drop to .05 in one day.....
   
   For all you American Dreamers..... PENNY STOCKS ARE COMPANIES THAT ARE WORTH WHAT THEY TRADE
   IN PENNIES PINK SHEETS....
   
   STICK WITH COMPANIES OVER AT LEAST $10.00 and are listed on a major exchange such as Nasdaq, S & P 500 etc...



4. Looking for an interesting story about hedge funds and some inspiration, this book caught my eye. After making it 97 pages through the book, the title should actually read "How I got lucky in the stock market". I can't fathom why anyone would follow his trading style - no one in their right mind would invest in illiquid penny stocks (his bread and butter), his risk management was frightening (many times he mentions risking 30%, 50%, 75% of his net worth on trades) and he appears to lack any technical ability in trading stocks. There doesn't seem to be anything but luck in his favor, especially considering it was the dot-com era. Oh, and his hedge fund was a disaster, if you really want to call it as such. I'm realizing now that the reason why it is such a fast read is that it is void of any meaty material. Pure fluff and puff. If you buy this book, you'll do exactly what he wants you to do - line his pockets, since all he has now going for him is this book and his website where he hocks his wares. Save your money and check it out from the library like I did.



5. Personally I liked this book very much, because it chronicles the ups and downs of a real trader (unlike the vendor-only crowd).
   
   I'm not sure why there's so much negativity with Tim, in reading his book I thoroughly enjoyed it (along with those by Nison, Oz, Rudd, and Turner). He's a young guy with chutzpah who made it, and for that I respect what he's done.
   
   What comes through is, here's a guy who's a real trader who's had his ups and downs, and through it all has proven he was able to take 12k to 2M, which is more than 99% of home-based retail traders I've seen be able to do. Yes he made trading errors w/his fund, but through it all shines the gleam of a successful trader who was able to trade his own money way up, in a big way.
   
   Unlike the theory-only trading vendor books out there, this is a book written by a real trader, which is rare (like Tony Oz's books, also great, from a real trader). I personally got a lot out of it, and believe it's a "must read" for any active trader. Well done!
   
   -Ken Calhoun

5 comments about Street Wise: A Guide for Teen Investors.

1. This book was easy to follow. I enjoyed the chapter on how to get a job on Wall Street. I am 14 and have already started saving for college thanks to this book. My mom made me read it. I was reluctant at first but now I am very glad she did. That is why I rate this book a five!!!!



2. This book was a great introduction to the Stock Market for me. It was simple and easy to read. It was also interesting. I highly recommend this book.



3. This is an excellent introduction to the stock market for teenagers. The book is directed towards teenagers and accomplishes it's goal well. All teenagers should read this book to gain a starting knowledge of the American Stockmarket.
   The book teaches stock vocabulary, trading tips, how to start, risk and rewards, and many other topics. But, this book is definitely an introduction - if you have a good knowledge of the stock market already, this might not be for you.



4. I started looking into investing and the stock market a year or so ago when I realized I had enough money to start investing long-term. I tried a couple different books, but they all seemed too childish or too confusing. I found Street Wise at the library, and even before I had finished reading it I ordered my own copy. The whole book is very well-organized and kept me very interested all the way through.
   
   Although teens as young as thirteen or fourteen would find the material age-appropriate, I would consider this book a valuable resource for adults as well. In "Street Wise," Bamford describes:
   1. The value of compound interest for young investors
   2. The basics of how the stock market operates
   3. How investors actually buy and sell stocks
   4. The advantages and disadvantages of funds
   5. How to cope when the market is down
   6. Many investing resources, including clubs, trading games, and helpful websites.
   
   Speaking as a teenager, I would highly recommend this book to any young adult who wants to start investing!



5. This book has all the nuts and bolts, but it is a little too boring to keep the attention of my 16-year-old nephew. I also got him the Motley Fool Guide to Teen Investing which was much more interesting. This Street Wise book is a little too much like homework. If you're trying to get the teen exciting about investing and its possibilities, the Motley Fool book is a better choice in my opinion. Both books together make a solid start to an investing library for teens.

5 comments about How I Made $2,000,000 In The Stock Market.

1. I do not know why some people write to much about their openions on this book or any other books. Hey Friends, we do not have time to reade all your opinions. Please write all your opinion in short sentences.
   Thanks



2. Dravas is one of the best speculator. He is able to keep his profit and he has his own style. The method of trading is capable for any, if not too stupid, investor. Buy this one, don't buy other books because they're unaudited and no difference from How I Made $2,000,000.



3. Back in 1980, I came across a copy of the original version of this book in a used book store. I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. I had been floundering around in the stock market for a year or two, and suddenly, after reading this book, I knew what I was up against, and why it was so hard.
   
   This book is one of my favorite books of all time, on any subject. It's an absolute must read for anyone interested in stock trading. William O'Neill's methods as used in Investors Business Daily, is mostly based on Darvas' method, and Jesse Livermore's.
   
   I'm not going to repeat all the details that can be found in other reviews, but I would like to add a few things.
   
   The first one is this quote by Darvas, that was the culmination of all the trials and tribulations that had gone on before:
   
   "The only sound reason for my buying a stock is that it is rising in price. If that is happening, no other reason is necessary. If that is not happening, no other reason is worth considering."
   
   I point this out because anybody who has ever bought an IBD 100 stock knows that all of the stocks at the top of the list are stocks that have been rising in the immediate past. I also point this quote out, because of my next point.
   
   Two, the Darvas method, like the IBD method ONLY works in rising markets. In sideways or down markets, you can get creamed. In my 30+ years of trading, I've tended to use this method MUCH LESS than other methods, for the simple reason that it doesn't work year in and year out, and that one tends to buy stocks at the top so that you're forced to keep selling stocks you just boought.
   
   Sure, when it works, man is it great. I guess if a person only used it at the right times it would be wonderful, but year in and year out you are constantly faced with times when it doesn't work very well.
   
   Even Darvas lost huge amounts of money after writing this book, and the next one in 1964. By time he wrote "You can still make millions in the market" in 1977 you could tell he was a beaten man when he ventured back into the market.
   
   C.C. Hazard (pseudonymn), in his book "Confessions of a Wall Street Insider" {1972} talks about how no method really works all that well over time. As a life long stock broker, he saw it all. One time (around the time of the writing of his book) he had a broker friend of his check on Darvas' account balance. He wasn't surprised to find that Darvas had lost most of his money that he made in the 60s.
   
   Also, I was amazed to see that Darvas' estate (or whoever owns the rights to the story) has published so many other books recently. Why would they need to do that? I would think they would be using his method to make millions in the stock market, wouldn't you?
   
   So, BEWARE of this method and the IBD method. Over the long run you will find that they work less often than they don't.



4. For some one who is interested in investing in the stock market using technical analysis, this is a great book. It clearly shows how following price and developing your own STRATEGY to invest around it, can be very profitable.



5. if you know something about technical analysis you will probably find this a fun read. unfortunately it suffers from the poor formatting so common to e books which is particularly annoying in the tables of his stock purchases and sales. but the narrative is well written and it s a fun story. do not expect to make your own 2 000 000 in the market starting from 3 000 as he did however.

3 comments about Option Strategies for Directionless Markets: Trading with Butterflies, Iron Butterflies, and Condors.

1. I have read a lot of books on options and most of them have one thing in common - they all just describe the various options strategies but do not provide any information on how to use the strategies effectively to make money. This book is no different.
   
   The book delves into how a butterfly and a condor are structured. If you know that a butterfly is structured by a short straddle and protected by a long strangle further out of money, you can skip pages and pages of explanation on the structure. If you already know how to calculate the profit or loss for various prices of the underlying at expiration, you can again skip many pages. Same is true regarding the option greeks. Also, pages and pages of theory does not add much value if you already know about the construction of a condor, which is nothing but a short strangle protected by a long strangle that is further out of money.
   
   What is sorely lacking from the book is any advice on how to practically use these strategies for profitable trading. The author mentions that you will trade these strategies when the market is range bound. The author does not give any practical suggestion on selecting the long strikes or wings of the butterfly other than mentioning in the passing that one may use probabilities, but does not go into details of how the probabilities are derived. If you are a butterfly trader you probably already know about standard deviations and probabilities and the importance of IV in calculating the expected movement. Also, once you are in a trade, how do you manage it when it goes against you? The author does not discuss that in any detail.
   
   The chapter on 'Strategy Applications' has a lot of diagrams depicting when to leg into and out of the butterfly/condor depending on the market; whether it has broken out of a range and whether IV is falling or rising etc., This is one chapter that can be of some practical use.
   
   All in all, if you are a beginner you might find some interesting reading on the butterfly and condor strategies. But all that and a lot more strategies are covered in depth in McMillan's 'Options as a strategic investment' book.



2. I would have liked to see more information on guidelines to determine the best range (width) to buy (sell). Specifics on Condor corrections like when is the best time, how to determine how much correction, and alternatives. I would have liked to see ideas on "winging into condors" or adding one side at a time.



3. After having learned much from Saliba's first book on options, I was disappointed that there wasn't much new here for experienced options traders. Those contemplating these types of directionless strategies should not forget that they will likely experience long strings of small winners puncuated by infrequent huge losses that can wipe them out.

4 comments about Tape Reading & Market Tactics (Marketplace Classics).

1. This is a very good basic guide to reading the ticker tape or level 2 quotes. Even though this book was written in 1930 it is just as useful today. The author explains how to make decisions based solely on market action and ignore tips, opinions, and the media. The ticker tape does not lie watch for sustained price increases on large volume to spot stock operators and money managers taking large positions and get on board after a confirmed move. Trade only 6-12 times a year for intermediate moves or go long, the odds are against successfully scalping a few points here and their. Do not attempt to buy at the bottom or sell at the top, just take the meat of the move as profit. Let winners run but sell losers quickly. This book is 100% focused on the technical aspects of stock trading with fundamentals not mentioned. The author really wants the reader to take away the understanding that all stock prices are based on supply and demand and a stocks true value is the price you can get a buyer to buy it from you. You must trade stocks just like they are merchandise with the intent to sell them for more than you paid for them, reduce the ones that are out of season and hold the ones that are growing in demand. Does any of this sound familiar? This book is a great classic with all the basics on reading technical moves and money management against huge losses. I recommend this one for beginners are a refresher for seasoned traders.



2. This is an excellent book on tape reading with respect to volume. It is consistent with the IBD philosophy, and explains different ways to analyze volume when picking stocks.



3. This book is a great primer on chart reading and momentum investing. Some of the key elements of investing back then can be used in modern investing.



4. This book helped me to understand when a stock is being accumulated or distributed. As the author points out, that is all you need to know to make money and keep what you make. It is an excellent book and a must read.

5 comments about Irrational Exuberance: Second Edition.

1. This book has good info in it but man, does it get long. I read lots of analytical info with interest, but this book was very very slow for me, especially in the middle and later chapters.
   
   The good news is that the first couple of chapters make it worthwhile. It does present some very important and valid concepts. The easily-bored reader could read the first few chapters and the last chapter, learn a lot of good info, and not miss much in the long middle chapters.
   
   JD



2. If you have Invested more than ten dollars in the share market or real estate than you should read this book.



3. Last year in my country you can see some commercials in the TV inviting to invest in Mutual Funds, and I believe lots of people turned to that. The problem is that the very next year, beginning in January, the housing bubble burst and we know the rest of the story. Although this book was written before that, the book remain valid at explaining the particular behavior of the markets in these moments of furor, the "irrational exuberance", and the panic that follows it. In my opinion the book is a good investigation of the markets, you can see the author analyzing all the factors involved, including sociological and psicological (this make the book a little slow). Is good to invest in the financial system, but in awareness of its possible behavior.



4. not much food in the book overall..a very shallow and general talk, but i found it interesting to see his comments (p220) on the interest rate and other potential risks in the mortgage market back in 2005. some of the points he mentioned are indeed drivers of the recent subprime meltdown



5. Great book based on the phrase spoken by Greenspan to try and slow down the economy.

5 comments about Ahead of the Curve: Nine Simple Ways to Create Wealth by Spotting Stock Trends.

1. I love both Hilary and the book. This is a fantastic book. It describes, in a witty and accessible manner, the fundamentals of stock forecasting. The book is especially important because most books on stock picking do not handle the topic of stock forecasting adequately, if at all. Get this book and get rich.



2. I had high expectations for this book. "Ahead of the curve" suggested an opportunity to gain insight for future profits. Ms. Kramer, instead relates her own experiences in a style which simply doesn't match up to expectations. Of the hundreds of books I've read this was probably the biggest surprise in that there was very little guidance which I could put to my own use. Awareness of various factors is fine, but it is a very long jump from there to identifying stocks which have good to excellent prospects. This book reads like it was written by an absolute amateur in the market and I couldn't recommend it to the most innocent beginner initiating an investment portfolio. There are much better books out there to identify trends.



3. Ahead of the Curve is geared towards novice retail investors. It is about finding great investment ideas by making simple observations in the news and every day life. We are constantly immersed in a sea of new products and trends - many of which we subconsciously ignore. By being cognizant of such trends as a new fashion of clothes, a change in demographics, or a newly hyped product advertised on television, it is easy to find an idea in which to profitably invest.
   
   Most of the book is a barrage of examples revolving around new trends. The author tries to show that money can be made at points all along the value chain - from basic raw materials to the latest "hot product." She lists an endless number of investment plays including the baby boomers, green energy, and geopolitical news events.
   
   BEWARE! This book may sound innocent by its cover, but I believe it does a great disservice to its audience. The author makes investing sound much easier than it actually is. Following her advice, a reader can easily be suckered into buying shares of a company with shoddy fundamentals. Very often a product may be hot, but the company's management is in distress or the stock is overvalued. Hilary Kramer does very little to prepare investors for expecting the worst.
   
   To further encourage reckless investing, she constantly inserts her own anecdotes of acting on a crackpot idea, and then doubling her money in the stock market. This could easily cause uninformed readers to forget that even the best of stock market pros make huge mistakes. If investing were as simple as buying shares of the newest restaurant in town, we would all be rich beyond our wildest dreams.
   
   Ahead of the Curve plays on the prospective reader's itch for easy money to sell a book. It only propagates the mentality that caused a preponderance of retail investors to loose unimaginable amounts of money at the end of the dot-com era.
   
   Don't waste your money on this. As an alternative, I suggest reading Real Money by Jim Cramer. Real Money incorporates some of Hilary Kramer's concepts, but is much more encompassing and helpful to the retail investor.



4. This book reads as if someone looked over the past few years of stock prices, picked a few stocks that went up significantly in price, then made up stories to explain why she invested in them. The endless tales of stock market success could not possibly be true. Well, they might be, but there would have to be an almost equal supply of purchases that did not fare so well. Nobody could have the batting average this woman implies.
   
   Basically, she explains, over and over again, how she caught wind of a trend (brilliantly ignoring all the fads and looking only at real trends), found a stock that could profit from the trend, bought it low, then sold it high. Presto! Easy as that. She even demonstrates a worksheet that takes us into her thought process. She writes "lower interest rates," then makes deductions from there on the impacts to various industries, such as housing and mortgage finance companies and makers of home fixtures. Incredibly, her ability to predict what stocks will benefit from low interest rates includes companies that sell all manner of home renovation equipment, but she presciently manages to exclude the giant home reno stores like Home Depot and Lowe's (which of course have not performed well over the past few years).
   
   There is simply no way anyone could have made as many brilliant forecasts as this woman claims (at least not without making a commensurate number of not-so-brilliant forecasts). While her concept of looking for trends and trying to logically deduce the extent of the trend and any secondary and tertiary effects is a great idea, all the difficulties inherent in doing such analysis is completely ignored.



5. Hilary's book is pretty much what I thought it would be. After watching her occasional appearances on Nightly Business Report I concluded that she is a sharp girl. Her book has lots of good, practical advice on using available information and spotting trends. It's an easy and fun read.

5 comments about How Legendary Traders Made Millions.

1. If you want to buy the book, go ahead, just be careful of superbookdeals, they take your money but don't deliver and don't answer emails. Caveat Emptor.



2. This book is an excellent history book that will also teach you how to trade stocks. The book covers the stock markets actions decade by decade for the entire twentieth century up to 2006. At the same time he explains what the great stock traders who lived at that time did in the market. He covers all the bear and bull markets and what caused them. I agree with him on the traders he covers, Livermore, Baruch, Loeb, William O' Neal, Nicholas Darvas, Jack Dreyfus, and Jim Roppel. (I would include Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch since the mutual fund manager Dreyfus was included). Every trader included became a millionaire off the market. You better to study? The author recaps at the kind all the similar characteristics that made these men so successful. Here are some of the similarities they all had:
   1. Only trade in a bull market. Know the market trend.
   2. Make your own decisions do not be influenced by others.
   3. Learn from market history.
   4. By stocks that have strong fundamentals that are leaders in their industry.
   5. Buy more of a stock on the way up not down.
   6. Buy stocks at 52 week highs breaking out of correct basing patterns.
   7. Cut losses short let winners run.
   I would also study William O'Neal's books and read Investors Business Daily if you want to be a successful trader or investor. It is all you will need. I really became successful trading stocks when I started following the principles in the books written by these authors.



3. I read the Battle for Investment Survival, by Gerald Loeb, back in the mid-seventies. It is THE all-time classic on successful investing in stocks.
   
   This book springboards off of that type of investing philosphy and adds to it with the advice of other great traders.
   
   The last few chapters get a bit focused on O'Niel and Roppel, but I think it was because the author had more access to info about them. It stars getting a bit self-serving toward the CAN SLIM method and Investors Business Daily.
   
   All in all, it is well worth the price. I have already seen more success as a result of reading it.



4. The book is laid out in decades. Each chapter covers 10 years starting from 1897 to the time to writing. Boik summarizes each decade in about 20 pages or so (about economy and how the legenardy traders did). Each chapter uses the same template and same wording which made it difficult to read and at times I thought I was reading the previous chapter. Boik also promotes his first book way too many times throughout. We get it!!! You have another book. So why 3 stars instead of 1? There are few good words of wisdom about trading.
   I would recommend skipping this book (unless you want a summary) and read some of the classics:
   
   The Battle for Investment Survival - Gerald Loeb
   How to Make Money in Stocks - William o'Neil
   How I Made Two Million Dollars in the Stock Market - Nicolas Darvas
   Baruch: My Own story - Benard Baruch
   
   The above traders are the featured traders in Boik's book so it would be better to get it straight from the source.



5. I rated the author's previous book "Lessons from the Greatest Stock Traders of All Time" a four star and titled my review as "A shortcut to must reads about the best stock traders ever". To my disappointment, this latter one is so similar to that. The addition of three more legends (but with relatively less coverage) just didnt help. I felt strongly of being cheated. Even worse, the first one is much better. I would suggest potential buyers to get that instead of this.