Equanimity Financial
Library
“A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savor of it”
– Niccolo Machiavelli
A great place to start
Nomad Investment Partnership Letters
A collection of letters written by Nicholas Sleep of the Nomad Investment Partnership to their investors from the partnership’s inception in 2001 to closure in 2013. The letters highlight the philosophy and methodology used by Nomad to approach the problem of stock/company picking.
The Psychology of Human Misjudgment
One of the very best investment talks was given by Charles Munger to an audience at Harvard University in 1995. Nearly 30 years later, it remains one of the most insightful articulations of the problems that beset investors. Most importantly, there is barely any mention of investing at all!
The Letters of Warren Buffett
When I first encountered the letters of Warren Buffett, like the Super Investors of Graham & Doddsvile or the collected letters to investors in Berkshire Hathaway, which you can find on the web or collected into this volume by Lawrence Cunningham, I realized that I had discovered true investment gold.
Prior to this, the prospect of investing to me resembled a pure gamble. Without an intellectual, philosophical, or most importantly of all, a framework for assessing probabilities, investing felt like throwing darts in the dark.
The philosophy of investing that Warren laid out was neat, philosophically consistent, and rational. Further, by expounding on the notion of risk management, through a ‘margin of safety’, as central to the investment’s return, I felt I had just found a kindred spirit and intellectual mentor.
The Intelligent Investor
I devoured everything I could find on so-called ‘value investing’, starting with the recommended writings of Warren’s teacher, Benjamin Graham.
Security Analysis
The groundbreaking, but demanding, work that should be considered as the true starting point for the securities analysis profession.
And there are others which complement these foundational writings:
And some which are more friendly to the novice investor:
And, of course, a focus on risk, which is the core of successful portfolio management can be found in the writings of great investors such as Howard Marks:
