Best Five Books for Traders — Zivolve | Intelligent Investing App
Schools and colleges today contribute a few resources, if any, to teaching young people about finances and investing. On top of that, trading is a uniquely more intense and active form of investing. It requires more diligence and consistency.
Zivovle-Intelligent Investing App recommends these best five books for traders, written by experienced and successful traders, that explore the best stock trading strategies.
1. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre
Even older than Graham’s book, having been published in 1923, Lefèvre also wrote a book that proved its worth over the past near-century. This novel actually details the fictionalized account of real-life Jesse Livermore, an extremely renowned stock trader. The plot follows Larry Livingston from a young age, as he starts out on his journey to acquire mass wealth through trading, facing deep failures along the way, but eventually succeeds.
By reading this book, a trader from any level of experience can learn Livingston’s own lessons of how to overcome failure and hold on to perseverance through the trading journey to success. Feel free to either read or listen to this helpful book, as there is an audio version of it. This book is a MUST read.
2. Market Wizards by Jack Schwager
Published in 1989, Jack Schwager shares his own trading experience along with others’, through multiple and interesting interviews. Moreover he interviews famous and wealthy traders like Bruce Kovner, Richard Dennis, and Paul Tudor Jones to learn their secrets of success. These interviews grant special access to the minds, mistakes, and lessons of these trading moguls. When learning something new, especially something as volatile as trading, it’s critical to learn from the best. This book was such a hit that Schwager continued to write four more books:
- The New Market Wizards (1994)
- Stock Market Wizards (2003)
- Hedge Fund Market Wizards (2012), and
- The Little Book of Market Wizards (2014)
3. Best on Index Funds: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle
Touting his view on the best investing strategy, Bogle wrote this book on index funds. Index funds are found in individuals’ portfolios as well as employer-sponsored retirement accounts. Bogle prioritizes investing in low-cost index funds to minimize costs and focus on their long-term growth. The praise of his strategy has brought tangible success. Bogle was the founder and CEO, now retired, of The Vanguard Group which is an investment management firm in charge of over $5 trillion in assets.
4. One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch
In this book, Lynch guides the reader on how to rely on their own sense of intelligence and common sense. Lynch draws from his professional experience at Fidelity Investments Inc. and being in charge of the Magellan Fund. Under his tenure, the fund grew from $18 million in 1977 to $14 billion in 1990. This impressive near 30% annual return was more than double the S&P 500’s growth rate. Lynch points to the average person’s observations of the world around them and what they think will be the “next big thing”. He inspires readers to act on these thoughts by bringing them to fruition through long-term investing. By being in control of your own curiosity, you can truly get ahead and “one-up” on Wall Street.
5. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Despite this book having been published in 1949. This book has surpassed the test of time as essential for active investing which is why it is one of the best five books for traders. Benjamin Graham was the college professor of investment magnate and head of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Warren Buffet. This famous work outlines Graham’s novel strategy of value investing.
Value investing is an investment strategy where the investor aims for stocks and financial assets that promise a profitable return. This profit is based on the company’s performance during market booms and busts, instead of the investor relying on market swings.
Conclusion
Some of these books’ tenets may sound like regular long-term investing, where an individual buys an asset, waits a long time for it to grow, and then sells it years, possibly decades, later. Except, these authors do remind readers that their recommended investment strategies require a lot of research and to constantly inform themselves on the statuses of one’s investments.
Trading is a complex art of investing, where the individual must be active and consistently learning about the market and general world conditions around them. Therefore, start off with these best five books for traders and gradually expand your horizons, you’ll be set to increase your investment intelligence.
Originally published at https://blog.zivolve.com on August 14, 2020.
