Here are my top reading picks for investments and value investing
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Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders : Pretty voluminous, but a gem of collection. Essentially drills down the investment philosophy of Munger and Buffet over a course of multiple decades. Over a period of time you would realise their investment philosophy taking on the new market realities, while maintaining the underlying ethos of buying great businesses.
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Irrrational Exuberance by Robert J Schiller : Not a book to advice on where to invest per se, but more about how be wary of extraordinary good times. The first four chapters analysing each of large investment areas (equity, bond and real estate) are a must read. The most important takeaway from the book is that one would start appreciating the notion of building wealth in real (inflation adjusted) terms rather than nominal terms, which takes on more importance in the context of high growth, high interest rate economy like ours. The treatise on bond yield spreads and credit cycles is outstanding.
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Value Investing : From Graham to Buffet and Beyond by Bruce Greenwald : A legendary professor who has retired recently from the Mecca of Value Investing (Columbia School of Business), and known as the guru as of Wall Street gurus, this book brings you two halves. The latter one discusses investment philosophies of legendary value investors, a great place to figure out with whom your inclination lies towards and then deep-dive. The first part primarily deals with valuation and requires some rudimentary financial concepts to get a hold of. The key takeaway from the book is that growth, just for the sake of growth can erode value, and how to properly value growth. Other concepts such as maintenance capex, capital adequacy are wonderfully presented. A must read for anyone with an aptitude for valuation.
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Damodaran on Valuation : More of a textbook than an investment book, this book remains a hot favourite of anybody willing to value companies and businesses. Though the later parts of the book regarding values of control, synergy and employee stock options are a bit far fetched for value investing (not academically though!), the first few chapter regarding valuation models (primarily absolute valuation with DCF and relative valuation) merit some serious interest. Would recommend a refresher on accounting basics before trying out this beast.
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The timeless classics : Common stocks and Uncommon profits, The intelligent investor, Security Analysis, One up on Wall Street and Margin of Safety. A lot has already been discussed regarding these.
Current Reading List :
Misbehaving : The making of Behavioural economics by Richard Thaler
The Outsiders : Eight Unconventional CEOs and their radically rational Blueprint for success by William Thorndike
How the economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio