If you’re new to the world of investments, then it’s very easy to literally burn through all your capital and have nothing left to show for it. Markets are fast-moving and highly volatile – the last few years are the perfect example of this. One minute your stock could be doing well, the next it could be in free-fall because of surprisingly poor economic data being released or a new competitor enters the market with a better product.
So before you start building up your investment portfolio, take some time to acquaint yourself with investing and the mindset it requires. To help you get started, Andy Boyd, co-founder of Australian credit card comparison website, www.creditcardcompare.com.au, offers up his list of 10 top investing books. Some are even available as free ebook downloads, so you can get started with your research right away!
1. “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Mr. Kiyosaki wrote this top seller investing book based on his personal life experiences with financial matters that he learned from two sources – his real father, his “poor dad”, and the father of his best friend, his “rich dad”. The two dads had different upbringings, different educations, and different philosophies on life and money in general.
They are exactly the opposite of what you may think – his “poor dad” was very educated and made a good salary running the Hawaiian school system. His “rich dad” dropped out of high school and was constantly working on running his own business.
Although he wasn’t technically “rich”, he did not deny himself all the pleasures in life he desired and instead found ways to afford them (unlike the “poor dad” who always claimed they were too broke to afford any of these same pleasures). These two dads each taught Robert very different life lessons about money and finance, which he shares in this book.
2. “Irrational Exuberance, 2nd Paperback Edition” by Robert J. Shiller (2005)
This book title came from the infamous comment made by Alan Greenspan about the impracticality of stock market valuations. In his book, he predicts the impending burst of the dotcom bubble.
As a Yale educated economist, he does not go along with the traditional belief that the market is rational and can be played as such. Instead, he firmly believes that the market if full of speculation, emotion, and “herd behaviour”.
This second edition (the original edition was published in 2000) again chillingly predicts the housing market crash and the plethora of bankruptcies and recession that followed. Irrational Exuberence is one of the best investing books for beginners and comes highly recommended to help understand the post credit crisis world we live in.
3. “One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market” by Peter Lynch
Wall Street legend, Peter Lynch, presents his theory that your everyday observations in your life and the world around you can help you determine which stocks can make a lot of money for you.
He poses the argument that an occasional grand slam of a stock completely makes up for several others that clearly strike out. He is also a firm believer in ignoring the experts and analysts, as well as refusing to try to predict the economy or the market.
He encourages you instead to concentrate on industries that you are familiar with and do diligent research on them, while keeping your ears open to people in that industry who know what is going on and can be great predictors of success.
4. “The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom: Practical and Spiritual Steps So You Can Stop Worrying” by Suze Orman
Suze Orman’s book takes a spiritual and emotional viewpoint about money and accentuates the fact that the major hindrances to achieving wealth are anger, shame and fear.
She helps you gain control over the money you have – and do not have – while teaching you to be responsible and respectful of your money and understand what wealth truly means.
5. “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits” by Phillip Fisher
Even though this book was published over 50 years ago, the teachings in it are still successfully applicable today. Mr. Fisher was instrumental in establishing the world of financial analysis. Modern investment theory has been largely influenced by his teachings.
He pioneered the general idea behind using the growth potential of a business to help analyse stock. He believes in evaluating the ability of a business to turn a profit and to focus on the quality of that business.
6. “Stock Investing for Dummies” by Peter Mladjenovic
This is one of the easier books to get your head around. As the title suggests, this book guides the beginner investor to assemble a stock portfolio that is highly profitable.
It discusses the basics, explains different types of risks, helps you make knowledgeable investment choices, assists you in building a strong portfolio foundation, while exploring expert tactics and tips to help you succeed.
7. “The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition” by Warren Buffett and Professor Lawrence Cunningham
Although Mr. Buffett is somewhat secretive about his specific investments, he is always more than willing to talk about his strategies behind choosing his investments.
He has written many personal letters to shareholders over the past 30 years and this book is a collection of those letters. You can also download a copy of this book for free.
8. “The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing (Fourth Edition)” by Jason Kelly (2010)
This book is one of the most highly purchased stock books on the market and has sold over 200,000 copies. This edition has been updated with recent information and strategies following the financial system crisis that began in 2008 and is still recovering.
This edition (unlike prior editions) delves into technical analysis tools, which Mr. Kelly believes are paramount in assessing the health of the market and the level of risk associated with your investments.
9. “The Intelligent Investor: The Classic Text on Value Investing” by Benjamin Graham
Mr. Graham is unequivocally the “guru” of value investing. While this book does not specifically advise you on how to choose stocks to purchase, it does provide you with dependable principals that investors have tested (successfully) time and time again.
Mr. Graham’s most notable student, Warren Buffett, has spoken highly of this book as the best investment book written. Mr. Graham also wrote “Security Analysis” which investors have quoted and relied upon for decades, even though it is a difficult book to read. “The Intelligent Investor” is much more reader-friendly.
10. “Start Over, Finish Rich” by David Bach
Mr. Bach shares with you the 10 essential financial points to focus on coming out of this recession in order to gain wealth. He is a financial expert who has had several books reach #1 on the New York Time Bestseller’s List.
Mr. Bach illustrates how we have the best chances for becoming rich right in front of us, after the recession we have suffered through. He explains how to set yourself up to recover right along with the economy. A version of the book is available as a free download here.
Author Bio: Andy is the co-founder of CreditCardCompare.com.au, one of Australia’s leading credit card comparison services. He has had work published with Wisebread, Economy Watch and Dynamic Business among others.




























