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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Quick, funny, and informative.
(Like with most topical mockery, appreciation probably scales with previous exposure.)
(Like with most topical mockery, appreciation probably scales with previous exposure.)
I enjoyed this very much. I do appreciate any book that disparages Wall Street, and Schwed's original take sets the table for all that followed.
Highly recommend to anyone who reads Barron's or WSJ or thinks they are "playing the market" and winning. I hope you do well in your investments, but do not forget what the industry truly exists to do: skim as much from you as they can.
Highly recommend to anyone who reads Barron's or WSJ or thinks they are "playing the market" and winning. I hope you do well in your investments, but do not forget what the industry truly exists to do: skim as much from you as they can.
Where Are the Customer’s Yachts? by Fred Schwed Jr. is a classic book and an amusing take on investing which exposes the investment industry for what it is and offers some contrarian advice on how to invest money.
A few points worth noting:
• If you are not a skeptic, you are not an investor.
• One can’t say figures lie. But the numbers used in financial statements could be fiction.
• Bankers lack the ability to do nothing. They crave action.
• The individual investor is still located at the very bottom of the food chain.
• The full impact of losing money cannot be conveyed by words. One has to lose money to understand what a loss is.
• The average investor is incapable of handling his own finances and has high chances of getting duped.
• Speculation is an effort, probably unsuccessful, to turn a little money into a lot.
• Investment is an effort, which should be successful, to prevent a lot of money from becoming a little.
• When the market is skyrocketing, and everyone is scrambling for stocks, take all your stocks and sell them. Take the proceeds and buy conservative bonds. When the bears come to the market, sell out the bonds and buy back the stocks.
A few points worth noting:
• If you are not a skeptic, you are not an investor.
• One can’t say figures lie. But the numbers used in financial statements could be fiction.
• Bankers lack the ability to do nothing. They crave action.
• The individual investor is still located at the very bottom of the food chain.
• The full impact of losing money cannot be conveyed by words. One has to lose money to understand what a loss is.
• The average investor is incapable of handling his own finances and has high chances of getting duped.
• Speculation is an effort, probably unsuccessful, to turn a little money into a lot.
• Investment is an effort, which should be successful, to prevent a lot of money from becoming a little.
• When the market is skyrocketing, and everyone is scrambling for stocks, take all your stocks and sell them. Take the proceeds and buy conservative bonds. When the bears come to the market, sell out the bonds and buy back the stocks.
A humorous look at Wall Street from an individual that worked on the Street during and after the Great Depression. The author goes out of his way to attempt to "explain" the workings of Wall Street, but he does so with tongue firmly planted in his cheek. There are plenty of one liners in the book that will make you laugh out loud. Unfortunately I think the satire in this mid-century book is probably not too far from the truth on Wall Street today.
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
A great title on an OK book. Originally written in 1940, this is more a comic and satirical commentary on Wall Street than an analysis of the discrepancies in returns between investors and advisors or brokers or the challenges of succeeding in investing. This quote reflects the idea, though, as well as the tone of the book:
"Before going further into this subject, I had better include a note as to whom I am talking about. It must be understood that when I refer to investment counselors I am only referring to investment counselors who are investment counselors, as Gertrude Stein might put it. There are less than a hundred of these firms in existence. Unfortunately, there are also several thousand burglars extant, all of whom refer to themselves in these days as investment counsel. This is not the fault of the bona fide investment counsel; it is no doubt a subtle compliment to them. Some of these other gentry allocate the funds between themselves and their clients in the ancient classic manner, i.e., at the close of the day's business they take all the money and throw it up into the air. Everything that sticks to the ceiling belongs to the clients."
"Before going further into this subject, I had better include a note as to whom I am talking about. It must be understood that when I refer to investment counselors I am only referring to investment counselors who are investment counselors, as Gertrude Stein might put it. There are less than a hundred of these firms in existence. Unfortunately, there are also several thousand burglars extant, all of whom refer to themselves in these days as investment counsel. This is not the fault of the bona fide investment counsel; it is no doubt a subtle compliment to them. Some of these other gentry allocate the funds between themselves and their clients in the ancient classic manner, i.e., at the close of the day's business they take all the money and throw it up into the air. Everything that sticks to the ceiling belongs to the clients."