Excess Returns: A comparative study of the methods of the world's greatest investors

If this book doesn't convince you to stop buying stocks and look for a good mutual fund or ETF instead, nothing will. This excellent, well researched book made me realize there are so many ways an amateur investor (or inept or careless professional stock investor) can screw it up, it's a miracle anyone buys their own stocks. Get this book for a thorough understanding of what we don't understand but need to know before hopelessly running our own money. Reading it felt like a slow immersion in ice water - it'll suck the confidence or hubris right out of you, and send you running to the indexes.

A valuable resource.

Not an easy and breezy read....but useful nonetheless.

I found the section on understanding how to analyze Turnaround companies very useful. After understanding how to do this I have found some interesting companies to invest in. Also, the section on understanding the company's management is very helpful.I would recommend this book to anyone.

This book was too much of a generalization of what makes good value investors. It had little original thought. I have heard it all before.

An excellent overview of how to approach investing in a rational manner. If you're a beginning investor this book has many important lessons to teach you. If you're a more experienced investor this book provides positive reinforcement of what is important in investing.

Great analysis of superb value investors ( & other investors ).

Suppose you wanted a comprehensive book on all of the ways that there are to get excess returns from the stock market as a type of value investor (as of year-end 2013), and you wanted it in one slim volume. This is that book. As with most desires there is the “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” effect. This book is not immune.At Aleph Blog, I try to write book reviews that always include what sort of reader might benefit from a given book. Because this book packs so much into such a small space, it is not a book for beginners unless they are prodigies. If you are a beginner, better to warm up with something like The Intelligent Investor, by Ben Graham. Beginners need time to see concepts described in greater detail, and more slowly.Though it is a book on value investing, it is expansive in what it considers value investing. It includes topics as varied as:* Behavioral Economics* Market-timing from a valuation standpoint* Growth at a reasonable price [GARP] investing* Private investing* Shorting* Event-driven investing* Barriers to considering investments that keep others from buying them at attractive prices* Studying informed investors (insiders & 13F filings)* Catalysts that may unlock value* Emerging markets* Financial statements* Competitive Analysis* Analyzing Growth Potential* Analyzing Management* Valuation techniques* Common mistakes; why most average investors go wrong* Understanding different types of industries and companies* Attitudes — Modesty, Patience & Independent Judgement* And more…In a book of around 300 pages, this is ambitious. It gives you one or two passes over important topics, so you are only getting a taste of the ideas involved. This is also predominantly a book on qualitative investing. Pure quantitative value investing doesn’t get much play. Non-value anomalies don’t get much coverage.The other thing the book lacks is a way to pull it all together in a practical way. Yes, the last chapter tries to pull it all together, but given the breadth of the material, it gets pulled together in terms of the attitudes you need to do this right, but less of a “how do you structure an overall investment process to put these principles into practical action.” Providing more examples could have been useful, and really, the whole book could have benefited from that.Additional ResourcesNow, if you want a greater taste of the book without buying it, I’ve got a deal for you: this is a medium-sized slide presentation that summarizes the book. Pretty sweet, huh? It represents the book well, so if you are on the fence, I would look at it — after that you would know if you want to buy it. [Links available at Aleph Blog -- though I would post them here if Amazon allowed it]Summary / Who Would Benefit from this BookThis is a good book if you understand qualitative value investing, but want to get an introduction to all the nuances that can go into it.

The best Ever

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This is a serious and complete analysis of the approaches used by some very highly successful investors. It covers their varying investment methods, their psychological attittudes to the investing process and their mistakes and triumphs. The reasons for making such an analysis is, of course, to determine if they would allow the reader to achieve the same degrees of success. It is clearly and thoughtfully written with useful footnotes and references. It does not avoid difficult issues like when to sell investments that have done well or badly although it does this by discussing rules that are not followed by successful investors rather than ones that are. It is so complete that I think it could be considered as a summary and replacement of the many other books that cover this same ground. I think that it could only make one a more thoughtful investor, perhaps a more successful one, if one takes the care and time to follow the several approaches that it outlines. A valuable book, in every sense.

The book promises a far reaching comparison of various investing styles used by the greatest investors. However it unfortunately only really focuses on one specific investing style, and that is the Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham style of fundamental investing. On this topic, it gives a detailed albeit simple overview on key fundamental concepts with various Buffett quotes throughout the book. Well written and considered.

A good common sense book which is well written