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Investment Strategies for the 21st
Century:
Frank Armstrong's Investment Reading List
Find (and
purchase at a discount) selected picks by Frank and many other guides for investors at the
MFI Bookstore!
Table of Contents:
- Investment, Basic
- Investment, Advanced
- Wall Street Lore, Scandal, and Intrigue
- Financial Economics, Political Policy
- Related Disciplines
- Industry Sources
-
- Shame on you if you invest another nickel before you read both of these fine books.
-
- A Random Walk Down Wall Street (Fifth Edition) by Burton G. Malkeil;
W.W. Norton & Co.
- Burton G. Malkeil, the father of the Wall Street Journal's dart board contest and one of
the primary forces behind the move toward indexing, asks, "Why can't the experts beat
the monkey consistently? How efficient is the market? Can managers add value?" The
answers will change the way you think about the stock market and how you go about
investing. Available at the MFI
Bookstore!
- Capital Ideas by P. Bernstein; Simon and Schuster
- An enjoyable history of the advances in modern finance and the sometimes unlikely folks
who brought them to us.
-
- Portfolio Selection (Second Edition) by Harry M. Markowitz; Blackwell
- Based on Markowitz's doctoral thesis written at the University of Chicago in 1952. The
ideas in the book became the basis for Modern Portfolio Theory, which revolutionized the
art of investment management, and provides investors with a rational approach to measure,
monitor and control risk. Markowitz single-handedly dragged finance out of the dark ages.
Won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1990 for this work.
- Fundamentals of Investments (Second Edition) by Alexander, Sharpe, and
Bailey; Prentice Hall
- College textbook, co-authored by Nobel Prize winner William F. Sharpe.
The book is clear and brilliant, but challenging, and will require dedicated reading.
-
- Barbarians at the Gate by Burrough and Helyar; Harper Perennial
- RJR provided the biggest takeover prize in Wall Street's history. This book has it all:
hundreds of millions of dollars in fees at stake, huge egos, raw power, and a cliffhanger
finish. Available at the MFI Bookstore!
- Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart; Simon and Schuster
- A fascinating look at the insider trading scandal of the '80s with all your favorite
characters: Boesky, Milken, Dennis Levine, and Martin Siegel. The book, which reads like a
novel, was written by the Wall Street Journal reporter that covered the story. Winner of
the Pulitzer Prize.
- Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis; W.W. Norton & Co.
- Newsweek called it the funniest book on Wall Street ever written. Liar's Poker
relates the adventures and misadventures of a young trainee, investment banker, and bond
salesman at Salomon Brothers during the '80s. Available at the MFI Bookstore!
- The Money Culture by Michael Lewis, W.W. Norton & Co.
- Vignettes, often hilarious, from the author of Liar's Poker.
-
- The Culture of Contentment by John Kenneth Galbraith; Houghton Mifflin
Company
- Galbraith was John Kennedy's’ faculy aAdvisor at Harvard and later an ambassador to
India, one of the President'’s economic advisors, and a Democratic power behind the
scenes. As one of the most brilliant representatives of the liberal left, Galbraith shaped
the economic and political debate of his generation. He's also a gifted and entertaining
writer.
- The Fatal Conceit, The Errors of Socialism by F.A. Hayek; University of
Chicago Press
- Hayek is one of the most brilliant conservative economists and philosophers of the
twentieth century and the darling of the Republican far right. Difficult reading, at times
infuriating, but worth the effort.
-
- Take a journey to the frontiers of modern science. Markets are among the most complex
systems ever studied. Traditional models may not have provided adequate methods to examine
a system which acts as if it is alive, and where a small input may have huge impacts as it
ripples through the system.
-
- The great fallacy of classical economics is its attempt to describe a system at
equilibrium. Both chaos and complexity theory would argue that it will never attain
equilibrium. That insight and others is reshaping the way we look at markets and
economies.
-
- Chaos, Making of a New Science by James Gleick; Penguin Books
-
- Complexity, The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Disorder by M.
Mitchell Waldrop; Simon and Schuster
-
- Many mutual funds provide fine generic educational material either at a very low cost or
for free. Two of the better programs I have seen recently are from Vanguard and Scudder.
Of course, this list is only a start.
-
- Scudder:
-
- Booklets:
- Investing, the Basics
- Investing for College
- Investing for Retirement
- Software:
- Scudder Tuition Builder Software
- Call 1-800-225-2470
- Price $2.50 per piece, plus $2.50 mailing
- Free to shareholders
-
- Vanguard:
-
- Software:
- The Vanguard Retirement Planning Software: Perhaps the finest educational
material available to graphically illustrate long-term rates of return, risk, inflation
effects, time horizon, capital available, savings, required capital, and tax impacts for
individuals. You can construct a model for yourself that varies all the inputs, see how
they fit together, and build an investment plan that meets your needs.
- Call Vanguard at 1-800-876-1840
- Cost: $15.00 plus $2.50 shipping
- Booklet:
- How to be Your Own Investment Manager
- Cost: Free
Frank Armstrong, CFP, is the author of
Investment Strategies for the 21st Century, published
here, President of
Investor Solutions, Inc., a
fee-only Registered Investment Advisor, and Chief Investment Strategist of
DirectAdvice.com.
copyright (c) 1995, Frank Armstrong.
The right to download and store or output the materials found in Investment
Strategies for the 21st Century is granted for viewing use only, and materials may
not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Frank Armstrong.
Any reproduction or editing by any means mechanical or electronic in whole or in part
without the express written permission of Frank Armstrong is strictly prohibited.
Disclaimer
Investing in equities involves a serious principal risk, and no
assurance can be given that the techniques described here will be successful. Returns vary
and you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Past performance is no
guarantee of future results. Index returns shown are historical and include the change in
share price, reinvestment of dividends, and capital gains. Indexes are unmanaged and do
not reflect the impact of transaction costs. Transaction costs would have reduced the
total returns.
International investments, especially those in emerging markets, entail
greater risks (as well as greater potential rewards) than U.S. investing. These risks
include political and economic uncertainties of foreign countries, as well as the risk of
currency fluctuations. These risks are magnified in countries with emerging markets, since
these countries may have relatively unstable governments and less-established markets and
economies.
Disclaimer: Brill Editorial Services, Inc.
provides Mutual Funds Interactive as a service to Internet users. We do no t imply
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destinations, or endorse any opinions expressed therein. The author is not a financial
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