Best Books on Stock Market Investing | Top 10
Get into stocks with the best books on stock market investing
Many property investors are naturally interested in the stock market investing as well. But it’s such a vast topic, it can be overwhelming. In this article, we look at our ten best books on stock market investing. These books are all famous in their own right, and they contain a lifetime of knowledge in their pages. Do you want to acquire the distilled knowledge of some of the worlds greatest ever investors? Then look no further.
With these books, you’ll learn from masters like Warren Buffett and Ben Graham. These titans of the industry are investors whose ideas have stood the test of time. Moreover, their investment philosophies have inspired millions of investors worldwide. We’ve included other fantastic books on short selling, value investing, and stock trading. We’ve also included three books that are more focussed on the global, macro picture.
All of the books in this list are priced at £60 or less. As such, they are an inexpensive way to learn from some of the greatest investors out there. And they can help you kickstart your investing journey. These books are a solid investment and will pay for themselves several times over through better decisions and fewer expensive mistakes. You can also read some of these books for free with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited free trial.
You can click on the books to see the latest reviews and prices on Amazon. In addition, you can look inside to find out about the contents.
Our Reading List
Best Books on Stock Market Investing
Click links to see latest reviews and prices
1. Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing – Benjamin Graham
Synopsis:
“The greatest investment advisor of the 20th Century, Benjamin Graham, taught and inspired people worldwide. Time has proven the wisdom of Graham’s strategies beyond doubt.
Graham’s philosophy of “value investing” – which shields investors from error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies – has made the Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.
This revised edition includes commentary by noted financial journalist Jason Zweig. He adds views and comments on markets today, to give readers an even better understanding.”
Our view:
One of the best books on stock market investing you’ll ever read.
In this book, Benjamin Graham, father of value investing and teacher to Warren Buffet, teaches you what it means to be a value investor and applies his approach to stock market investing. The book will teach you the difference between investment and speculation, how to go about assessing the market, and why inflation is the investor’s public enemy number one. You’ll learn about portfolio construction and the limitations if you’re a lay (not an expert) investor.
A wonderful book about investing and a fantastic introduction to stock market investing.
2. The Essays of Warren Buffett – Lawrence Cunningham
Synopsis:
“When Warren Buffett speaks, people listen. And with good reason: Buffett is the most successful investor-manager in history.
According to Buffett, the best book collating his philosophy is The Essays of Warren Buffett. It’s written by Lawrence Cunningham, a renowned scholar and expert on Buffett and Berkshire.
The Essays is the definitive account of Buffett’s approach to investing, a carefully curated and thematically organised compendium of Buffett’s annual letters, with priceless commentary from Cunningham.”
Our view:
A great book that offers a lifetime of education within its pages.
The essays covered are based on Warren Buffett’s letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s investment vehicle. They offer fantastic insights to Buffett’s approach, analysing business fundamentals, and a truck load of sage advice and wise words about investing generally. If you’re going to learn about stock market investing, why not learn from one of the best there’s ever been.
One of the best books on stock market investing that we’ve ever read.
3. The Art of Short Selling – Kathryn Staley
Synopsis:
“In investing, there is perhaps no game more exciting than short selling. With the right moves, it can yield high returns; one misstep, however, can have disastrous consequences.
Despite the risk, a growing number of players are anteing up, sparked by success stories such as that of George Soros and the billions he netted shorting the British pound.
In The Art of Short Selling, Staley, an expert in the field, examines the essentials of this discipline, providing a game plan with which you can play – and win – the short selling game.”
Our view:
A truly wonderful book about the exciting, high stakes world of short selling.
A book on short selling, the practice of betting on falls stock prices, might seem out of place here. However, we think it’s a must-read for all equity investors. The book will teach you short selling. You’ll learn how short sellers think and how to identify different types of overvalued stocks, including bubble stocks, growth stocks, money-sucking stocks, obsolete stocks, story stocks, and much more.
One of the best books on stock market investing for protecting you against mistakes.
4. The Little Book That Still Beats The Market – Joel Greenblatt
Synopsis:
“In 2005, Joel Greenblatt published a book that is considered one of the classics of finance and a must-read for value investors everywhere.
In The Little Book that Beats the Market – a New York Times bestseller selling 300,000 copies – Greenblatt explained how investors can beat the market averages by systematically applying a formula that seeks out good businesses when they are available at bargain prices.
With a new Introduction and Afterword for 2010, The Little Book that Still Beats the Market updates and expands upon the research findings from the original book.”
Our view:
A great book on stock market investing that’s also surprisingly easy-to-read.
The Little Book That Still Beats The Market is the updated version of Greenblatt’s 2005 bestseller. Greenblatt wrote this book for everyday investors (for his children in fact). The book teaches readers his simple formula for finding good businesses at bargain prices. The approach builds off the work of Benjamin Graham, but extends Graham’s criteria to cover more stocks. His approach beat the market by 10% to 15% p.a. in the 20-year period to 2009.
A fantastic introduction to value investing and to picking stocks that can beat the market.
5. One Up On Wall Street – Peter Lynch
Synopsis:
“America’s most successful money manager tells how average investors can beat the pros by using what they know.
According to Lynch, investment opportunities are everywhere. Be it in the supermarket or workplace, we encounter products and services all day long. By paying attention to the best ones, we can find companies to invest in before the professionals. And when investors get in early, they can find the ‘tenbaggers’, i.e. stocks that appreciate tenfold. A few tenbaggers will turn an average stock portfolio into a great one.
Lynch’s timeless advice makes this a bestseller and a value investing classic.”
Our view:
One of the best books on stock market investing that every serious investor should read.
A classic work by Peter Lynch, legendary value investor and former star manager of Fidelity’s Magellan Fund. The core advice Lynch offers to everyday investors is to invest in what you know and that you can understand. He emphasises the importance of doing your own research, rather than depending on recommendations from your broker. You’ll learn metrics Lynch uses to screen stocks, how he thinks about value vs growth, and how to spot tenbaggers.
Another fantastic investing book, but with more emphasis on growth stocks.
6. The (Mis)Behaviour of Markets – Benoit Mandelbrot
Synopsis:
“This international bestseller, which accurately foreshadowed a market crash, explains why it could happen again if we don’t act now.
With his fractal tools, Mandelbrot has got to the bottom of how financial markets really work. He finds they have a shifting sense of time and wild behaviour that makes them volatile, dangerous, and beautiful.
In his models, the complex gyrations of the FTSE 100, commodity prices or currency exchange rates can be reduced to simple formulae that yield a much more accurate description of the risks involved.”
Our view:
A great book about the behaviour of financial markets and what drives them.
Mandelbrot’s work on financial markets has taken decades to come to the fore. And that’s because if flies in the face of modern financial theory. In this important work that’s also highly accessible, Mandelbrot explains his theories on how financial markets work. He proves beyond doubt that the fundamental assumptions of financial theory are wrong.
One of the best books on stock market investing about where modern financial theories fail.
7. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius – Joel Greenblatt
Synopsis:
“A practical guide to the stock market from a successful fund manager. It’s filled with case studies, important information, and all the tools you’ll need to become a stock market genius.
Fund manager Joel Greenblatt has been beating the Dow (with returns of 50 percent a year) for more than a decade. In this highly accessible guide, he’s going to show you how to do it too.
Discover investment opportunities that portfolio managers, business-school professors, and expert investors miss. Welcome to the world of special situations investing.”
Our view:
A wonderful book and a fantastic introduction to special situations investing.
Okay, so the title is a bit cheesy. But don’t let that put you off – that would be a grave mistake. Joel Greenblatt, of Magic Formula fame, wrote this wonderful book before the little book that beats the market was even a twinkle in his eye. This intro to special situations investing teaches you how to profit from corporate events like spin-offs, mergers, restructurings, and others.
A classic work that’s great for beginners looking to learn about special situations investing.
8. Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order – Ray Dalio
Synopsis:
“From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the international bestseller Principles, who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history’s most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be very different from those we’ve experienced in our lifetimes – but similar to those that have happened many times before in history.
Dalio reveals the timeless, universal forces behind global power shifts and uses them to look into the future, offering practical advice for dealing with what lies ahead of us.”
Our view:
One of the best books out there on how the rise and fall of nations impacts investing.
We love Ray Dalio. And we’re so grateful he’s devoted so much of his life to teaching others what he’s learned. Principles of Dealing with the Changing World Order is a book about the rise and fall of nations. However, it includes some important analysis around how different types of assets, including stocks, bonds, cash and gold, perform in different environments and why.
One of the best books on stock market investing for understanding the macro picture.
9. Stock Market Wizards – Jack Schwager
Synopsis:
“The third in the bestselling Market Wizards series, this time focusing on the stock market.
The years up to 2003 witnessed the most dynamic bull market in US stock history, a commodity price collapse, dramatic failures in some of the world′s leading hedge funds, and the burst of the Internet bubble. Who have been the market wizards during this tumultuous financial period? How did some traders significantly outperform a stock market that during its heyday moved virtually straight up?
This book features interviews with a variety of traders who achieved phenomenal success during the glory days of the Internet boom.”
Our view:
An absolute classic from the Market Wizards series that’s easy-to-read and inspirational.
If you’ve never read any books in Schwager’s Market Wizards series before, you’re in for a treat. This book is an easy-to-read write up of interviews with 13 of America’s top stock traders. Many of the traders interviewed use value investing strategies to help them outperform the markets. This book tells their stories, details their approaches, and offers great tips you can put into practice yourself to help you ride the bulls and battle the bears.
This is a wonderful book for learning more about stock trading and stock market investing.
10. Irrational Exuberance – Robert Shiller
Synopsis:
“Nobel Prize-winning economist, Robert Shiller, warned us about the tech and housing bubbles. Now he’s cautioning us that signs of irrational exuberance among investors have actually increased since the 2008-9 financial crisis.
With stock and bond markets close to all time highs, Irrational Exuberance is as relevant as ever. Previous editions covered the stock and housing markets. This edition also covers the bond market, so the book now addresses all of the major investment markets.
No one whose future depends on a retirement account or other investments can afford not to read this book.”
Our view:
A truly wonderful book for understand investor psychology and stock market bubbles.
Robert Shiller, a Nobel Prize winning economist, shares with you his insights on market bubbles. This, the third edition of one of his most famous books, is an excellent read. It’s a cautionary tale of market excesses and the risks in store for you if you get your timing wrong. It’s not a book about how to pick stocks, but there are insights in here that every stock investor needs, if they want to survive over the long term.
A great book if you’re looking to understand the big macro picture and market bubbles.
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