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Sweater weather reading list

September 29, 2016

As the weather slowly drives us indoors, try a few book suggestions from our Investment team. Read their reviews to learn why they think each one should be a staple on every investor’s nightstand.

Click on the links to learn more.

  • Capital Returns: Investing Through the Capital Cycle: A Money Manager's Reports 2002-15

    If you would like to avoid a rehash of Warren Buffett sayings and actually add a tool to your investment toolbox, then this is the book for you. It is a collection of letters from a firm that has continually beat the market for decades. They detail their unique investment approach that focuses on understanding business models and the competitive cycle of an industry. I loved the use of real life company examples to provide context for their approach and found them very relevant and applicable today. A great addition to an investor’s library.

    Recommended by Frank

  • The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

    Do you want to know why you’re so addicted to shopping on Amazon? It was all part of visionary founder Jeff Bezos’ master plan. He wasn’t content being a bookseller, he wanted Amazon to become the world’s store where everything is available to everyone. The Everything Store is a revealing biography of the company that placed one of the first and largest bets on the Internet and forever changed the way we shop and read.

    If you’re more of a listener than reader these days, try Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Revisionist History.

    Recommended by Andrew.

  • Warren Buffett's Ground Rules: Words of Wisdom from the Partnership Letters of the World's Greatest Investor

    This is not just another book for the Warren Buffett aficionado. Rather, this book delivers key investing insights derived from Warren Buffett's pre-Berkshire partnership letters, all of which are applicable to today. The compilation of these letters overlaid with the author's takeaways serves as an investing roadmap which one will continue to refer to in the future. To boot, all this information is packed into an easily digestible format that can be appreciated by anyone regardless of their investing acumen.

    Recommended by George.

  • Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

    An amazing and unforgettable journey will come to an end when you finish this book. It will also likely be the best business memoir you’ve ever read. It’s the best I’ve ever read. It reads like great fiction through business topics the average reader might think boring. You’ll feel like you’re living through each decision, each roadblock, and each up and down. Phil Knight’s dream will become yours. Such is the brilliance in which this story is being told. He generally covers the period from 1962 to 1980 and it starts with a crazy idea. Many people have crazy ideas. Phil Knight decided to pursue his.

    When it’s all said and done, Phil Knight’s greatest legacy might be writing this book. He’ll give many readers the courage to have the persistence to do what so few can. It will be required reading in my household.

    Recommended by Geoff

  • The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

    One of the earliest records of banknotes – or paper money – were receipts of deposit written on clay tablets in exchange for livestock in ancient Mesopotamia. The interest paid on the notes was based on the natural growth of the herd, often in the area of 20% per year; after initially “depositing” ten cows, the bearer of the note would be owed 12 after one years’ time. Needless to say, the forefathers of interest rates would be confounded by today’s negative yielding world.

    Do you have faith in the coinage that you carry in your pocket? Through the origins of interest rates, deposit ratios and loan sharks, Niall Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money will make you question the confidence stowed in the paper IOUs that line your wallet, let alone today’s digitized currency that multiplies itself at a dizzying rate. From tulips to mortgages, beyond the bubbles and bursts, this book will leave you in awe of the interdependence of our world and global finance.

    Recommended by Derek.

  • The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America

    Given the option of working with 50 MBA’s from the best schools on the planet or a university dropout with nothing more than a solid understanding of the principles in this book, I would take the dropout every time. The book is short, well organized by topic of interest and easy to understand. It’s about the basics of business and investing. Even if you don’t have an interest in business or investing, the book contains basic “walking around knowledge” that can help you navigate financial decisions you are faced with in the future.

    Recommended by Tye.