Three or more Essential Reads for Investors

If you read nothing else in relation to investing then these are my picks, in order of importance, read them in numerical order:-

1. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.

Get the edition with a forward by Warren Buffet and annotated by Jason Zweig. It is a timeless classic full of practical advice. You may have heard of it and discounted simply because it isn't trendy, or some such, well don't, the book is as good as people say. Follow the advice and you'll rarely go wrong.

2. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Philip A Fisher.

The 'father' of growth investing, Fisher follows the 'scuttlebutt' approach. Find a good business and learn about it, check it out in the flesh, how is it run, is this a good business is it? Of course you don't believe rumour and all that crap, but there are things to take notice of and Fisher tells you how. Ben Graham references Fisher and points out how talented he is, and so the readers of both should take note; follow Graham for soundness and when your skill improves or you're very talented, then you may graduate to Fisher.The truth lies somewhere in the middle, be a Ben Graham type with room for some of Fisher in there somewhere.

Special note here for Peter Lynch's Beating the Street; it is a very valuable book too and could be read in conjunction with 'Common Stocks', it shows how keeping it simple can be a real winner. I only add it as a mention as you don't have to read it if you've got 'Common Stocks' on hand.

3. Freakanomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

This will make you think about everything. Basically, if you provide the incentives, you will get it, even if you didn't intend to.

Special note: for the real estate fanatics an often overlooked book that is the first and last word on investing in real estate: Jones on Property by Bob Jones. The short message is; there is glamour in industrial. This book covers everything any real estate investor needs to know. It was published in 1977 in New Zealand and covers that market and Sydney Australia. The author is a successful investor, now Sir Robert Jones.

Head over to the forum to discuss the best investment reads.