"This is that rarity, a useful book."--Warren Buffett Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. After four decades spent ascending to the top of the investment management profession, he is today sought out by the world's leading value investors, and his client memos brim with insightful commentary and a time-tested, fundamental philosophy. Now for the first time, all readers can benefit from Marks's wisdom, concentrated into a single volume that speaks to both the amateur and seasoned investor. Informed by a lifetime of experience and study, The Most Important Thing explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career. Utilizing passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world. Brilliantly applying insight to today's volatile markets, Marks offers a volume that is part memoir, part creed, with a number of broad takeaways. Marks expounds on such concepts as "second-level thinking," the price/value relationship, patient opportunism, and defensive investing. Frankly and honestly assessing his own decisions--and occasional missteps--he provides valuable lessons for critical thinking, risk assessment, and investment strategy. Encouraging investors to be "contrarian," Marks wisely judges market cycles and achieves returns through aggressive yet measured action. Which element is the most essential? Successful investing requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects, and each of Marks's subjects proves to be the most important thing.

Question everything – and become a better investor in the process Uncommon Sense takes readers on a four-century journey; from the dawn of public share ownership (in 1602) right up to today. But this is not simply a history book. It's a book for serious investors. Along the way it reveals the fascinating stories, the market characters and the important financial developments that have sculpted the thinking behind the value investor's craft. Blended throughout the narrative Kemp delivers an array of interesting anecdotes and rock solid logic regarding what works when investing in the stock market, what doesn't, and why. Early in the 20th Century, Charles Dow remarked of Wall Street Operators that 'the more they actually know, the less confident they become.' Continuing in the tradition of that simple, elegant statement, this enlightening and entertaining book will have you thinking, acting and succeeding on your own in your investment endeavours. Learn to question conventional wisdom at every turn and develop a healthy skepticism as you plan your own investment strategies Develop a rich understanding of the stock valuation process Discover the methods that have been used by successful investors from the dawn of the modern stock market (in 1602) right up to today Learn how to interact simply and successfully with markets that are vastly complex and largely inexplicable Uncommon Sense will have you questioning and doubting much that's stated about stock market investing, then developing your own winning strategy based on reason and understanding.

Never before have average people greater access to the stock market. The investor is literally drowning in financial information, loaded with financial techno-babble. This book teaches people how to invest without being dependent on a broker, financial institutions and banks. It allows people to make their own decisions without being stampeded by market trends. This is a book for people who only have a few hundred dollars or a few hundred thousand dollars to invest. The Uncommon Investor explains in detail the methodology used in the investment letter, which is arguably number one in North America, with five year annualized return of 33.9% and 53.2% return in 1997. The techniques are outlined in an entertaining format, as a group of family and friends gather to watch the seventh game of the World Series. Each section is divided into innings, with baseball used as the backbone analogy throughout the book. The Uncommon Investor takes the reader from the initial stages of choosing the stock, through to the buy and sell decisions; focussing on how to identify companies which are turningaround or under valued. The techniques start from basic stock market methodologies, and gradually move to a more intricate methodology. Care is taken to ensure that readers will not only be learning a process, but remain entertained. In addition, The Uncommon Investor explores other investment opportunities. Mutual funds, bonds, gold, commodities, real estate, and government paper are all highlighted as investment options. The pros and cons of each of these areas are looked at.

Take advantage of today's real estate market to find great properties at incredible prices Our recent economic meltdown transformed real estate from a popular investment to financial kryptonite. Too many people purchased homes with mortgages they simply could never afford. The good news: Great deals are out there for the taking. Finding the Uncommon Deal gives you the secrets to discovering and successfully negotiating the lowest prices for the most prized properties available. Discover how to go beyond Internet listings to get on-the-ground intelligence on the best deals Get proven negotiating skills to close the deal at a rock-bottom price The author has assisted thousands in purchasing homes as a lawyer, broker, and investor; has been ranked by internationally esteemed publication Chambers and Partners as one of the leading real estate lawyers; and regularly appears as a real estate authority in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal If you're successful enough to afford a home, then you probably have the skills needed to get a great deal in today's market. Finding the Uncommon Deal gives you the keys to leverage your skills for success and savings, opening the door to today's best properties and lowest prices.

Howard Marks's The Most Important Thing distilled the investing insight of his celebrated client memos into a single volume and, for the first time, made his time-tested philosophy available to general readers. In this edition, Marks's wisdom is joined by the comments, insights, and counterpoints of four renowned investors and investment educators: Christopher C. Davis (Davis Funds), Joel Greenblatt (Gotham Capital), Paul Johnson (Nicusa Capital), and Seth A. Klarman (Baupost Group). These experts lend insight into such concepts as "second-level thinking," the price/value relationship, patient opportunism, and defensive investing. Marks also adds his own annotations, expanding on his book's original themes and issues. A new chapter addresses the importance of reasonable expectations, and a foreword by Bruce C. Greenwald, called "a guru to Wall Street's gurus" by the New York Times, speaks on value investing, productivity, and the economics of information. *** Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. After four decades spent ascending to the top of the investment management profession, he is today sought out by the world's leading value investors, and his client memos brim with insightful commentary and a time-tested, fundamental philosophy. Now for the first time, all readers can benefit from Marks's wisdom, concentrated into a single volume that speaks to both the amateur and seasoned investor. Informed by a lifetime of experience and study, The Most Important Thing explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career. Utilizing passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world. Brilliantly applying insight to today's volatile markets, Marks offers a volume that is part memoir, part creed, with a number of broad takeaways. Marks expounds on such concepts as "second-level thinking," the price/value relationship, patient opportunism, and defensive investing. Frankly and honestly assessing his own decisions--and occasional missteps--he provides valuable lessons for critical thinking, risk assessment, and investment strategy. Encouraging investors to be "contrarian," Marks wisely judges market cycles and achieves returns through aggressive yet measured action. Which element is the most essential? Successful investing requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects, and each of Marks's subjects proves to be the most important thing. "This is that rarity, a useful book."--Warren Buffett

When an investor believes a stock is overvalued and will soon drop in price, he might decide to "short" it. First, he borrows an amount of the stock, and then sells it. He waits for the stock to tank before buying back the same amount of shares at a deflated price. After returning the shares to his lender, he pockets the difference—unless any one of several hard-to-predict variables interferes, and the stock fails to drop. Since these variables are so hard to predict, short selling is difficult for even seasoned investors. It takes great talent and experience to isolate the best short ideas for falling stocks—skills Amit Kumar developed and honed over decades of market analysis and trading. This book shares his short-selling framework, built on themes common to falling stocks and the market's endemic strengths and cycles. Featuring key case studies and exclusive interviews with successful fund managers Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital Management) and Mark Roberts (Off Wall Street Consulting Group), Kumar shows investors how to avoid traps and profit from well-researched short ideas. Investors may not always act on short ideas, but they can avoid losses by using Kumar's framework to identify overvalued stocks. Professionals and amateur investors alike will benefit from this fundamental research approach, which transforms short selling into a long-term strategy.