classes/subjects that will make you a better investor
does anyone have any good class/book/ recommendations that would make someone a better investor. I am not referring to finance or accounting books or classes that maybe are more directly applicable, but other classes and topics outside of finance that indirectly could potentially help and introduce a paralleled way of thinking.
Christ. It is certainly cache these days to recommend some obscure philosophy treatise (Spinoza et al.) that teaches you "how to think." Don't do that. Spinoza will teach you nothing about investing. Neither will Jeremy Diamond.
The best thing you can do to practice is read a shitload of public filings, maybe some Michael Porter, and industry publications. If you're into aerospace, get an Aviation Week publication. Don't waste your time trying to become an investor by reading incredibly boring, unrelated tomes on man - it will not help (except if you become rich and want to talk about this on TV or in front of lesser LPs).
Get very good at accounting, too.
this.
when people say philosophy, psych, or sociology, it's really learning about the nuance of human behavior, crowd behavior, etc. so you can attempt to spot severe euphoria or severe fear/trepidation, with the idea that you'd buy when there's blood in the streets and you sell when your cab driver is talking about his stock portfolio.
really all you need to do to get the gist is read Charles Mackay's book on the madness of crowds and a few behavioral economics texts. all of this assumes you want to be a contrarian and believe that's the way to make money (I certainly do), but I believe you have to be wired that way initially.
for whatever it's worth, George Soros isn't a contrarian in the classic sense, and he's one of the wealthiest investors ever to have lived, so you don't necessarily have to be contrarian, and in that case you could argue for advanced maths and econ studies.
Consider picking up on some sociology and psychology of the masses.
This is beneficial to add some social science into your macro frameworks if you're doing some personal investing. Especially some more obscure sociological frameworks which give you understanding on society's reaction to political events on their economic decision making.
Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow
I think it is an outstanding book.
Anything with social justice....
Harrington on Hold'em, Vol. I and II.
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