Is Security Analysis (1934 ed) easy to understand?
Hey monkeys
Some context: I am a senior in High School and I plan on reading Security Analysis after my principles of corporate finance (Brealey, Myers & Allen 10th ed) textbook.
In your opinions do you think I’ll be able to understand security analysis? Meaning, will I be confused by any of the trading terms, market references, stock jargon etc? Or do you guys believe that the book is theoretical enough for me to understand the authors given my gaps in knowledge.
Please let me know if you think that I’ll have to be looking things up constantly.
This is my first post on WSO so I’m excited to see what you guys have to say
Ps
I put this under the IB heading bc that’s where my interests lie and I didn’t see any other better heading.
going to be very very very dry and at times confusing
what's incentivizing you to read security analysis in particular? (e.g, interested in investing, intellectual curiosity, learn more abt finance, etc?)
Thanks for your response.
I want to read it for the reasons you mentioned, and because the book is recommended a lot.
I’m not worried about the book being dry. In your opinion, is the book so outdated that it’s not worth the read - given that the principles simply don’t apply anymore?
i would say its somewhat outdated and there are better books to begin reading with, but i still that some of the principles in security analysis are still pretty robust.
perhaps later on you could give it a read for the sake of it, but i would suggest starting with other books first (e.g., margin of safety/intelligent investor and random walk down wallstreet to get the full picture of value vs passive investing, etc)
I don't think there's any point in reading it compared to other material floating around now. You can read it and probably should at some point because it's referenced so frequently but imo it's a bit like learning Latin...
It's a bit dated, there are more recent books out there that are easier to digest
@Flourishes7, it is impressive you are reading Brealey Myers while at high school. It is a popular textbook and should build a solid foundation as intro to finance. Security Analysis is a classic. I have read it but honestly, I feel I did so more for bragging right. If you are looking to learn investing, perhaps checking on “value investing “ books from more recent authors. Then when you have more time read Security Analysis.
I thought I'd share three books that might be good for beginners interested in learning about investing. You mentioned you are reading Brealey & Myers, so I assume you have basic financial accounting knowledge.
The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing by Graham, Zweig, and Buffett (https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Investing-Essent…)
The Little Book That Still Beats the Market by Joel Greenblatt and Andrew Tobias (https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Still-Beats-Market/dp/0470624159/ref…)
I also like a balanced view such as A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel (https://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-Down-Wall-Street/dp/0393330338). I think it is a must-read on market efficiency.
Thank you for those!
I’m reading the 1940s version right now, mostly out of intellectual curiosity. I find it to be very basic. The general gist is “don’t do something stupid” with provided examples. I’ve read The Intelligent Investor also and there’s a fair bit of overlap. Both have the same general gist. The Intelligent Investor is more summarized and shorter.
I've read it several times. Would highly suggest not only reading it but going back and studying specific chapters that you find interesting. I would start with Peter Lynch's books (very easy to digest), the Intelligent Investor, Margin of Safety, Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond, etc, to get a working knowledge of the market and value investing principles before diving into Security Analysis
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