What should I read if I am interested in asset management?

Welcome to the Wall Street Oasis Reading List for Asset Management. Please email [email protected] if you think we should add in additional publications to our Recommended Reading.


Easy Reads Technical Reads Career Jump-Start
Searching for Alpha Pioneering PM Technical Interview Guide
Intelligent Allocator Common Stocks Behavioral Interview Guide
Investment Fables A Look Behind the Wall
Internship Guide





Easy Reads


Searching for ALPHA: The Quest for Exceptional Investment Performance

by Ben Warwick


This is a good place to start for all those prospective monkeys interested in asset management. While a bit discombobulated at times, overall the author does a good job of weaving stories into lessons about the industry.
Bluford H. Putnam (President, CDC Investment Management):

Searching for Alpha is right on the mark and essential reading for anyone whvo wants to go beyond stock-picking and think about how to construct a total portfolio to fit their own risk and return objectives.

George Hayes (<span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/amazon>Amazon</a></span&gt; Review):

A terrific read! Searching For Alpha is intelligent, well written and very timely. Author Ben Warwick has a gift for weaving people, anecdotes and financial theory into a fascinating history of the investment business.

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The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk

by William Bernstein


Bernstein is an unlikely finance author, what with his side job of being a... practicing neurologist. He wrote this book from information and ideas he accumulated over years of investing. It's a great place to get your foot in the door with asset allocation, it's written for the layman but with enough substance to keep a finance student on his or her toes.
John C. Bogle (Founder and former CEO, The <span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/the-vanguard-group>Vanguard Group</a></span>:

As its title suggest, Bill Bernstein's fine book honors the sensible principles of Benjamin Graham in the Intelligent Investor Bernstein's concepts are sound, his writing crystal clear, and his exposition orderly. Any reader who takes the time and effort to understand his approach to the crucial subject of asset allocation will surely be rewarded with enhanced long-term returns.

Scott Snyder:

In a time when we are all more intimately involved with the management of our retirement accounts, I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone and everyone. You cannot afford not to be familiar with the contents of this book. Highly recommended.

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Investment Fables: Exposing the Myths of "Can't Miss" Investment Strategies

by Aswath Damodaran


There aren't many bigger names in finance and investing literature than Damodaran. What better way to get started learning about asset management strategy then by learning what doesn't work?

Q (<span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/amazon>Amazon</a></span&gt; Review):

This is a thick book, but it reads pretty easily... He starts each chapter with a "fable," a story of some gullible investor who follows one of the conventional strategies for stock profits (for example, buy low p/e stocks) and, after losing money, finds out it's not that simple.

Raj Tewari (<span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/amazon>Amazon</a></span&gt; Review):

Damodaran has comprehensive command of his material and presents concepts in a very readable manner. If you are looking for an in-depth treatment of investment strategies, this is a great book.

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Technical Reads

Pioneering portfolio management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment, Fully Revised and Updated

by David F. Swensen


Swensen clearly and effectively illustrates the institutional investment process, specifically "the Yale Model", which he helped to pioneer while at the Yale Endowment (where he worked for over 20 years). In the ten years from 1999 to 2009, he saw annualized returns of approximately 11.8%.

Richard Levin (President, Yale University):

David Swensen's creative and disciplined approach to investment has given Yale the resources it needs to augment its capacity for excellence in scholarship and teaching. Those who absorb the wisdom in this book will likewise strengthen the institutions they serve.

Jonathon Bockian (<span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/amazon>Amazon</a></span&gt; Review):

This survey of endowment investing offers an incisive framework for how to think about investable assets of charitable institutions. The value of the book is that Swensen has thought long and hard about how endowment investing differs from personal wealth management and how those differences ripple through almost all aspects of overseeing and implementing endowment investments.

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Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings (Wiley Investment Classics)

by Philip A. Fisher


Widely acknowledged as the "other 15%" of Warren Buffett's investing strategy (the 85% belongs to Graham, of course), this is a must-read if you plan on building your own Berkshire Hathaway.

Warren <span class='keyword_link'><a href=http://tinyurl.com/3b4fmvt>Buffett</a></span>:

I sought out Phil Fisher after reading his Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits...A thorough understanding of the business, obtained by using Phil's techniques...enables one to make intelligent investment commitments.

Richard Stoyeck (<span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/amazon>Amazon</a></span&gt; Review):

Philip Fisher like Munger is a MASTER INVESTOR worthy of spending whatever time you can spare studying. If you want to walk in the footsteps of a MASTER, you must study the MASTER, and Fisher has a tremendous amount to offer.

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Career Jump-Start


Technical Interview Guide

by Wall Street Oasis


This 80+ page guide, produced by WSO and written for WSO's users, is a compilation of the most common technical questions encountered in Wall Street interviews.

banker88:

Just got the new technical guide. By far much better than vault. Very detailed (80+ pages) with charts, graphs, etc. I'll be reading this at least once this summer in prepping for fall interviews.

<span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/goldman-sachs>Goldman Sachs</a></span> S&amp;T VP:

The new Wall Street Oasis Technical Guide provides questions and easy to understand answers for all the questions I typically ask when interviewing a candidate. The additional questions expand the guide, and the new charts are an added bonus for easily remembering the crucial concepts. If a student really knows all the questions in this guide, they are sure to nail the technical section of their interview.

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Behavioral Interview Guide

by Wall Street Oasis

This 56 page guide, produced by WSO and written for WSO's users, is a compilation of over 100+ of the most common behavioral / fit questions encountered in Wall Street interviews with detailed advice and examples.

<span class='keyword_link'><a href=//www.wallstreetoasis.com/company/credit-suisse>Credit Suisse</a></span> M&amp;A Analyst:

All I can say is I wish I had the Wall Street Oasis Behavioral Guide before I went into my banking interviews. I was well prepared for some of the fit questions that came my way, but others challenged me. With the extensive number of questions in this guide and the sample answers, I would have felt prepared to handle almost anything.

MIT Sloan MBA Student ('09):

I didn't read Wall Street Oasis Technical and Behavioral Interview guides until after my first year in my MBA program, and frankly they contained everything I had spent the last year learning to get a job on the Street. I highly recommend them to anyone preparing for an interview, finance or other. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than an MBA (not to mention faster and more to the point).

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A Look Behind the Wall - An Overview of Six Wall Street Career Paths

by WallStreetOasis


WallStreetOasis.com has collaborated with its most knowledgeable users to provide one of the most detailed, entertaining and insightful publications to hit Wall Street in years.

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Internship Guide

by WallStreetOasis


This is a complete guide to getting through your summer internship in finance or consulting. Whether you’re wondering what to wear, how to do your work, or how to manage your money, this 30-page guide has it all. Following this guide will make getting through the summer as painless as possible, so that you can have the exciting, rewarding experience you deserve.

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March 2024 Investment Banking

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