The 80/20 Investor: Investing in an Uncertain and Complex World - How to Simplify Investing with a Single Principle

David Schneider, a former hedge-fund manager, outlines a simple & effective approach to investing in this book. I'm a beginner to investing myself (I've been focusing on growing my own business instead) and found this book easy to follow. However, even advanced investors will find lots of value. The author challenges conventional wisdom - unsurprisingly many of the so-called 'investment best practices' out there that your broker is trying to sell you is in his best interest, not necessarily yours. Some of my biggest takeaways: * Cash is a position. Investing a large % of your net worth in the market may be in your broker's best interest, not necessarily yours (depends on market conditions). * Make few, well-researched trades. * "Buy when there's blood in the streets." * Buying S&P 500 isn't always the smartest choice. Schneider practices what he preaches - he publicly shares his recent trades on his website. For example, over the last couple of months he made significant gains by buying Volkswagen and crude oil at their all-time lows. I now feel prepared to deploy cash in a smart manner the next time I see a no-brainer opportunity. Highly recommended. (To get the pig farmer reference you'll have to read the book :))

Great read for a young investor who is curious about how to reach financial freedom without sinking too much time into it. Pairing the principles of saving money and creating a high margin of saftey are always logical approaches. For those that are just beginning and want to be conservative in their approach while still receiving their fair share of the markets returns, I would also recommend John Bogle's "Little Book of Common Sense". These two books would be a great starter package for the young conservative investor who is skeptical of the markets. If you are looking for something a little more advanced then I would recommend "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham which emphasizes the importance of value investing and creating a high margin of saftey for yourself.

Yes, this book is an excellent Pareto principle-driven approach to investing. Yes, it strips out the BS. Yes, it will rekindle your lingering drive to become Gordon Gecko. All of the above is how the author brings you through the door. Here's what kept me reading... Schneider's keen attention to history. He mixes in stories from figures like Ben Franklin and Marcus Licinius Crassus. If you're allergic to tales from the past, I still think you'll enjoy this one - he doesn't get bogged down in the history, but he uses it to make laser-targeted points about practical investing. This was truly a fun and helpful read.

This expounds on such works as Peter Lynch's "One up on Wall Street" in which the authors suggest investing within your area of expertise or competence. Schneider also takes the advice a step further, and explains in detail about waiting for the right times to buy and sell. Many examples are provided of successful 80/20-style investors from history. One flaw is that history is likely littered with the economic corpses of those who tried such methods but failed, only to be forgotten by time. Much is made of "no-brainers" but often such things are obvious only in hindsight. There are plenty of worse books out there on investing, and this book does contain some good advice. It should not be the end point of any investor's library, though. Also, Schneider is German, so editing mistakes are not the author's fault, but the proofreaders failed miserably.

Refreshing, common-sense approach to investing. If you wonder if you could do more than "just buy the index" and/or "pick a fixed asset allocation and stick to it", but don't want to dedicate excessive time to investing and also don't want to take on excessive risks, you will likely find this book useful. Its basic message is to be patient and wait for good deals, with some ideas where to find them. I would have liked to see a little more data/concrete math to support the thesis, including more detailed case studies of the successful investors mentioned, but I think the book's core message is solid and more people should be aware of and consider it.

I have been working in the industry for over 15 years and I know about the conflict of interest. David did a good job of explaining the basics of independent investing. I especially liked the chapters about investment history, risk and why the 80/20 way to investing works for individual investors. Certainly, there is a lot privates can learn and do themselves and The 80/20 Investor is be must read for anybody interested in investing, but they still need professionals!

I love the 80/20 mindset. That 80% of the results comes from 20% of the inputs. I read Rich Koch's 80/20 books and then Perry Marshalls 80/20 marketing. So I was so excited to read this book on applying the 80/20 principle to investing: That 80% of your portfolio returns come from 20% of the assets. The book goes into both 80/20 investing and traditional professional investment manager investing in detail. Stop doing what the crowd does (handing their money over to professionals at banks and mutual funds). And start following the lead of 80/20 investors such as Warren Buffet and Mayer Rothschild. Summary of 80/20 investing method - buy when the crowd hates the stock - when there is "blood in the streets. Profits are made when you buy. - use dollar cost averaging buying to avoid having to time the bottom exactly - hold your assets until the market in that stock is bullish again - sell when the crowd loves the stock - when even the shoe shine boy is giving you stock tips - again use dollar cost averaging to sell on the way up to the peak price - say no to distracting investments or to companies that you don't personally understand the business model of - save up cash from your business or job for buying opportunities during a crash - make few trades (maybe 1 per year) but think deeply about each one - years of inactivity and then act decisively when you see an opportunity - focus your assets into large positions Doing this can create 10-20% returns per year. It won't make your broker or investment advisor happy - they like the fees from rapid trading and back end mutual fund kick backs. But it can make you a happy investor and a relaxed one too.

Refreshingly simple, yet smart and effective. That's the promise of the 80/20 Investor. The author is doing a pretty good job in simplifying high return investing. It focuses only on the few tasks that makes the biggest impact on performance. Recommended.