One Up on Wall Street - Peter Lynch

[fwallstreet]

[amazonsearch]One Up on Wall Street[/amazonsearch]

 

Just finished reading, and while I enjoyed it, it might be a bit simple for those already versed in financial analysis. Though the flexibility of his investment style was refreshing after having spent the past few months going through the value investing classics, so if you're looking for a change, I'd highly recommend this!

 

I really enjoyed his explanation of his 6 categories because its been forcing me to start thinking about my holdings and potential ideas through the appropriate lens and with the right expectations, something I've done vaguely in the past but will now be sure to do explicitly going forward. The categories are slow growers, stalwarts, fast growers, cyclicals, turnarounds, and asset plays. The discussion of 10 baggers was also really interesting. Selling really is one of the, if not the hardest, parts of all this. Hopefully, I'll give my winners more room to run going forward if the fundamentals remain intact or better yet improve. Haven't done a great job of that in the past.

 

[SmallCap]

This was the first book i read that really got me excited about investing in stocks. I read this book when i was 16 and previous to that point had only studied and invested in Mutual funds. So while I have moved on past a lot of what he talked about this book will always have a place on my shelf and in my head because of how it got me to start thinking about investing in companies. Even though I don't follow his rules they still come to mind.

[Straddle]

I've read One Upon Wall Street several times, one of the better books on investing. The only problem is that Lynch stays it bit too general on how to select stocks and which criteria he uses. The most helpful from the book are the P/E line charts plotted next to the growth of the stock and the growth of the earnings over 5-8 years. I use the same charts in excel now to compare the stock growth to the earnings growth.

[yadayada]

i liked his view on PE multiples. And what those numbers roughly mean. Got me to play around a little bit with it and picture in my head what a company would look like in x years with different PE multiples, growth and leverage. When a company is cheap at a PE of 15, and when it might be expensive at a PE of like 8.

 

Also details matter. Like his motel example, these dumb little details can make a big difference over time.

[Cardboard]

One of the best books ever written on investing. While it may appear simplistic to some, I have yet to see how it failed to perform in most if not all situations. Chapters 7, 8, 11 and 13 are a near perfect recipe on how to analyze stocks.

 

There is a reason why Warren Buffett invited Peter Lynch to Omaha after reading this book. How many authors have received similar invitation?

 

Cardboard

[PatientCheetah]

He was able to accomplish during his active years was nothing short of incredible - achieving very high rate of returns with a very large asset base and a highly diversified portfolio. He was wise to retire early because he was clearly aging prematurely. His books are definitely in my top 5 investment books.

[Dustin T]

His record was very impressive, but I'm even more impressed that he retired from a very busy schedule to spend more time with his family. He is along with Buffett and Graham on my Mt. Rushmore of investing greats. Haven't figured out who to put in that fourth slot yet.

 

It's not a deeply technical book, but a great early book to read for someone interested in investing.

[tede02]

I would agree that this is an excellent book, especially for those who are new to the general subject of investing.  I started with Lynch's book, "Learn to Earn" at 18 and graduated to One Up On Wall Street as the second book I ever read on the subject of investing.  This book ingrained in me the two basic, yet extremely important concepts, that there is a real business behind every stock ticker and to invest in companies that you're familiar with.