Question No. 14

"Are There Any Good Stock Trading Books That Will Help Me In My Quest
For a Richer, and Earlier Retirement"

Our Response

If you really want to be successful with your DIY Pension then your success will, to a certain extent, depend on the knowledge you accumulate along the way.

I remember well what my Dad once said to me.  He said:  "a man without reading is like a King without a Kingdom."

I was about 8 years-old then and I've been an avid reader ever since.

"Develop a Set of Rules"

As we repeat many times on our website, to be truly successful at investing (or anything else for that matter) you need to develop yourself a set of rules.

Like most things in this investing game, you don't have to re-invent the wheel.  All the past masters have written about, and developed for themselves, a set of rules.  And so should you.

You just need to study what they've written and make your own set of rules.  As you read what others have done, you'll soon 'get it' and develop your own style.

Stock Trading, as we know it, has been around for just over 100 years and there has been many tremendously successful investors in that time.

However, and in our opinion, a lot of these guys were speculators and not investors.  We only hear about the successful ones. 

We never hear about the ones who bankrupt themselves, or those that threw themselves off tower blocks in the 1929 Stock Market crash, or that large army of amateurs who got suckered in by the professional money, time after time.

Maybe somebody should write a book about those guys.

Speculators got rich by luck.  O.K. their 'gambling' was calculated, or so they say.  But it was speculative all the same.  They took risks that you and I don't need to.  And you shouldn't do either.

So ... take heed!  Be an investor.  Not a speculator.

Avoid the temptation to always go for a quick profit.  This business is not GRQ (get rich quick).  It's get rich slow.  Get that into your mindset from the get-go.

We have devoted a whole section of our website to these Stock Market gurus.  Some we recommend you follow, some we recommend you stay well away from.

We have also devoted a whole section to Stock Market books.

Study the Stock Market studs of the past, and present, and the many works that have been written by them and about them.

It's the finest education you'll get.

"Devour As Many Stock Market Books
As You Have Time For"

Some of the Stock Market Books we have listed in that section, we rave about.  Some we have included as essential material. Some we have placed in there for completeness. 

We must not lose sight of what the content of our website is about.  It's about conservative investing.  It's not about speculating, day trading, or gambling. 

Here's one example of one speculator mentioned.  In the early 1900s there was a guy called Jesse Livermore.  He knew how to 'play' the market.  But he was an out and out speculator.

He wrote several books but he was probably most famous for a biography about him.

The book is called "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" and it was written by Edwin LeFevre.  Excellent book.

Good reading, but the principles used by the hero of that book are not compatible with the principles that are used on our website.  They have their place, but not in retirement investing.

The section of our website on Stock Market books lists many books, most of which we have read.  Some, more than once.

To be successful with your Pension Pot, won't just happen.  You have to make it happen.

And in order to do that you need knowledge.

Our website is heavily biased towards the techniques of Warren Buffett.  Why?  Because he is, in our mind, the most complete investor ever - past or present.

Surprisingly, in our list of Stock Market books, there's not a single book by him.  But there are plenty about him.  And we recommend them strongly.

Conclusion

Our website is all about doing your own thing.  And that is not to speculate but to invest.  There is a big difference.

All the books we list in the Stock Market Book section are recommended.  We have read most of them.  Some twice.  Some three times.

There is no order of preference. But if we mention some books that we've read more than once, or mention them several times, then you may take that as a strong recommendation.

Follow the Stock Market gurus.  Study their rules and construct your own set of rules. Rules that only you would be comfortable with.

There are some Stock Market gurus that knew their stuff.  Devour their works.  It will be like getting a college education.

Build up your own library of Stock Market books, read them, and judge for yourself.

You cannot read too much. 

We guarantee you will become a better, more successful, investor because of it.

Footnote

As a newbie, you may want to read the other "Frequently Asked Questions" on this website.  Doing so, will give you a good introduction to running your own DIY Pension.

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