Book of Value: The Fine Art of Investing Wisely (Columbia Business School Publishing)

Financial markets are noisy and full of half-baked opinions, innuendo, and misinformation. With deep insights about investor psychology, Book of Value shows how to apply tools of business analysis to sort through the deceptions and self-deceptions in financial markets. Anurag Sharma joins philosophy with practical know-how to launch an integrated approach to building high-performance stock portfolios. Investors at all skill levels should learn to be mindful of their psychological biases so they may better frame investment choices. Book of Value teaches novices that investing is not a game of luck but a skill—and it teaches the emotional and analytical tools necessary to play it well. Intermediate investors learn how to effectively control emotions when investing and think strategically about their investment program. Advanced investors see the formalization of what they already know intuitively: that the philosopher's methods for seeking truth can be profitably applied to make smart investments. A groundbreaking guide full of lasting value, Book of Value should be on the shelf of anyone who takes investing seriously. "With deep insights about investor psychology, Book of Value shows how to apply tools of business analysis to sort through the deceptions and self-deceptions in financial markets. Anurag Sharma joins philosophy with practical know-how to launch an integrated approach to building high-performance stock portfolios. Investors at all skill levels should learn to be mindful of their psychological biases so they may better frame investment choices. Book of Value teaches novices that investing is not a game of luck but a skill--and it teaches the emotional and analytical tools necessary to play it well. Intermediate investors learn how to effectively control emotions when investing and think strategically about their investment program. Advanced investors see the formalization of what they already know intuitively: that the philosopher's methods for seeking truth can be profitably applied to make smart investments."--Provided by publisher Preface Acknowledgments Prologue: A Short History of Investing Introduction: Noise Part I: Illusion 1 Opinions and Beliefs 2 Correlation of Errors 3 The Dark Arts 4 Purveyors of the Dark Arts 5 Victims of the Dark Arts Part II: Verity 6 Logic-Data-Doubt 7 Investing as a Negative Art 8 Shaping the Investment Thesis 9 How to Be a Wise Investor 10 The Art of Looking Part III: Foundations 11 Price and Value 12 How to Value a Business 13 Risk and Uncertainty 14 The Simple Math of Valuation 15 Yield-Stability-Strength Part IV: Diligence 16 Depth Analysis 17 Dive for Strength 18 Define Good Business 19 Watch the Game 20 Meet the Managers Part V: Policy 21 Diversification 22 Another Way to Portfolio 23 Core Holdings 24 Growth 25 The Buffett Portfolio Conclusion: Noise Control Notes Bibliography Index The financial markets are incredibly noisy and full of opinions, innuendo, and misinformation. They overwhelm the senses, confuse, and disorient, inviting all kinds of deception. No lesson on investing is complete without accounting for the emotional and psychological biases that can lead investors astray and how to correct for those biases. Analytical techniques are useless if they are not integrated into a well-conceived decision framework that recognizes how we are wired to perceive the world around us. That is why Book of Value looks to philosophy and psychology to redefine modern portfoli Table of Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Prologue: A Short History of Investing -- Introduction: Noise -- Part I: Illusion -- 1 Opinions and Beliefs -- 2 Correlation of Errors -- 3 The Dark Arts -- 4 Purveyors of the Dark Arts -- 5 Victims of the Dark Arts -- Part II: Verity -- 6 Logic-Data-Doubt -- 7 Investing as a Negative Art -- 8 Shaping the Investment Thesis -- 9 How to Be a Wise Investor -- 10 The Art of Looking -- Part III: Foundations -- 11 Price and Value -- 12 How to Value a Business -- 13 Risk and Uncertainty -- 14 The Simple Math of Valuation