Common Stocks and Common Sense - Wachenheim

[handycap5]

Ed Wachenheim is probably the best value investor you have never heard of. He has generated returns over 25 years that are among the best of which I am aware.

 

He has a new book that is primarily case studies of specific investments (railroads, financials, homebuilders, industrials), not much broad brush stroke investing philosophy. Think Margin of Safety or Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, not Making of an American Capitalist. Nitty gritty (and numerical) thinking on specific investments is not for everyone - but for practitioners in this game - I think this is a highly useful read. And the book is wonderfully concise. I recommend it to you.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Common-Stocks-Sense-Strategies-Particularly/dp/1119259606

[jtvalue]

What type of returns has he generated? 

[handycap5]

The book says close to 19% pa.

[jtvalue]

His top holdings today are LOW, FDX, GS, JPM, Airbus, WHR, C, MMM, DHI, LEN

[netnet]

So between re-reading Intelligent Investor (4th time) and reading this what is your call--personally,

i have to look at the opportunity cost as well as the marginal utility of re-reading vs reading something new!

[handycap5]

Intelligent Investor is pretty different. Think more Security Analysis, though 1/10th as long. This is more like a You to Could Be a Stock Market Genius, folksy in style with cases. Opportunity cost depends on what you want to get out of it. This is not philosophising on investing, its examples of one successful investor's thinking on specific decisions.