Undergraduate Student Looking to Begin Investing. Resources to get started?

[jhc18]

Hi all,

 

I am a current undergraduate student and am a bit overwhelmed with all of the information that is out there pertaining to financial markets. What are your go-to online resources, books, podcasts, and publications for someone looking to get a better understanding of investing?

 

Thank you in advance.

[Malmqky]

Read the intelligent investor and some Phil fisher. Security Analysis if you’re up to it. That’s a good starting point.

[LC]

I always recommend the Buffett Partnership letters. 

 

That said, experience is the best teacher.

Put some real money to work! 

[whatstheofficerproblem]

I'm an undergrad student too, while the books do help, this forum itself has had the greatest contribution to my learning curve as an investor. The very first discussion I threw myself was into Brookfield which was quite active back then and growing through all the pages was a fun ride. The recommendations in the books section on here are excellent too, they add insight into sectors like no where else.

Edited October 16, 2023 by whatstheofficerproblem

[Spooky]

Start small, experiment and lean more heavily on ETFs at the start. Try and minimize transaction fees and taxes. Be careful about investing into individual companies until you have more experience and a grounding in fundamental analysis. Invert and think about not losing money rather than hitting home runs. Read and think as much as possible rather than act. Buffet and Co are trying to make one or two good decisions a year. I like two of Buffet's analogies: 1) imagine you have a punch card with 20 spaces available in your lifetime - each time you invest in a company you punch the card - makes you need to think very carefully about committing to an investment; 2) in investing you can sit at the plate and watch pitches go by forever waiting for a fat pitch - wait for a fat pitch and then swing heavily.

 

Some good books that really helped me: 1) Lawrence Cunningham's collection of Buffett essays; 2) Phil Fisher's Common Stocks And Uncommon Profits; 3) Howard Marks The Most Important Thing; and 4) Poor Charlie's Almanac;

 

In terms of online resources there are a lot of great lectures from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger on YouTube (Warren's talk to the Florida University is a great one. So is Munger lecture on elementary worldly wisdom). There is also a whole series of Google talks from famous investors.

[spartansaver]

I'd say the opposite, lean into big ideas. You'll learn what works and what doesn't. I learned very early on about leverage and operational issues because I had a big position (at the time) in a company I followed someone else into. If I'd done 30 different small ideas I don't think lessons would've been taken. You can stand to learn at this point without mistakes costing you a lot. Books are good but experience is best.  

[backtothebeach]

What's your motivation of looking to get a better understanding of investing?

 

(a) Just putting money that you have coming in to work somehow?

(b) Do you think you might love the process and might want to spend a lot of time on it?

(c) Possible professional interest, working in finance?

 

Active investing can be an ungrateful activity, and success is not guaranteed. If your motivation is only (a) I'd say it is hard to beat DCA'ing into a mix of index ETFs and possibly Berkshire/Fairfax.
 

Edited October 22, 2023 by backtothebeach

[Spooky]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:24 PM, spartansaver said:

I'd say the opposite, lean into big ideas. You'll learn what works and what doesn't. I learned very early on about leverage and operational issues because I had a big position (at the time) in a company I followed someone else into. If I'd done 30 different small ideas I don't think lessons would've been taken. You can stand to learn at this point without mistakes costing you a lot. Books are good but experience is best.  

 

Sure, you can afford to take more risks when you are younger since you have time to recover. However, the biggest advantage you have right now is a long runway to compound returns. If you stay invested / in the game, don't make any big mistakes and let your investments compound, even small amounts can turn into significant sums of money over time.

[SharperDingaan]

I was utter sh1te when I first began investing, and blew myself up least three times! Simply because you cannot 'do' investing until you have had 'real' money at risk, have learnt how to manage the greed/fear, and have had big enough losses to make you get your act together. Some people play poker and use their winnings to pay for school; I invested my student loan money in junior o/g and mining companies 

 

One of the smartest things you can do is get yourself a summer job in an industry you like; I spent a summer as a rig pig, and winter breaks relieving crew members in hostile places, over Christmas holidays. There ain't nothing graceful on a rig, crews are rough and direct, there's a lot of hazing and bullying, and you're that clump of sh1te on the bottom of everyone's shoe! But survive/thrive .... and as long as you listen, you will go very far indeed .... and learn!

 

At < 25, your best investment is in you; grabbing life by the cohones and squeezing - hard! When you're eventually done having fun, you will be a lot more mature, know what you want, and be ready to start investing. For most people; learning the technical (CFA, MBA, etc) while staying in the juniors honing your risk management skills. You've 'graduated' when you trust your judgement/experience enough to toss out the 'CFA way'. Just don't expect to work on the sell side of the street 

 

Thereafter its just evolution, thinking for yourself, and doing your own thing.

 

Good luck!

 

SD

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by SharperDingaan

[Stuart D]

I found the Berkshire AGM’s on YouTube as a great place to start.

[tede02]

I'd recommend starting with Peter Lynch's One Up On Wall Street. It was written for a general audience so it's easy reading and provides a great foundation for understanding the market and what individual stocks represent. If you're completely new to the game, you may find Buffett's letters somewhat technical. Joel Greenblatt's "Little Book that Beats the Market" is also a good one to get started. 

 

And I would agree that there is endless stuff to watch on YouTube. Buffett did a series of interviews with Charlie Rose in the mid-2000s. They were influential early in my investing career. 

[cofabmd]

For a beginner, I would recommend reading The Rees Approach: A Beginner's Guide to Making Money in the Stock Market. This book is only one point of view about how to invest in the market for long term survival and success, but I think it's a valuable one. Others would be Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman (if you can find or afford it), Richer, Wiser, Happier by William Green, and everything Warren Buffett has ever written are good places to start.

[CorpRaider]

I would start with the Buffett letters book edited by Prof. Lawrence Cunningham, Bogle's Little book of common sense investing, and You Can be a Stock Market Genius by Prof. Greenblatt.  If you're not really interested in working in the area or just enjoy participating and helping capitalism function while learning about the world, don't forget that you can index and kick nearly everyone's ass.

Edited December 6, 2023 by CorpRaider