So Far So Good – The First 94 Years | By Roy R. Neuberger

BOOK REVIEW

By Cam R

Title: So Far So Good – The First 94 Years

Author: Roy R. Neuberger

I first heard of the trader Roy Neuberger from reading Jim Rogers’s book Street Smarts, in which Rogers described his former boss as one of the best tape-reading traders in the business. As I have somewhat of an interest in tape-reading, I decided to seek out Neuberger’s book – which is his autobiography, to see if it may shed any light on his trading.

Packaging - 3/5 (Hardcover)

A pretty typical hardcover, about B5 size. The white paper is of good quality, if slightly rough to the touch. The cover is pretty unique for an autobiography. It shows a portrait of Neuberger in a pretty avant-garde style. It is likely a homage to his love of the arts, particularly contemporary modern art.

Writing Style - 3/5

Simple and straight-forward writing style, with no fluff. In fact, it feels a little like he speaks his thoughts out to you while you are reading the book. The book felt slightly lean in certain descriptions of events, bare-bones actually. I felt he could have elaborated more in certain aspects, but other than that, the book is a pretty quick and easy read-through.

Trading Methods (Specifics) - 3/5

The first part of the book consisted of how he started in Wall Street, and is pretty much the main part of the book for market-related stuff. He describes how he started out, with a cursory overview of some of his trades, including his well-known hedge trade during the 1929 market panic. There are no specific methods on reading the tape, instead it’s more of a recollection of sorts. In fact, I couldn't discern from the book that he was a tape-reader. If he wasn't described as a tape-reader by Jim Rogers, I would have thought that Neuberger was a intermediate to long-term investor.

His 10 percent rule is quite sensible and useful though. As below.

“You can’t always win on Wall Street, so you have to learn to cut losses quickly and move on gracefully. At one point, I was bullish on International Harvester. Right after I bought it, unfortunately, it began going down, down, down – and I realized I had made a mistake. I sold it the same day, lucky to take a small, quick drop rather than a big, drawn-out loss. Like many traders, I don’t win on everything. Over the years, I've lost quite often, but obviously I've won more than I lost.

Getting married to a stock can prove disastrous. The 10 percent rule is sensible: If your stock starts falling, take a loss of 10 percent and start again. I take this idea very seriously, and it’s worked quite well for me. The flip side of that rule is not to be greedy with profits. Never try to guess the top.”

Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 2/5

The book is pretty lean on trading management aspect. In fact, the overwhelming sense I get after reading the section in which he describes his years in Wall Street is that his trading style comes across as very logical and sensible.

It seems like he doesn't make big bets, he has no emotional issues, and his success was basically a step-by-step process. He found his life purpose to support contemporary artists, he needed money to do it, Wall Street was where the money is, he went to Wall Street, he made money as a trader trading his own account, he opened his own firm, and it just grew from there.

 In fact, he sounds really happy and satisfied. It’s rare to read someone’s autobiography in which everything seems smooth-sailing from the start to the end. To borrow the book’s title, it's indeed ‘so far so good’.

Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 3/5

Aside from being logical and sensible, Neuberger also comes across as being pragmatic and realistic. Here’s how he describes his thought during the big market panic of 1929.

“Even during the Panic, I never regretted my decision to go to Wall Street. Quite the opposite. I learned a lot in 1929. I studied the market and learned fast that something was wrong. Perhaps because I wasn't on Wall Street (or even in America) earlier in the 1920s, I was able to see trouble looming – while others with more hands-on experience lulled themselves into thinking the market would continue to rise indefinitely.

As the time, I was using all of the life experience I had acquired by age 26, particularly common sense, a commodity sometimes in short supply on Wall Street. I considered the Panic to be the signal of a disease in our economic environment. I also felt that we were heading for a bear market, and I acted on that judgement.

In many ways, the Panic shaped my current approach to the market: I am prematurely bearish when the market experiences a prolonged ascent, when everybody is pleased because they’re growing richer. And, conversely, I'm very bullish when the markets drops perceptibly because I feel it has already discounted any troubles we are going to have.”

Longevity - 2/5

I felt his biography is worth a read-through, just to get a sense of how the market environment was back in the 1920s. And like he mentioned in his book, he is probably the only trader who has experienced personally both the markets in the 1920s through to the markets now. In a way, reading the book made me feel the markets have changed dramatically since then, and yet remain very much the same as then.

Value - 2/5

For a trader looking for specific market related information, the most helpful would probably be the ten principles of successful trading he listed in the book. That, and along with some of his observations relating to the market, are probably the most market-related bits. It is also interesting that Neuberger knew personally the great investors, names like Ben Graham, Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, George Soros and a couple of others. It was fun to read his brief description about each of them.

Things to Watch Out For -

It is obvious from the book his love of the arts, and in fact, the second half of the book is almost solely devoted to his endeavours in the arts. Readers who are not interested in the arts may find the parts of the books where he talks about art overwhelming.

Overall - 3/5

A pretty enjoyable book, and a very quick read-through. I wished he could have shared more specifics on how he trades the market though. If you have some free time over the weekends, this would be a nice and easy book to spend your time with.

Score Recap:

Packaging - 3/5

Writing Style - 3/5

Trading Methods (Specifics) - 3/5

Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 2/5

Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 3/5

Longevity -2/5

Value - 2/5

Overall - 3/5

Where to Buy:

It's an old book, so I doubt most bookstores would carry it now. Amazon and Books Depository both have it in stock though, with free worldwide shipping for Books Depository. If you want to buy the book, please do consider buying it from my affiliate links below. It really goes a long way in supporting this site. Thank you!

        

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Soros: The World’s Most Influential Investor | By Robert Slater

BOOK REVIEW

By Cam R

Title: Soros: The World’s Most Influential Investor

Author: Robert Slater

I picked up this book along with Staying Ahead of the Curve (Review Here), as I was fascinated by George Soros. He’s a master trader after all, and if you’re going to learn, you might as well learn from one of the best. In any case, this is a biography of Soros, taking us on a journey from his youth in Nazi-overrun Hungary, to his adult years America, and then to his later philanthropic endeavours. But does it reveal more of his trading insights and methods? We’ll see below.

Packaging - 2/5 (Hardcover)

A nice typical hardcover, about B5 size. The paper quality is good and should not succumb to wear or age easily. The font and spaciousness of the text are easy on the eyes. The title is fine, no arguments from me there. The biggest minus is with the picture used though. Soros looks displeased here. This picture certainly does not convey any aura of him being the world’s most influential investor. In fact, he looks like he has just gotten news of a trade gone wrong. I dropped the score to a 2 from a 3 because of the inappropriate picture choice.

Writing Style - 4/5

The writing style is engaging, and the tone is lively and manages to flow at a brisk pace. An unexpected plus is how Slater describes Soros’s trade in the British Pound, in a time by time breakdown. It reads a little like an action thriller and injects a bit of suspense in the book, which I really enjoyed. Biographies in general can be (really) dull, like a monotonous history book, so something different and engaging should be credited.

Trading Methods (Specifics) - 3/5

This is an unauthorized biography, though the author did do extensive research and also interviews with a number of people who were close to Soros. Some of their comments were really interesting and shed a little more light on his workings.

Soros’s friend Byron Wien on his laid-back approach to life:

“He feels, that he should not be dependent upon other people. Some people spend all day talking to brokers. He doesn't feel that that’s the way to spend all your time. Instead, he prefers to talk to a few people who can be really helpful and to think and read and reflect.

He once said something to me that was very useful: ‘The trouble with you, Byron, is that you go to work every day and you think that because you go to work every day, you should do something. I don’t go to work every day. I only go to work on the days that make sense to go to work… And I really do something on that day. But you go to work and you do something every day and you don’t realize that it’s a special day.’”

How Soros thinks about the positions of his fund managers:

According to Allan Raphael, who worked with him from 1984 to 1988, “if you liked something, he wanted you to talk to someone who didn't like it. He always wanted an intellectual rub there. He always rethinks a position. You always had to rethink it and rethink it and rethink it. Things change. The prices change. Conditions change. It was up to you as a fund manager to constantly rethink your position.”

Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5

There seems to be a strong emphasis on how Soros uses his survival instincts during trading. I suppose this is logical given that we were introduced at the beginning of the book to his childhood, which was shaped in large part by the experience of his family eluding capture by the Nazis.

The book does shed light on one of Soros’s supposedly favourite strategy though.

As recounted by James Marquez, a Soros associate from the 1980s:

“George always used to say, ‘Invest first and investigate later.’ That meant, form a hypothesis, take a toehold position to test the hypothesis, and wait for the market to prove you right or wrong.”

In essence, this favourite Soros strategy could be called “getting a feel” for the market. Soros used this technique only occasionally; when the two worked together in the 1980s, Soros would sometimes tell Marquez that he had this strategy in mind for a particular deal that they were working on.

In those situations, the scenario would sometimes go like this:

After much decision, the two men would finally decide to take a plunge. 
Marquez would then design a staged effect, setting aside a certain amount of the fund for the position.

“All right,” Soros would say, “I want to buy $300 million of bonds, so start by selling $50 million.”

“I want to buy $300 million,” Marquez would remind Soros.

“Yes,” Soros would reply, “but I want to see what the market feels like first. I want to see how I feel as a seller. If it comes very easily, then I want to be even more of a buyer. But if those bonds are really hard to sell, I'm not sure I should be a buyer.”

Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 2/5

I can get a sense of his humour and wit during his casual encounters, but there is not much substance here.

Longevity - 2/5

This book is a thorough and fascinating account of his life, but it is not something that I feel I would reread again. A once-over is sufficient.

Value - 2/5

As a biography of Soros, this book does a fine job taking you walking you through his life from the lens of an outsider. However, if you are interested in trading related stuff, there is not too much here that you can pick up.

Things to Watch Out For -

This is an unauthorized biography, so many of the accounts of his life are culled from external sources like his friends, previous associates and other acquaintances. While I found it mostly genuine, they are still recollections and accounts of the man from people close to Soros, but not from Soros himself.

Overall - 3/5

I enjoyed reading this biography, and it offered a deeper insight into the life of this influential investor. Trading insights wise, it’s relatively sparse, but it accomplishes its goal to give a picture of his life. It’s an easy biography to read on a lazy weekend.

Score Recap:

Packaging - 2/5

Writing Style - 4/5

Trading Methods (Specifics) - 3/5

Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5

Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 2/5

Longevity -2/5

Value - 2/5

Overall - 3/5

Where to Buy:

If you found the above review helpful and want to buy the book, do consider buying it through my affiliate link below. I really appreciate it, and any purchase truly goes a long way in supporting this site. Thank you!

Related Books
If you are interested to find out more about Soros's insights on investing and trading, I really recommend reading his book Staying Ahead of the Curve. Check out my review for more information. (Review Here)


Thanks for reading!

And do check often, I will have new reviews up! :)

Bernard Baruch: My Own Story | By Bernard Baruch

BOOK REVIEW

By Cam R

Title: Bernard Baruch: My Own Story

Author: Bernard Baruch

If you have been in trading for a while, you would probably have heard the story of financier Bernard Baruch and the shoeshine boy. Basically, Baruch was supposedly having his shoes shined one morning by a shoeshine boy. In the midst of his job, the boy was talking animatedly about the stock market and what to buy, giving Baruch a tip so to speak. Hearing this, Baruch realized that the public had stock fever, so he immediately went back to his office and sold all of his stock holdings. As he puts it: “When beggars and shoeshine boys, barbers and beauticians can tell you how to get rich it is time to remind yourself that there is no more dangerous illusion than the belief that one can get something for nothing.” A very good indicator of a market in a mania and ripe for a eventual crash.

Although a self-made trader and financier, little has been written about him or his methods. So I approached his biography (authored by himself) hoping that it would shed more light on this astute man. So let’s move on to the review below.

Packaging - 3/5

A simple hardcover without any fancy frills. The cover design is very plain, with basically nothing on it. I would think a elegant line illustration of a man having his shoes shined would be a nice allusion to the famous story. Perhaps since this was authored by him, he didn’t want to be singularly associated with that one story? Who knows. Anyway, the paper is of sufficiently good quality so nothing to grouch about here.

Writing Style - 3/5

The book comes across as a voice for his keen observations. It’s like he’s telling you about the things he has experienced and his thoughts about them. Conversations he had with others are also included in the book occasionally, which provides a nice break from the narration. The style is not particularly memorable or engaging unfortunately, but it does its job at telling his story.

Trading Methods (Specifics) - 3/5

There is not very much in the way of specific trading methods, as Baruch probably leans more towards the fundamentals. He does talk a little about how he got started in trading and the mistakes he made.

How he describes his mistakes:

“In those early days it wasn’t too difficult to figure out what I was doing that was wrong. There are two principal mistakes that nearly all amateurs in the stock market make. The first is to have an inexact knowledge of the securities in which one is dealing, to know too little about a company’s management, its earnings and prospects for future growth. The second mistake is to trade beyond one’s financial resources, to try to run up a fortune on a shoestring.

That was my main error at the outset. I had virtually no capital to start with. When I bought stocks I put all so small a margin that a change of a few points would wipe out my equity. What I was really doing was little more than betting whether a stock would go up or down. I might be right sometimes, but any sizeable fluctuations would wipe me out.”

An interesting part was how he lost the money his father gave him, and how his father trusted him enough to stake him a second time. This made Baruch determined to succeed in his stock trading endeavour. I guess this shows the power of having someone believing in you that you can succeed.

Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5

Most of his trading management are by way of him talking back about some of his stocks plays. But in addition to that, he does list down some guidelines from his own experience which he hopes may be of help to others. They are as below.

“There are a number of things I have learned from my own experience which might be worth listing for those who are able to muster the necessary self-discipline.

1.     Don’t speculate unless you can make it a full-time job.

2.     Beware of barbers, waiters – of anyone – bringing gifts of “inside” information or “tips”.

3.     Before you buy a security, find out everything you can about the company, its management and competitors, its earnings and possibility for growth.

4.     Don’t try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top. This can’t be done – except by liars.

5.     Learn how to take your losses quickly and cleanly. Don’t expect to be right all the time. If you have made a mistake cut your losses as quickly as possible.

6.     Don’t buy too many different securities. Better have only a few investments which can be watched.

7.     Make a periodic reappraisal of all your investments to see whether changing developments have altered their prospects.

8.     Study your tax position to know when you can sell to greatest advantage.

9.     Always keep a good part of your capital in a cash reserve. Never invest all your funds.

10.  Don’t try to be a jack of all investments. Stick to the field you know best.

He then goes on to elaborate on some of the above guidelines with his own experience keeping to them. They are pretty insightful and augment his points well.

Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 2/5

On the thin side here. He doesn’t talk much about his mindset. The only strong sense I get is his sense of cautiousness, which is apparent throughout the book. One gets the sense that he was also slowly but surely honing his stock market prowess.

Longevity - 2/5

This is first and foremost a biography, as opposed to a trading manual. Although he does talk about trading since he did make his fortune from his speculation skills, this is most definitely about Baruch the man, not Baruch the trader. For readers interested in Baruch, I feel a one-time reading would probably suffice. A very insightful read, but not something I would go back to time and again.

Value - 3/5

Priced reasonably for a biography and it does indeed provide a full picture of Bernard Baruch. I did come away with a fuller picture of Baruch and his life, but trading-wise, it takes second place to the story of his life.

Things to Watch Out For -

He did go into politics at the end of his career, and the concluding part of the book is indeed about his experiences during his time there. I personally didn’t find it providing much knowledge trading-wise, though that is to be expected I guess.

Overall - 3/5

A thorough and enjoyable biography. I did have a greater appreciation for Bernard Baruch after reading it, and his stories were also interesting. Anyone interested in the man would do well by reading this.

Score Recap:

Packaging - 3/5

Writing Style - 3/5

Trading Methods (Specifics) - 3/5

Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5

Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 2/5

Longevity -2/5

Value - 3/5

Overall - 3/5

Where to Buy:

If you found the above review helpful and want to buy the book, please consider buying it through my Amazon affiliate link below. The prices are competitive, and any purchase is a huge vote of support for this blog. Thank you!

Thanks for reading!

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Reminiscences of a Stock Operator | By Edwin Lefèvre

BOOK REVIEW
By Cam R

Title: Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Author: Edwin Lefèvre

Whether you're a novice or a veteran in the markets, one of the books you will notice that many will recommend as a must-read book is the classically titled 'Reminiscences of a Stock Operator'. Published way back in the 1920s, it is still held as the book of books on trading the markets. Supposedly the real life biography of the stock and commodities market wizard Jesse Livermore, it's probably the source of all the trading aphorisms such as 'trade with the trend', 'cut your losses', 'let your profits run' and many many more.

So is it worth your time to read through this book? Let's dig in below.


Packaging - 3/5 (Wiley Paperback edition)
A decent quality paperback, with relatively thick paper suitable for frequent flipping. The cover design is part of the Wiley Investment Classics range, with its red and muted gold template. Pleasant to the eyes so nothing to nitpick about. Plenty of empty margin around the main text of each page, so that's a definite plus in its point especially if you want to jot down ideas on any page.

Writing Style - 3/5
Slightly archaic in its writing, modern readers of English might find it slightly inaccessible at the beginning. But after one or two chapters, it should flow pretty naturally and this is when the straight-forward and lively writing shines through. It feels almost like you're an onlooker at the scene with Livermore as he walks you through his experiences and thoughts. An expected plus is his honesty, which I found a lot of wisdom in.

Here is his take on the process of learning:
"There is nothing like losing all you have in the world for teaching you what not to do. And when you know what not to do in order not to lose money, you begin to learn what to do in order to win. Did you get that? You begin to learn!".

Trading Methods (Specifics) - 2/5
Not much in the specifics, for readers looking for a specific method or methodology for trading. For that, Livermore's other book How to Trade in Stocks (Review Here) is more suitable. This book is titled 'Reminiscences' after all, so Livermore's musings, thoughts and comments form the bulk of it. I do like the part where he delves into the art of tape reading.

His matter-of-fact stance on tape reading:
"This matter of tape reading is not as complicated as it appears. Of course you need experience. But it is even more important to keep several fundamentals in mind. To read the tape is not to have your fortune told. The tape does not tell you how much you will surely be worth next Thursday at 1:35pm. The object of reading the tape is to ascertain, first, how and, next, when to trade - that is, whether it is wiser to buy than to sell. It works exactly the same for stocks as for cotton or wheat or corn or oats.

You watch the market - that is, the course of prices as recorded by the tape - with one object: to determine the direction - that is, the price tendency. Prices, we know, will move either up or down according to the resistance they encounter. For purposes of easy explanation, we will say that prices, like anything else, move along the line of least resistance. They will do whatever comes easiest, therefore they will go up if there is least resistance to an advance than to a decline; and vice versa.

Nobody should be puzzled as to whether a market is a bull or bear market after it fairly starts. The trend is evident to a man who has an open mind and reasonably clear sight, for it is never wise for a speculator to fit his facts to his theories. Such a man will, or ought to, know whether it is a bull or a bear market, and if he knows that he knows whether to buy or sell. It is therefore the very inception of the movement that a man needs to know whether to buy or to sell."

He goes on to elaborate with examples on how exactly he reads the tape, in effect he basically gives away the essence of his trading system based on reading the tape. Fantastic stuff. Plus, if you substitute the word 'tape' with 'chart', whatever he says would still work more or less actually.

Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5
Not much in the way of specifics here too, it's probably more useful to take away lessons from Livermore's experience when he executes his big plays. However, what I found excellent was the sprinkling of stories about the other big stock market operators during the time. The books details the fascinating plays of these big players with lots of wisdom there to be. I found the story about the shrewd Deacon S.V White and how he manage to test the stock market waters especially fun and enlightening.

Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 4/5
When you read between the lines, the whole book is steeped with it.

Some notable quotes:
- Another lesson I learned early is that there is nothing new in Wall Street. There can't be because speculation is as old as the hills. Whatever happens in the stock market to-day has happened before and will happen again.. 
- My plan of trading was sound enough and won oftener than it lost. If I had stuck to it I'd have been right perhaps as often as seven out of ten times. What beat me was not having brains enough to stick to my own game. 

Longevity -5/5
When I first read this book without an atom of trading experience in me, it really didn't make any sense and I basically dismissed it. But with the benefit of experience and 20/20 hindsight, this has been one of the books that I have always gone back too, and probably read more times than I can remember. Some of its wisdom will jump at you when you least expect it. Definitely one for your shelf, library or kindle, this is a definite keeper.

Value - 5/5
Worth its weight in gold.

Things to Watch Out For -
Obviously, this is the biography of one man. Learn whatever you can but it's good to be aware also that there are many other ways and methods. The world is a big place.


Overall - 5/5
A most excellent book on trading the markets. For novices, do yourself an enormous favour and read it. Then get some trading experience under your belt and then re-read it. For veterans, I daresay reading it will put a smile on your face, it's like a visit with an old and wise friend.

Score Recap:
Packaging - 3/5
Writing Style - 3/5
Trading Methods (Specifics) - 2/5
Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5
Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 4/5
Longevity -5/5
Value - 5/5
Overall - 5/5


Where to Buy:
If you found the above review helpful and want to buy the book, please do consider buying it from my Amazon affiliate link below. I genuinely appreciate it and any purchase really goes a long way in supporting this site. Thank you!




Related Books
Livermore has authored a book titled How to Trade in Stocks. It has great educational value for anyone looking to trade in stocks and is also a nice supplement after reading Reminiscences. I have a review up for that book, so check it out if you need more information. (Review Here)

For anyone interested in Jesse Livermore, check out Stock Market Technique Number One too (Review Here). The author Richard Wyckoff was friends with Jesse Livermore, and there are a few little-known quotes from Livermore that Wyckoff has shared, which are really delightful too.

Thank you very much for reading!
And do check back for new and updated book reviews, cheers! :)