Books
Welcome to my books page. This is a space where I share some of the most meaningful books I’ve had the good fortune to discover along my investment journey.
While experience is often the best teacher, learning from those who have walked the path before us can be even more powerful. To become a better investor, it is only logical to study the thinking, discipline and lessons of those who have achieved long-term success. Few mediums offer deeper insights than their written words.
The best investment one can make is an investment in oneself. Learning builds understanding and when knowledge is put into practice, it has the power to create long lasting results – not just in investing, but in life.
These books have helped shape the way I think about businesses, markets, risk and patience. More importantly, many of them have influenced how I approach decision making and life beyong investing.
My goal is to review one book each month, share my key takeaways and highlighting lines that left a lasting impression. Where available, you can find these books on Amazon by clicking on the book images.
Ultimately, this page is as much a personal record as it is a shared journey. If even one idea from these books sparks a new way of thinking, encourages patience during difficult markets, or inspires a deeper commitment to lifelong learning, then this space has served its purpose. Investing is a long game and the right books have a way of guiding us quietly but steadily along the way.
“Before you think about buying stocks, you ought to have made some basic decisions about the market, about how much you trust corporate America, about whether you need to invest in stocks and what you expect to get out of them, about whether you are a short or long term investor, and about how you will react to sudden, unexpected and severe drops in price. It’s best to define your objectives and clarify your attitudes beforehand, because if you are undecided and lack conviction, then you are a potential market victim, who abandons all hop and reason at the worst moment and sells out at a loss”
Eric Sim
Dec 2025
This is my third time reading One Up On Wall Street, and each time it sharpens my thinking. Lynch’s idea of spotting investment opportunities in everyday life has repeatedly shaped how I look at businesses around me. In a market that feels increasingly complex, this book is a grounding reminder that disciplined observation, patience and common sense still work.
“It’s difficult to derive everything we want in life from just one job because most of us are looking for that elusive blend of money, meaning and happiness. You sell your time and services in exchange for money. But in this transaction, there’s no mention of either meaning or happiness, so it’s unfair and unrealistic to expect your employer to deliver all three essential elements of your life”
Eric Sim
Nov 2025
The book highlights how consistent, intentional steps rather than big dramatic moves drives meaningful progress. Through practical reflections on his career and life, Eric Sim shows how self awareness and adaptability compound over time. Much like investing, the book reinforces that small actions taken patiently can lead to lasting results.
“On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs stood before a packed auditorium, once again in a black turtleneck and blue jeans. He said every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. Then he introduced it – the iPhone – to an audience mesmerized by full-screen web navigation and the basics of multi touch, like pinch to zoom and swipe to unlock.
Patick Mcgee
The prototype had experienced all kinds of software glitches in the days before, instiling feelings of anxiety and terror into a small group of engineers watching within the auditorium.”
Oct 2025
Of the several books about Apple, this is the most detailed of them all, covering the events during Steve Jobs’ second stint at the company. Details of Apple building their supply chain in China and the hard work by many into their product to make the company the most valuable in the world.
“Your investment wins will leave your worst losses utterly in the dust, if you’re playing the game right. If it works, a little is all you need. And if it doesn’t, a little is all you want
David Gardner
If you read today’s headlines, you’ll conclude things have never been worse. But if you read history, you’ll conclude things have never been better.”
Sep 2025
This book changed the way I think about value investing in a growth way. It not only reiterated that the money is in the waiting, it also looks at the business possibilities of the investment. Businesses with high valuations may not be expensive simply because they can grow their way into the valuation.
“A business with a high ROIC will deliver more wealth to its shareholders over the long term from higher earnings. Ideally, you want to own a business that over an extended period of time can reinvest excess earnings at high ROIC
Michael Shearn
Avoid jumping to conclusion that one business is better than another business just because it has a higher ROIC. What counts is the ability of the business to reinvest its excess earnings at a high ROIC, which is what creates future value.”
Aug 2025
The idea of a checklist is one of the most practical thing an investor can do. Even doctors have checklist while doing a surgery so an investment checklist can help us avoid making repeated general mistakes. The book is an in depth consideration of all the facotors when making an investment and is a good place to start for those drafting an investment checklist.
“The key for asset price movement is not the historical buyer already reflected in the market, but rather, the next marginal buyer that is not yet incorporated in prices.
Barry Ritholtz
Once you become wealthy, you can afford to take less risk. Don’t waste your time stock-picking or timing, just let the markets work for you. Avoid complex investments, expensive funds, and alts.”
Jul 2025
How not to invest is a reference to Charlie Munger’s idea of Invert and Always Invert. By thinking about how not to go about investing, investors can reduce the amount of unforced errors and thus come out ahead. The book even made reference to one of our Singapore favourites Adam Khoo. Seems like Adam has made a name for himself beyond the little red dot.
“Your wealthy life may be enabled by money, but in the end, it will be defined by everything else.
Sahil Bloom
The freedom to allocate time according to your preferences – to choose how you spend it, where you spend it, and whom you spend it with – is the ultimate goal.”
Jun 2025
This book challenges the idea that wealth is mainly about money. Sahil Bloom explains that real wealth comes in 5 different forms, and we should value each form of wealth using a different scorecard. He uses personal stories and simple advice to help readers think about life in a more balanced way. It is a good reminder that a successful life is about more than just chasing money.
“Before the crisis, FTX was meant to be holding about $15 billion worth of customer deposits. – Five billion of that had already been paid out to customers, and so, still inside FTX, there should have been roughly $10 billion. There wasn’t. The only remaining assets were whatever was left of the dragon’s hoard inside of Alameda: a big pile of FTT, another big pile of Solana tokens, an assortment of crypto tokens that would be even harder to sell, $300 million worht of Bahamas real estate, and a truly massive heap of Sam’s venture capital investments.”
Michael Lewis
May 2025
Despite the big blow-up of FTX, causing global headline news, depositors in the exchange were made whole with interest after the dust had settled. The story of FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is one of how a somewhat nerdy graduate got to the top of the Forbes list, then vanished both in record time.
“To be a good businessman, you don’t need to be lightning fast, you don’t need to have very amazing meories, nor be amongst the best in school, the only key is to have a strong interest and enthusiasm for doing business. Interest and enthusiasm are important factors that determine success or failure.
J.D. Rockefeller
The outcome of things is often proportional to our enthusiasm. Enthusiasm can make things a hundred times or a thousand times better.”
Apr 2025
This book is a compilation of the 38 letters J.D. Rockefeller wrote to his son. While some critics pointed out that the letters in this book are not authentic, I think there are lessons to be learn from the stories themselves. The idea of writing a letter to our children is a powerful one. One that can transcend time and is always a good way to pass down the wisdom we want to impart to future generations.
“Remember, words are great influencers. Words are the verbal embodiment of power. By filling your mind with words of hope, you become hopeful. By filling your mind with words of kindness, you become kind. By filling your mind with thoughts of courage, you become courageous. Words have power”
Robin Sharma
Mar 2025
The monk who sold his Ferrari is a book about living a fulfilling life. The story is about a high-powered lawyer who became very successful but neglected other aspects of his life. He then quit law following a health scare and went to the mountains to seek enlightenment. Having found his path, he returned to his old law firm, shared his understanding of life and imparted much of what he had learned.
“A well-diversified portfolio can help to smooth out the investor’s returns. When constructed properly, a diversified portfolio can actually lower an investor’s risk and provide higher returns.
Brian Feroldi
Proper diversification is all about handling trade-offs. Investors should take diversification seriously”
Feb 2025
If you are a novice investor, I highly recommend this book as the author can explain the 101 of investing in a simple and easy-to-understand way. This book easily covers the intricacies of investing and if there is a textbook for investing this will be one of the must-reads for your investment journey.
“The problem is that your friend has never done business with them. There is no track record in that arena. Yet, because of the halo effect of the friend, you believe the person has to be great, and you go forward without really knowing what you need to know. Sometimes this can be a very big mistake. Good in one context of a relationship does not necessarily mean good in another.”
Dr Henry Cloud
Jan 2025
Dr Henry Cloud managed to dissect Trust into 5 essentials. They are understanding, motivation, ability, character, and track record. Each essential is discussed and explained in depth with examples so readers can fully understand why they are such important factors.
“If you find yourself uninterested and tired all the time, then this may be a great time to start something – anything – in your life
Ken Honda
As you do more, your income and expenses will increase, but so, too, will your human experiences. And yes, some of those experiences will be stressful. If your sole reason for avoiding making or spending money was to avoid stress, then I advise you: Be prepared. Part of life is feeling a bit stress.”
Dec 2024
Ken Honda opens my view about money in an interesting way. It is a book about how to think about life and money. The main focus is on life and how we should appreciate money as a tool to improve on our life.
“In response to Peter’s amazement, the locksmith told Peter that locks are on doors only to keep honest people honest. 1% of people will always be honest and never steal, the locksmith said. Another 1% will always be dishonest and try to pick your lock and steal your television. And the rest will be honest as long as the conditions are right.
Dan Ariely
It’s not that 98% of people are immoral or will cheat anytime the opportunity arises; it’s more likely that most of us need little reminders to keep ourselves on the right path”
Nov 2024
This book totally changes the way I view ethics. I now think of doing the right thing in a scale rather than black or white. Everyone, given the right circumstances, can be swayed to do the wrong thing. In this book, the author carried out a series of social experiments to test how people react when given the opportunity to be dishonest. This book truly gave me insights into the importance of structuring our lives in a way to avoid being tempted by dishonesty.
“Super-apps, though convenient, are an excessive concentration of power, whether when used directly for the companies that run them or when they become tools for the governments that regulate them.
Martin Chorzempa
When big-tech companies enter US finance or fintech firms aim to build super-apps, we have to ensure that we have lessons from China in mind.”
Oct 2024
While this is yet another book on China, the story of its cashless revolution is one for the rest of the world to learn. Is the like of Alibaba or Tencent’s super app overarching reaching in many aspects of people’s lives good for society? And what are the regulations needed to ensure such concentrated power is not abused?
“Price stabilituy, which monetary policy should aim at, is not stability at any particular point in time but rather sustainable stability that can support economic growth over the medium to long term. Therefore, even when measured inflation is stable, it will become necessary to raise interest rates promptly.”
Edward Chancellor
Sep 2024
If one is interested in how the history of interest rates comes about, The Price of Time is the book to read. I am surprised that once upon a time, it was considered illegal to charge an interest to lend money. Interest also dubbed the “Gravity of Finance” affects all asset prices and investors should understand how it works in the investment world.
“POET and philosopher Lao Tzu observed, ‘Those who have knowledge don’t predict. Those who predict don’t have knowledge.’ Yet, most of the investment industry seems to be obsessed with trying to guess the future.
James Montier
As Charlie Munger has pointed out, ‘Some of the worst business decisions I’ve ever seen are those with future projections and discounts back.’”
Aug 2024
Investing is 30% IQ and 70% EQ. The ability to handle Mr Market is based on what Warren Buffett described as temperament. Having the right mindset while navigating the stock market is the essence of successful investing. The little book of Behavioral Investing delves into the common mistakes that blind investors caused by Mr Market.
“I argue that Xi Jinping’s worldview is made up of ten concentric circles of interest – starting from the most important, concerning Xi’s position in the party itself, and moving out to other domestic political priorities and then to his unfolding international aspirations for the country. In this schema, each layer builds on the other.
Kevin Rudd
For those familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and its relevance to political psychology and behavior, this is an attempt to apply a similar framework to the priorities of the Communist Party as set by Xi Jinping.“
Jul 2024
Former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd gave an unbiased assessment of the conflict between the US and China. He explained how the actions of both countries had led to the point of conflict and how leaders of each country could navigate through this relationship without stepping on the other red line.
“I liked that Nike was the goddess of victory. What’s more important, I thought, than victory? I might have heard, in the far recesses of my mind, Churchill’s voice.
Phil Knight
You ask, What is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. I might have recalled the victory medal awarded to all veterans of World War II, a bronze medallion with Athena Nike on the front, breaking a sword in two.”
Jun 2024
A student out of college fulfils his American dream. Following his passion for running, Phil Knight started out paddling shoes imported from Onitsuka Tiger. He went on the to built one of the most iconic company in American history from scratch.
“Profits were piling up as Renaissance began digesting new kinds of information. The team collected every trade order, including those that hadn’t been completed, along with annual and quarterly earnings reports, records of stock trades by corporate executives, government reports and economic predictions and papers.”
Gregory Zuckerman
May 2024
The book provided a peak into how the Medallion Fund achieved an annualised return of nearly 40% over 30 years. Using only data, Jim Simons has created the perfect algorithm to solve the market. Letting software programs trade on their own, Renaissance achieves what many have thought to be impossible.
“At Fundsmith, we only invest in companies which make high returns on capital employed; convert most or all of their profits into cash; have high profit margins; and which have proved resilient to economic cycles over many decades”
Terry Smith
Apr 2024
This book by UK super investor Terry Smith, contents are extracted from the annual letters of Fundsmith as well as articles from the Financial Times. The book includes lots of timeless value investing tips which certainly will saviour and begging for more.
“Becoming a creature of discomfort can unlock hidden potential in many different types of learning. Summoning the nerve to face discomfort is a character skill – an especially important form of determination”
Adam Grant
Mar 2024
Another great book from one of my favourite authors Adam Grant. This time he delves into the world of how people can unleash their hidden potential. Using real-life examples, the authors tell many stories of how individuals and nations use special ingredients like culture and habits to move ahead.
“The best strategy for an incumbent with economies of scale is to match the moves of an aggressive competitor, price cut, new product for new product, niche by niche.”
Bruce Greenwald & Judd Kahn
“Access to cheap capital or deep pockets is another largely illusory advantage.”
Feb 2024
This books delve into case studies of why some companies have a competitive advantage over their competitors. It is a wonderful read for investors willing to delve into business details with how and why some companies prosper while others fail.
“The biggest hurdle to making 100 times your money in a stock – or even just tripling it – may be the ability to stomach the ups and downs and hold on.”
Christopher Mayer
To make money in stocks you must have “the vision to see them, the courage to buy them and the patience to hold them.” According to Phelps, “Patience is the rarest of the three”
Jan 2024
Christopher Mayer extended the idea in Thomas Phelps’s book 100 to 1 by investigating how companies return 100 times the amount to their investors. He reiterated Ben Graham’s view on focusing on the business rather than the share price. The book also examines the characteristics of such businesses and the temperament required to hold onto such gems.
Munger “If you want to get rich, or make some serious money, you’ve got to underspend your income. And you’ve got to intelligently invest the money you haven’t spent”
Peter Bevelin
Dec 2023
This physical book which I bought from the 2023 Berkshire AGM is surprisingly entertaining. It is about 4 person with Warren, Charlie and 2 fictitious person having a conversation from everything about investing, rationality and how to live a better life in general.
“Predicting what the world will look like fifty years from now is impossible. But predicting that people will still respond to greed, fear, opportunity, exploitation, risk, uncertainty, tribal affiliations, and social persuasion in the same way is a bet I’d take.”
Morgan Housel
Nov 2023
Same as ever is a book of rationality. There are many stories within that intrigues the reader to view the world with a different set of lens. While most chapters are finance related, the common sense discussed are also applicable to many other fields.
“A company delivering high ROCE with modest revenue growth will generate excess cash. This is not an opinion – just a mathematical fact.”
Pulak Prasad
“Not buying is an equally – if not more – important skill.”
Oct 2023
Pulak Prasad argues that he learned from Darwin and invest in only companies with a high return on capital employed, very low debt, high cashflow at a reasonable price. Nalanda Capital his investment fund delivered returns of over 20% after fees over a period of 15 years. The fund investment investment philosophy is simply : We want to be permanent owners of high-quality businesses.
“Businesses that make great capital allocation decisions deliver higher returns for their shareholders. They earn higher returns on capital and they don’t squander the money once they earn it. Good capital allocation means doing more with less to create happier customers. The pressure to continually deliver value is one of the wonders of the free market.”
Jacob L. Taylor
Sep 2023
I gave this book to my son for his birthday this month as he turns 11 years old. This book is very relatable as it narrates a story of a kid’s interaction with a wise old businessman. The book contains lots of conversational ideas for sound investments in businesses. This is a great introduction book into the world of value investing.
“Given their history in digital sound, Creative was more qualified than Apple to introduce a digital music product. The problem was, they advertised their product as a ‘5GB mp3 player.’ It is exactly the same message as Apple’s ‘1000 songs in your pocket.’ The difference is Creative told us WHAT their product was and Apple told us WHY we need it.”
Simon Sink
Aug 2023
WHY is a reason for a company and its product to exist. The author argued that companies without a WHY will have difficulties with their identity which affects their recruitment, product design and company culture. Companies with a WHY are able to attract liked minded employees which translate to higher productivity because of culture alignment. Even more their product attracts customers whom have the same WHY. A great company always will have its WHY and as investors one should be able to identify them after reading this nice book.
“Average investors focus on understanding a company’s competitive positioning. Outlier investors focus on understanding what drives it. The competitive strength of a company is simply not determined by its competitive strength. It’s determined by its competitive strength relative to the competition.”
Danial Jiwani
Jul 2023
I didn’t really expect much from a 99c book. But instead this book is probably up there with books like The Joy of Compounding. The book surprised me in all aspect from the age of the author to the detail thinking involved. Concepts are discuss with well thought out examples. I can certainly relate Howard Mark’s 2nd level thinking to Danial Jiwani’s 2nd layer of competence. Overall this is a wonderful book at an even more wonderful price.
“Allowing ourselves to be happy – accepting that it is okay to push through the guilt and seek joy – is a triumph over permanence. Having fun is a form of self-compassion; just as we need to be kind to ourselves when we make mistakes, we also need to be kind to ourselves by enjoying life when we can. Tragedy breaks down your door and takes you prisoner. To escape takes effort and energy.”
Sheryl Sandberg
Jun 2023
Sheryl Sandberg shared a vivid account of her journey in facing adversity when her husband suddenly died during a holiday trip. The book gives strength to those who faces adversity and show it is possible to built resilience and eventually find joy again after encountering a tragedy. I also learned much about what one should do in order to comfort and walk along family members or friends in their darkest moments.
“Ted Weschler, an investment manager at Warren Buffett’s investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, had been following Apple for several years. He considered the iPhone to be more effective than Coca-Cola at creating a loyal customer base. Apple’s lock on those customers meant that it could charge them to store photos on iCloud and listen to songs on Apple Music, and collect fees on the apps they purchased.”
Tripp Mickle
May 2023
The book gives a vivid account of the power struggle within Apple between its CEO Tim Cook and Designer in Chief Jony Ive. It also narrates the birth of the iconic product the Apple Watch and how Jony Ive has his hand in the design process. The story shows how Tim Cook helm Apple and took them to a trillion dollar valuation and attracted the endorsement of Warren Buffett to become the largest shareholder of the company.
“New research shows that advice seeking is a surprisingly effective strategy for exercising influence when we lack authority. Asking for advice encouraged greater cooperation and information sharing, turning a potentially contentious negotiation into a win-win deal”
Adam Grant (Apr 23)
Apr 2023
Adam Grant advocates that being a “Giver” one who is selfless and gives without expectation of any reciprocation has a long term merits. Being a giver helps others win and creates a pay it forward culture that over time it benefits the giver’s circle as a whole. If you believe in doing good and over the long run is going to beneficial, this is the book to substantiate such a wonder and noble way to behave.
“Powell had been rushing out some of the Fed’s most extreme tools on a daily basis, but non of it seemed to be working. With the virus infections rising, the public-health situation was only going to get worse. That was sure to intensify market panic. A health crisis would become a financial crisis, which would in turn vastly amplify the ensuing economic crisis.”
Nick Timiraos (Mar 23)
Mar 2023
The book gave deep insights to the inner working of the Federal Reserves especially its chairman Jerome Powell. It documented how Powell was appointedt by then president Donald Trump and later on their public spat on monetary policies.
It also includes a chronological event of the Covid 19 pandemic hitting the financial market in United States during early 2020. Through common sense and gut feel, the Federal Reserve ditch all past economic models and went on a path of offensive as it successfully prevented an economic disaster.
“Longevity has two components. The first is how long you live, your chronological lifespan, but the second and equally important part is how well you live – the quality of your years. This is called healthspan. The only way to create a better future for yourself – to set yourself on a better trajectory – is to start thinking about it and taking action now.”
Peter Attia (Feb 23)
Feb 2023
The magic of compounding works best with a long runway. In this book Peter Attia breaks down the secret to a long and fulfilling life. Termed Medicine 3.0 the author wrote about ways to prevent the 4 horsemen of heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diabetes and related metabolic dysfunction.
“These companies’ applications are woven into the fabric of daily life around the world, and every year the weave gets tighter and stronger. As such, companies like Google and Facebook can rightly be regarded as the Coca-Cola and the General Motors of our generations.”
Adam Seessel (Jan 23)
Jan 2023
Adam Seessel argued that technology is now dominating our daily lives so readers must learn how digital companies create wealth. He also discussed why investors have to value technology companies differently such as to reach certain conclusion of these companies value
The book introduce case studies including companies such as Amazon, Alphabet and Intuit. It gives deep insights into how valuation of such companies should be done to reach a logical conclusion of their intrinsic value.
“Fairchild was still owned by an East Coast multimillionaire who paid his employees well but refused to give them stock options, viewing the idea of giving away equity as a form of ‘Creeping Socialism’. Soon everyone began looking for the exit. The reason was obvious. Alongside new scientific discoveries and new manufacturing processes, this ability to make a financial killing was the fundamental force driving forward Moore’s Law. As one of Fairchild’s employees put it in the exit questionnaire he filled out when leaving the company: ‘I…WANT…TO….GET…..RICH’”
Chris Miller
Dec 2022
In Chip War, Chris Miller painted a vivid and accurate picture, starting from the birth of the semi conductor industry. From its first discovery in the United States to shifting of the most advance chip making technology to Japan, the book is filled with details of the shift in manufacturing prowess of silicon chips.
America’s resurgent with Intel betting on a general purpose chip to power the first generation of personal computers. Subsequently on how Morris Chang ended up in Taiwan and the founding of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). This book gives a great perspective of how chips had evolved and how it will tilt the balance of power among the world’s most powerful nations.
“You need to be aware and honest with yourself about how you are spending money. Liabilities are everything from financial debt on depreciating assets to bad habits. The only good debt is debt that brings a higher return than cost. If something provides income, better health, happiness or time it’s an assets. If something cost you money, health or time it’s a liability.”
Rich Fettke
Nov 2022
The wise investor is not your typical investment book. The book has a story that depicts the hope and fear a typical middle income family. The main character of the book Ryan faces a balancing act of trying to climb up the corporate ladder while leaving him without much time for his family.
Fortunately he met a mentor who guided him the way forward. Years later Ryan finds himself in a good spot, having enough time for his family after putting his finances in order.
“Modern capitalism is a pro at two things: generating wealth and generating envy. Perhaps they go hand in hand; wanting to surpass your peers can be the fuel of hard work. But life isn’t any fun without a sense of enough. Happiness, as it’s said, is just results minus expectations.”
Morgan House
Oct 2022
In his book The Psychology of Money, the author Morgan Housel explore the many ways people think about money. Sometimes what seems to be most rational may not be the most reasonable. As such people act and think differently with money all the time.
Morgan also delve into how money can affect individual happiness. He concluded that having the ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want, is priceless. Hence the highest dividend money pays is freedom.
“The true investor will do better if he forgets about the stock market and pays attention to his dividend returns and to the operating result of his companies. The message is clear: In the long run, stock returns depend almost entirely on the reality of the investment returns earned by our corporations.”
John C. Bogle
Sep 2022
The late John C. Bogle and founder of the Vanguard Group is considered the father of passive index investing. Bogle argue that by investing in a diversified low cost index fund beats 90% of mutual funds as fees charges are simply too high for active managers to do justice for their customers.
In 2008 Warren Buffet famously issued a challenge to the hedge fund industry that a low cost index fund advocated by Bogle will beat them hands down. A million dollar stake was place and Protege Partners LLC took up the offer. By 2015 Protege Partners threw in the towel before the end date of 2017. Upon defeat Protege conceded that hedge fund fees were simply too high to be beneficial to their investors.
“What I began to understand is that the greatest investors are intellectual mavericks. They’re not afraid to question and defy conventional wisdom. They profit from the misperceptions and mistakes of people who think less rationally, rigorously, and objectively.”
William Green
Aug 2022
William Green a financial journalist wrote this book after getting the opportunity to interview the best investors in the business. The book is filled with treasure troves of wisdom from the great of Sir John Templeton, Mohnish Pabrai, Joel Greenblatt, Nick Sleep, Howard Marks and more.
One of the attributes many great investors shown in the book is patience. There is no prizes for frenetic activities. Rather, investing is mostly a matter of waiting for those rare moments when the odds of making money vastly outweigh the odds of losing it.
“Success carries within the seeds of failure, and failure the seeds of success. Like a pendulum, the swing of investor psychology towards an extreme causes energy to build up that eventually will contribute to the swing back in the other direction.”
Howard Marks
Jul 2022
Howard Marks is one of the most successful investor in the current era. His practice mainly focus on high yield debt or more often known as junk bonds. Also known for his memos on the financial markets, The Most Important Thing is a compilation of his memo written in the 1990s and 2000s. The book covers his views during the tech bubble and the great financial crisis.
Howard’s understanding of risk goes beyond price volatility and hence been able to achieve significant above average returns by managing risk well. His work on market psychology and on the subject on market cycle provides a compass for investors during times of excess and gloom.
“Cash is a call option on opportunity. Having ample liquid cash puts a valuable optionality in the hands of investors, to make bargain purchases when opportunities arises. Cash increases in value as other asset prices drop. The more they drop, the more valuable cash becomes.”
Gautam Baid
Jun 2022
The Joys of Compounding is a book about life long learning. This is a book of many quotes from famous investors as well as real life examples of their investment philosophy and strategies. The idea of this book is if one can learn to compound one’s knowledge then you are on your way to compounding wealth.
I have learned so much from those quotes including well-known value investors including Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger and Howard Marks. This book is an easy read and should be one of the first few books a novice investor should read when starting your investment journey. Season investors will also fine many lessons well thought out and able to take away some ideas from this book.
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The SRS Fund Dec 2025
If someone had told me at the start of the year that the Singapore stock market would deliver returns in excess of 20%, I would have shrugged it off as wishful thinking.
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MyNest US Fund Dec 25
MyNest US Fund rounded the first year of inception with a slight outperformance to our benchmark the S&P 500. The first year of operation tested to resolve in knowing what we own as we navigated volatility which started on Trump’s Liberation Day.
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The SRS Fund Nov 2025
If you’ve been watching the Singapore market this past month, the narrative has been impossible to ignore: it is a tale of three banks, and unfortunately for UOB, it has found itself lagging its peers.
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MyNest US Fund Nov 25
November tested the patience of the broader market, defined by a distinct shift in sentiment regarding Artificial Intelligence. The narrative of an “AI Bubble” finally took hold,
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The SRS Fund Oct 2025
Many of us in Singapore watch in dismay as interest rates from T-bills, fixed deposits and high-yield bank accounts plummet to new lows in recent months. Three months Sora now stands at 1.29%.
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MyNest US Fund Oct 25
October is usually the worst month of the year for stocks but somehow this year the stock market failed to provide any opportunities for us to deploy meaningful cash to work.
MYNEST.SG 