The 12 Investing Books that Made Michael Burry

Michael Burry, who made his name as an investor when he shortened subprime mortgages before the financial crisis, a story that was dramatized in The Big Short, is not a trained economist and never attended business school.

/p>

He is, on the contrary, a trained doctor.

everything you’ve learned about stocks and economics, you’ve learned on your own by reading and investing, and it’s made you a phenomenal investor.

You are reading: Books by michael burry

The other day, he shared a photo of his favorite investment books on twitter (note: the photo in this blog post is from my own bookshelf, as I don’t own the rights to use the michael burry photo. you can see his tweets here).

In this blog post, I’ll check out the books on your shelf.

1. stock analysis by benjamin graham

but of course.

this is the bible.

Benjamin Graham went through the 1929 crash as a portfolio manager.

In 1930, he thought the worst was over and borrowed money, on margin, to invest. he thought he was smart about it and bought at the bottom of a dip, but his bottom took a 70% loss.

outperformed the market, which fell 80% in the same period, but who cares about details like that when you’re in pain: a 70% drop is dramatic and hard to recover from. This meant, among other things, that Ben Graham received no salary from his fund for five years.

this experience led benjamin graham, who in addition to managing his investment fund also taught at columbia university, to develop a special investment strategy, which we now call value investing.

values ​​analysis is the first and the most important.

you can find it here.

later he wrote the smart inverter, which is a slightly more readable version. you can find it here.

2. you can be a stock market genius by joel greenblatt

There are different types of value investors.

joel greenblatt is a quantitative value investor.

what do I mean by that?

Quantitative fund managers invest according to certain key metrics and figures, and automatically invest in many companies.

the qualitative ones do the opposite. they select companies, carefully analyze them as complete businesses and only invest in a few companies at a time. warren buffett belongs to this category of investors (and so do I).

With investments in over 1,000 companies, it’s clear that Joel Greenblatt belongs to the quantitative type (prioritizing automation and quantity over depth and quality).

See also  Books of the Bible Memory Game | Free Printable Books of the Bible Cards

if you want to know more about that strategy, he is the method’s best-known living advocate (I say alive because benjamin graham also invested this way).

You can discover that you can be a stock market genius here.

He has also written the little book that still triumphs in the market, which you can find here. is written for children in easy-to-understand language.

3. the creation of an american capitalist by roger lowenstein

Michael Burry has repeatedly said that it was Lowenstein’s Buffett biography that set him on the path of value investing.

this week’s tweet also begins with a tribute to lowenstein:

“the making of an american capitalist by roger lowenstein made me think that buffett is unique, and so should any investor. other books on my shelf.”

It’s a really good book. mine is full of handwritten comments, and i still look things up in it (for this blog post i looked up how much benjamin graham lost after 1929). By reading it, you learn a lot about investing and buffett’s investing style.

See Also: Op-Ed: Republicans are banning books about historical truths their own leaders have apologized for – Los Angeles Times

you can find lowenstein’s book on warren buffett here.

4. when genius failed by roger lowenstein

roger lowenstein describes the success and failure of hedge fund long-term capital management in this book.

at one point, warren buffett actually tried to buy long-term capital management, which is chronicled in the other lowenstein book above.

I haven’t read it yet, but I intend to, so I don’t have much to say about it yet.

You can find Lowenstein’s book on long-term capital here.

5. all the demons are here by bethany mclean and joe nocera

if you liked the big bet, this might be a book for you.

It’s about the financial crisis and what led up to it.

bethany mclean likes to dig in the dirt. She has also written an eminent book on Enron, which she can find here.

why should we spend time on the things in history that went wrong, like the financial crisis and enron? one could argue that those things are over.

but they are interesting to watch because we want to find out how to avoid them and how to navigate.

See also  Andrew Clements - Book Series In Order

I have reviewed a long list of bankrupt and fraudulent companies to see if there are any detectable red flags before the companies collapse.

These warning signs can be a very important checklist to review before investing.

Obviously, we want a good return. To get a good return, there is one thing we must be able to stay away from: fraud and bankruptcies. as warren buffett says: rule no. 1 is, never lose money. rule no. 2 is, remember rule no. 1.

you can find all the demons here here.

6. atlas shrugged for ayn rand

This is actually a fictional book from 1957.

apparently it describes a scenario very similar to the financial crisis and thus the book has returned.

I haven’t read it, but I’m curious. It’s now on my summer reading list.

you can find it here.

7. secured debt obligations & structured finance by janet tavakoli

with the subtitle what’s new in cash & synthetic securitization.

probably one of the books that helped michael burry when he shortened subprime mortgages before the financial crisis.

you can find it here.

8. credit derivatives by janet tavakoli

with the subtitle a guide to instruments and applications.

Michael Burry’s version appears to be from 1998. You can find it here.

janet tavakoli has also published an updated edition, which you can find here.

See Also: Ranked: The Novels of Jane Austen – The Reader

9. structured credit products by moorad choudhry.

is another one of those books that gave michael burry specialized knowledge that allowed him to see the big picture before the financial crisis.

you can find it here.

10. three collections of buffet shareholder letters

It’s really nice to see how much of a fan Michael Burry is.

has all buffett letters in black leather books. there they are on the shelf, like a priest’s favorite versions of the bible.

has three titles:

  • buffet society letters 1957-1970
  • berkshire hathaway letters 1977-1990
  • berkshire hathaway letters 1991-2001.

I can’t find the versions that michael burry has, but rest assured you can find these lyrics online for free.

You can also buy a collection from 1965 to 2021 in a kindle version here for less than $4.

I have to admit I have the kindle version and I swear I use an e-reader. I have many more books in e-book format than in physical format. it’s easy to travel with the e-reader (I almost always travel only with hand luggage), and you can read in bed without turning on the lights.

See also  Start TV | The differences between the Rizzoli & Isles books and TV show

If it’s a book with a lot of theory, I prefer to have it in physical format so I can write and underline, and then take it out and look at my notes. On the other hand, I always miss it when I’m traveling and can’t access it. some books that I have in both versions: physical and e-book.

As I said: I have the buffett letters in electronic format, but I’m envious of the delicious burry leather bound editions.

warren buffett’s letters are a kind of bible highly esteemed for any of us.

11. where keynes went wrong by hunter lewis

The book is a discussion of whether Keynes’s financial instruments are still relevant.

I haven’t read it, but you can once you’ve ordered it here.

12. financial warnings by charles mulford

How can you spot the warning signs of fraudulent companies?

I love those things, and this book from 1956 is now on my wish list. unfortunately, it is difficult to find. let me know if you find it.

who wouldn’t want to stay away from future enron and lehman brothers? I would definitely like to read financial warnings, even though it was written over half a century ago.

You can see the book, but not buy it, here.

short seller books

what do i see when i browse burry’s bookshelf?

there is no doubt that michael burry is a real value investor, a true fanboy.

I also see a mindset focused on disasters and fault finding.

much attention is paid to financial crises, busts, pitfalls, and not much attention is paid to how to spot a wonderful company (I wish I had seen at least one book on competitive advantage, or what about the common classic by Philip Fisher? Stocks and Rare Earnings, which is about asking good questions to find good companies).

These are the books of a highly skilled short seller with a glass eye and a keen eye for trouble.

Don’t forget to read my free ebook that explains my entire investment process, including my favorite way to calculate the value of a company. you can get it here.

See Also: Books about Seattle: readers picks | Books | The Guardian

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *