From the Inside Flap
Studying and emulating the strategies and behaviors of successful investors are a well-trodden path to improved returns, but there's also a wealth of wisdom to gain from examining the follies and missed opportunities that failed to derail their illustrious careers. Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments shines an eye-opening light on the humbling lessons learned by more than a dozen of the world's most well- known investors.
In this brilliantly researched volume, a diverse collection of investors is fleshed out beyond their famous accomplishments to illustrate investing isn't easy—even for those blessed with remarkable talent and impeccably good timing. If you think you know the stories behind such investing giants as Warren Buffett, Bill Ackman, Chris Sacca, Jack Bogle, Ben Graham, and John Maynard Keynes, to name a few, the unique treatment inside adds a fresh and nuanced perspective to their commonly recognized biographies.
After reading this book, you will become a wiser investor who knows:
- The importance of managing your risk and not getting attached to investments
- Why you need to invest with your strengths, while remembering you aren't as smart as you think
- Taking big losses in stride are critical to success because you only need to win once
- Building the perfect portfolio is futile
- Failing can be your biggest step to achievement
One of the biggest takeaways these cautionary tales provide is the valuable gift each of your mistakes gives you. All of these investors suffered major financial losses, but none of them folded. In fact, many of the skillsets and strategies widely practiced today exist because of epic disasters.
For every investor looking to reach their full potential, now is the time for Big Mistakes.
From the Back Cover
PRAISE FOR
BIG MISTAKES
"We're often told how the best get it right, but not how the best can still get it wrong. In Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments, Michael Batnick illuminates the reasons why revered investors like Warren Buffett and Jack Bogle—along with brilliant minds like Mark Twain and even Isaac Newton—have still, at times, lost grand sums of money."
—Bethany McLean, Author of The Smartest Guys in the Room, Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair
"Michael Batnick has written a terrific book on investing that doubles as solid financial history. Learning about what has failed, and why, is often more instructive than highlighting success."
—Jim Chanos, President and Founder, Kynikos Associates
"Michael Batnick's new book Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments is superb. It succinctly covers the mistakes that some of the greatest investment legends made, and in doing so, reminds us that everyone makes mistakes and that one of the best things we can do to improve our investment results is learn from both our own mistakes and those of others. Happily, one big mistake is easy to avoid—not reading Michael's fascinating and informative new book. Now that would be a big mistake."
—Jim O'Shaughnessy, Author of What Works on Wall Street, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Investment Officer, O'Shaughnessy Asset Management
"Michael has written one of the important investment books of our time. Good investing isn't all about being smart; it's about maintaining emotional discipline. This book is an amazing chronicle of investors who, at times, didn't. And since many of those profiled are the greatest investors who ever lived, their lessons are even more relevant to the rest of us."
—Morgan Housel, Partner, Collaborative Fund
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