Start your investing journey today
Regardless of background, education, or age you can be a successful investor. This requires a BURING DESIRE and FAITH at every step. It requires EFFORT. You must learn TIMELESS PRINCIPLES that have brought countless thousands financial freedom and intellectual fulfilment. Below, you will find books that are must reads. Masterpieces that will build the foundation of a MENTAL FRAMEWORK that is crucial to long term, predictable success. You will also find free resources from industry leading experts, as well as mutual fund recommendations that have outperformed benchmarks over 10-plus years.
Book Recommendations
Everybody starts from the same place. It should be here. No book is superior to the Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. Tried and true, the principles in this masterpiece will form the foundation for long term investing success. Furthermore, the investing strategies in this book continue to work to this day. Since its last publication in 1954, following a strict Graham investing strategy has lead to annual returns after fees of roughly 25%, outperforming nearly everything and everyone. Click the book link, add it to your cart, and reading this book TODAY. You will be the wiser for it. If you want to go deeper, pick up Security Analysis afterwards.
Phil Fisher's impact on investing is lesser known that Graham's, however it has been nearly as significant. Warren Buffett has often said his investing approach is 70% Buffet, 30% Fisher, which should be more than enough reason for the rest of us to familiarize ourselves with is two books. You should start with Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, which many consider the bible of investing in growth companies. This is one of the most enjoyable reads of all time and teaches us the incredible power of identifying, buying and holding business with prospects for growth for the very long-term. Paths to Wealth through Common Stocks was Fisher's second book and is also a must read. Fisher's son, Ken, and the Fisher family are among the richest in the world in just two generations of following the methods and principles written in these books.
A great read for beginners and seasoned investors alike The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffet & George Soros outlines the mental habits and mental strategies that the best investors in the world have employed throughout their careers, to great success. This book is incredibly important to read if you are just starting out or if you want to invest real sums of money with confidence. Knowing when to sell before you buy stock in a company, formulating your strategy, and building a winning system for consistency are all taught in this very valuable contribution to literature.
From one of the best portfolio managers of all time, the works of Peter Lynch are fantastic reads for investors of all levels. His books are very easy to digest and are unique in that they are written with he novice investor in mind. We recommend starting with Beating the Street , followed by One Up on Wall Street. If you are a beginner, start with Learn to Earn and you will duly rewarded.
Of the thousands of how-to guides written on investing, these four are far in a way the best of the best. You should start with The Warren Buffet Way followed by The Essays of Warren Buffet which will fast forward your knowledge of investing and crucial principles years into the future. If you want to go even deeper into the greatest investor who ever lived, check out which is a prized possession in my collection. The most important thing by Howard Marks is an incredible read, distilling modern finance into easy to understand concepts. It also debunks the common misconception that risk equals reward, which could not be more untrue. Lastly, You can be a Stock Market Genius by investing Legend Joel Greenblatt demystifies more complex aspects of investing and gives you winning low-risk, high-return investing strategies. All must reads for any serious investor!
These four books are some of the most witty, insightful, and truly enjoyable reads about investing ever written. Kick back, enjoy a coffee, laugh and learn as you read tales of those who came before us. The common thread that these books have in common is that the more things the change, the less that we do. Human behaviour never changes. It is constant across time. If you can learn to identify patterns in human behaviour and the constant swings between optimism and fear, you will quietly make a fortune, while other lose their shirts - and their minds. We sincerely recommend these books which are equal parts educational and fun.
These are books that will take you to the NEXT LEVEL. Your mind is the most important asset that you have. Learn to harness the power of DESIRE, VALUES, GOALS, and THIRD LEVEL THINKING to accomplish your wildest dreams. Don't like where you are today? Only YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THAT. You DECIDE how much money you earn this year. You actively CHOOSE to accept your current situation and how you spend your time. Stop ACCEPTING average, read these four books, invest in your personal development. And watch the word TRANSFORM around your very eyes.
Partnering with Professional Managers
If you are not comfortable investing large sums of your own money yet, not to worry. Most people a) do not have the time to do research (get exclusive access to our stock picks here) and stay up to date with their investments; b) lack knowledge to invest with confidence; or c) believe that the experts can do it better. If one or all of these apply to you, acknowledge it! This gives you a strong starting point and means that you should secure your financial future by investing with a proven professional. Mutual funds have created generational wealth and are the best option for those who do not have the time or expertise required to make informed decisions with their money. With that being said, picking the right mutual fund is harder today than at any point in history. As of 2022, there were more than 140,000 mutual funds globally of which more than 80% underperformed the broader US S&P 500 index over a 10 year period. The odds are certainty stacked against us! To do better than the index over a long period of time, you need to partner with the best managers. A few we recommend (that we know personally) are listed below.
Edgepoint Wealth Management
Best in class money managers who partner with you, offer low fees, and have never spent a single dollar of investor money on marketing. Founded in 2008, the Edgepoint Team have amassed over a hundred years of experiences, are geniuses are compounding money, and are everything that large institutions are not. They have few funds, are compensated over the long term, and have a proven track record beating the market. They also have a publicly listed stock, Cymbria, which offers a 1% management fee and is composed of their best ideas across funds, private equity, and ownership of Edgepoint Wealth Management. This is a fantastic stock for compounding wealth over time. Furthermore, the Edgepoint team publishes quarterly commentary aimed at educating their loyal following and giving a general market update that has proven invaluable over the last 17 years and counting.
Mutual funds : https://edgepointwealth.com/portfolio-overview/
Commentary can be found here: https://edgepointwealth.com/insights/
Cymbria: https://cymbria.com/
Fidelity Investments - Dan Dupont, Steve MacMillan & Hugo Lavallee
Dan Dupont is the master of not losing money. In his flagship fund, the Fidelity Concentrated Value Private Pool, his fund has only posted a negative rate of return once over the past 11 years. This was only -0.8% in 2018 versus a mutual fund average of -7.0%. The man is incredibly patient, buys businesses at rock bottom prices (easier said than done), is humble, and compounds money steadily regardless of the prevailing macroeconomic environment. Investing with Dan Dupont means steady capital appreciation where the primary goal is to avoid losing money. If you are most risk adverse by nature, he is the only name you should consider. Funds he manages include the Fidelity Canadian Large Cap Fund, Fidelity NorthStar Fund, and the Fidelity Global Equity+ fund.
Steve MacMillan is another manager from Fidelity with 25+ years of experience, a proven track record, and an American Equity specialist. He has managed two funds at Fidelity for years, including the Fidelity American Equity fund, with a ten-year track record of 9.1% per year since 2015. On the other side of the Border, Hugo Lavallee has run Fidelity's Canadian Opportunities Fund, achieving an 11% annual return over the past 10 years. Hugo focuses on out of favour value stocks that are primarily based in Canada with a large portion of earnings coming from oversees operations. We know Hugo well and believe he is an incredible talent and steward of your hard earned money.
Dynamic Funds - Noah Blackstein
Investing your money with Noah generally leads to a pleasing performance over time. However be aware, it is not for the faint of heart! With a highly concentrated portfolio, returns are boom bust in nature. In years prior, you could have earned 65% investing in his flagship Dynamic Power American Growth Class fund in 2020 alone. In the same breath, you would have seen the value of your portfolio decrease by 46% in 2022, ouch! With that being said, he is a great investor, with an average return of 14.3% per year over the last ten years. If you invest with Noah, embrace the volatility. Buy heavy when he has had a painful year and you will be rewarded!
Other Mutual Funds to Consider
If the above mutual funds and professional managers are unavailable to you or you are have different investment objectives, your next best resource is to Google Morningstar 5 star rated funds. This will show you a list of the best rated mutual funds in the industry, and key information including the manager, performance, fees, and investing strategy. If you are still uncertain how to proceed, you should consult with an independent financial advisor (not associated with a bank), who has the heart of a teacher and your best interests in mind. In Canada, we recommend: https://kevinhayes.gpwealth.ca/bio/kevin-hayes/. In the US, we recommend: https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/financial-advisor?srsltid=AfmBOopgg0_ucs6rhTI7_ZLM9wiw31T7-p4yEapNlQeMec-is9Fz1jrD