Raamdeo Agrawal’s 7 book recommendations for stock market investors

Market expert Raamdeo Agrawal attributes much of his investing wisdom to books, stressing that investors should read with a purpose instead of reading 25 books just for the sake of reading.

The Motilal Oswal Chairman during a 2022 podcast ‘Market Ki Baat’ by Groww, which was later compiled in a book named ‘The αlpha bets’, said that a book becomes a part of him. “I take it to my office, keep it at home, and carry it while travelling until I finish reading it,” he said, adding that if a book is particularly engrossing, he sometimes takes two days off work to finish reading it.

According to Agrawal, investors should focus on only two books but study them in depth. “Absorb their essence. Let them enhance your knowledge base,” he advised, adding that whether you agree with the author or not is irrelevant.

Here is Raamdeo Agrawal’s list of book recommendations for investors.

One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch

Legendary American investor Peter Lynch’s 1989 classic, One Up on Wall Street, laid out a deceptively simple approach to investing. The book is a classic take on spotting investment opportunities from everyday life. In the book, Lynch explains that investment opportunities are everywhere – from the supermarket to the workplace. By paying attention to the best ones, investors can find companies to invest in before professional analysts discover them. When investors get in early, they can find the “tenbaggers,” the stocks that appreciate tenfold from the initial investment.

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Warren Buffett’s annual reports

Raamdeo Agrawal also recommends investors to go through all of Warren Buffett’s writings in the annual reports of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. The legendary investor made it a point to communicate his thinking to his shareholders in a letter at the end of every year. These much-awaited letters were not only lessons in investing, but also in history.

The Snowball

For those not keen on reading such voluminous material, The Snowball, Buffett’s biography, is a good alternative, according to Raamdeo Agrawal. The book details Buffett’s life and his investing career, which began to take off in 1956. That’s when he gathered $105,000 from four relatives and three close friends to start the Buffett Partnership. Later, the partnership began buying the stock of Berkshire Hathaway, a New England textile firm, for $7 and $8 a share in 1962. After 1969, Berkshire became Buffett’s investment vehicle.

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Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Philip A. Fisher

The ‘Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits’ by Philip A. Fisher is also on Raamdeo Agrawal’s list of books for investors to read. He in fact called it an essential read for investors keen on the stock market. “It is a very good book — a must-read,” he said, as quoted by the book which added that the market expert read it four or five times, and believes it should be kept as a guide.

Expectations Investing by Michael Mauboussin

‘Expectations Investing’ by Michael Mauboussin and Alfred Rappaport provides a powerful and insightful alternative to identifying gaps between price and value. In this book, the authors advise that investors should start with a known quantity, the stock price, and ask what it implies for future financial results. The book then explains how to assess the likelihood of revisions to these expectations.

The Theory of Investment Value by John Burr Williams

Raamdeo Agrawal also highlights a classic from 1938, The Theory of Investment Value by John Burr Williams. “Everyone talks about how to assess value, but nobody explains how price is determined. This book discusses that. It is truly unique in that way,” Raamdeo Agrawal was quoted as saying in Groww’s podcast.

Mastering the Market Cycle by Howard Marks

The Motilal Oswal Chairman also named Mastering the Market Cycle by Howard Marks as another good read for promising investors. “Every book contains one or two powerful lessons. Internalise them. Apply what you learn. That’s how you elevate yourself beyond a CA into a CA+++,” he suggests.
Also read: Wealth lesson by Charlie Munger | ‘The big money is not in the buying or selling, but in the waiting’ The timeless wealth lesson from Warren Buffett’s legendary partner ‘Oracle of Pasadena’(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)