Investing Against the Tide: Lessons From a Life Running Money

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#1
Editorial Reviews taken from Amazon

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Review
Legendary Daily Telegraph Legendary Observer one of the most outstanding performers of recent years Scotsman on Sunday the people's champion - and the professionals' choice Daily Mail Britain's most feted ..' Financial Times best professional investor in Britain over the past couple of decades Guardian, July 2008 he turned GBP1,000 into a staggering GBP147,000 over 28 years Daily Telegraph 2008 He has laid down a performance track record that will take some beating - www.thedailyreckoning.com has been the most consistently successful .. of the last 30 years BBC News he's been the top of his trade since 1979 - Independent

Product Description

This authoritative and accessible investment classic promises rare insight into what it really takes to run money in a top-performing investment fund. Anthony Bolton, the UK's most successful stock market investor, tells the story of his contrarian approach to managing money. He provides invaluable lessons on the factors that really matter in picking a stock: the need to identify good managers, how to run a portfolio, the importance of value investing, reading charts and how to trade successfully. It's not easy to continually buy low and sell high. This book gives clear directions for doing well in the stock market, and doing well consistently. Investing Against the Tide shows you how to make the right decisions at the right time. Anthony Bolton is considered the UK's most successful stock market investor and fund manager. Over twenty five years he delivered a market-beating return of 20% in his Fidelity Special Situations Fund. How did he do it, and what can you learn from him? In Investing Against the Tide, Anthony Bolton tells the story of his contrarian approach to managing money. He provides invaluable lessons on the factors that really matter when investing: how to pick a stock, the need to identify good managers, how to run a portfolio, the importance of value investing, reading charts and how to trade successfully. In this account of financial accomplishment, Bolton reveals the secrets of his success. It's not easy constantly to buy low and sell high and this book gives clear directions for doing well in the stock market, and doing well consistently. Chapter by chapter Investing Against the Tide shows you how to make the right decisions at the right time and featured key lessons show you how you really can learn from a life running money. Investing Against the Tideis an authoritative guide for investment professionals, offering them a rare insight into what it really takes to run money in a top-performing fund, as well as providing amateur investors the chance to learn the stock-picking strategies from a leading money-manager. About the author Anthony Bolton left Cambridge University with a degree in engineering to begin a career in the City. He started as a graduate trainee working for Keyser Ullmann in 1971 before taking up a full time position as an assistant in their investment department. In 1976 he moved to Schlesingers where he became, for the first time, an investment manager. In 1979, aged 29, he was recruited by Fidelity, the international fund management group, as one of its first London-based investment managers, a move that proved to be the launch of a long and successful career. In surveys of professional investors, he is regularly voted the fund manager most respected by his peers. He retired from full-time investment management at the end of 2007, but continues to work at Fidelity as a mentor of the analysts and younger fund managers as well as being involved in overseeing Fidelity's investment process. His hobby is composing classical music. Anthony Bolton is married with three children and lives in West Sussex.

From the Back Cover
Anthony Bolton is considered the UK's most successful stock market investor and fund manager. Over twenty five years he delivered a market-beating return of 20% in his Fidelity Special Situations Fund. How did he do it, and what can you learn from him?


In Investing Against the Tide, Anthony Bolton tells the story of his contrarian approach to managing money. He provides invaluable lessons on the factors that really matter when investing: how to pick a stock, the need to identify good managers, how to run a portfolio, the importance of value investing, reading charts and how to trade successfully.


In this account of financial accomplishment, Bolton reveals the secrets of his success. It's not easy constantly to buy low and sell high and this book gives clear directions for doing well in the stock market, and doing well consistently. Chapter by chapter Investing Against the Tide shows you how to make the right decisions at the right time and featured key lessons show you how you really can learn from a life running money.


About the Author
Anthony Bolton is Britain's best-known and longest-serving fund manager. He is a Fidelity Investment award winner, feted newspaper columnist and instantly recognisable financial name.

Over twenty five years he delivered an exceptional annual return of 20% on his Special Situations Fund, compared with 7.7 % for the FTSE All-Share index. His strategy, which blends analysis of a company's books with quizzing the management and studying performance graphs, has an enviable track record.

Anthony is an experienced writer, with a monthly column in the FT money section that is widely read.
Specuvestor: Asset - Business - Structure.
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#2
(13-10-2010, 10:42 AM)violinist Wrote: http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/cw_c...184293+1+0

The link seems does not work.

Specuvestor: Asset - Business - Structure.
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#3
the book is very easy to read.. each chapter only few pages. very comprehensive.. from FA to TA to market timing, etc. like violinist posted, its available from the library but very hot demand.

cheers,
bongster31
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#4
I think it's gonna get hotter after being publicised here. I just put in a reservation for it with the library!
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#5
(13-10-2010, 11:31 AM)cyclone Wrote:
(13-10-2010, 10:42 AM)violinist Wrote: http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/cw_c...184293+1+0

The link seems does not work.

http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/cw_c...184293+1+0

I'm not sure why but maybe nlb script disable after some time. Anyway, can just go to http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/ and type in "anthony bolton" to search.
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#6
(17-10-2010, 05:54 PM)bongster31 Wrote: thanx for sharing this book.. havent read it yet. anyone read it? would u recommend?

cheers,
bongster31

It's worth a read. I rank it better than the 2 peter lynch book.
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#7
Just finished this book from anthony bolton. All I can describe for this book is very vague. He meant to say something but always point to his interviews or his team of in house analyst. It leads me to nowhere most of the time.

I think A random walk down wall street , Peter Lynch is a better read.
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#8
(21-11-2010, 05:06 PM)memphisb Wrote: Just finished this book from anthony bolton. All I can describe for this book is very vague. He meant to say something but always point to his interviews or his team of in house analyst. It leads me to nowhere most of the time.

I think A random walk down wall street , Peter Lynch is a better read.

I agree. After reading the book, I don't feel he has really shared his "secrets".
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#9
He did share his secret. The secret is write a book saying you are going to share your secret and make money!!!! ;p
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#10
Lessons from a life running money

Companies
- Start by evaluating the quality of the franchise
- Will it be here in ten years' time and be more valuable?
- Is the company in control of it's own destiny?
- Is the business model easy to understand?
- Does the business generate cash?
- Remember, mean reversion is one of the great truisms of capitalism
- Beware company guidance
- Use part of a company meeting to talk about other companies
- If you have any doubts about a company, follow the cash

What to look for in management
- Integrity and openness are most important
- If you have any questions on competency or trustworthiness avoid the company
- Do they have a detailed knowledge of the business strategically, operationally and financially?
- Are the objectives and incentives of management aligned with shareholders?
- Do the management's trades in the stock conflict or confirm their statements?
- Remember, people rarely change; invest in managers you trust.

Shares
- Every stock you own should have an investment thesis
- Test this regularly and if no longer valid sell
- Look at a share the same way as if you were buying the whole business at that price
- Forget the price you paid for shares
- Keep an open mind and know the 'counter' thesis
- Think in terms of levels of conviction rather than price targets
- Don't try to make it back the way you lose it
- Consider six factors before you buy a share:
1. the quality of the business franchise
2. the management
3. the financials
4. technical analysis of the share price history
5. the valuation against history
6. prospects for a takeover of the company

Sentiment
- Rate perception as important as reality
- Successful investment is a blend of standing your own ground while listening to the market
- Short term, the stock market is a voting machine, rather than a weighing machine
- Sentiment extremes, regardless of the underlying attraction of a share, can suggest major opportunity or risk

Constructing a portfolio
- Position size should reflect conviction
- Don't spend too much time on past performance attribution
- Your portfolio should as nearly as possible reflect a 'start from scratch' portfolio
- Don't pay too much attention to index weights
- Make incremental rather than large moves
- Never become emotionally attached to a holding
- Investment is about making mistakes; win by not losing too often
- Sell if the investment thesis is broken, if a stock reaches your valuation target or if you find something better
- If in doubt about a holding or a possible new holding compare it directly against the most comparative stock that you own
- Keep a balance between being on top of what you own and spending enough time looking for new ideas

Risks
- My biggest mistakes have nearly always been companies with poor balance sheet
- One loses the most money on highly geared companies when business conditions deteriorate
- Remember that bad news doesn't travel well
- Look at a share differently if it has performed well for several years; stocks with big unrealised profits in them are vulnerable in set backs
- Avoid 'pass the parcel' stocks - overvalued stocks with momentum - where investors hope there is more to go and they can sell them before the music stops

Financials
- Always read a company's announcements and information in the original - don't rely on a broker's summary
- Carefully read the notes that accompany accounts - key information can be hidden in the notes

Looking at valuations
- Don't look at one valuation measure, especially just a PE multiple
- Buying cheap shares give you a margin of safety
- Valuation anomalies are more likely in medium-sized and small companies
- Look at today's valuation in the context of at least twenty-year historical valuations
- Buying when valuations are low against history substantially increases your chance of making money
- Never forget absolute valuations
- Remember that as a bull market progresses valuation methods typically get less conservative and vice versa.

Takeovers and takeover targets
- Buy companies that have a M&A angle
- Big companies are less likely to be taken over
- The shareholder list can often carry clues about potential takeover candidates
- Be sceptical of being able to predict very short term M&A targets

Favourite shares
- At the heart of my approach is buying cheaply values recovery shares
- Favour unpopular shares
- Does a targeted company have a new management team with a clear and detailed recovery plan that you can track?
- You may have to buy a recovery stock before you have all the information
- Some of my best calls were in stocks that felt uncomfortable to buy
- Look for stocks with asymmetric pay-offs where you may make a lot of money but your downside is limited
- Value stocks outperform growth stocks in the long term

How to trade
- Delegate to a skillful trader and give them reasonable autonomy
- I only set tight limits on a minority of my trades
- Know when to be aggressive and know when to let the market come to you
- Avoid giving round number limits - this is what most other portfolio managers do
- Be patient - most stocks give you a second chance
- A block is normally the cheapest way to deal in size

Technical analysis
- The first thing I look at is the share chart
- Use TA as a cross-check to your FA views
- Find an approach that works for you and then sticks to it
- More useful for larger stocks
- Run profits and cut loses

Market timing
- Consistently successful market calls are very difficult to make
- If you're a private investor, take a long-term view. Don't put money in the stock market that you will need in the next three years
- Never underestimate the fact that the market is an excellent discounter of the future
- Don't be afraid to go against the general mode of the market
- Markets will react to expected positive or negative events in anticipation of those events
- Consider what is being assumed in share prices, rather than what the outlook is like
- In the mature stages of a bull market, prune back your holdings of more risky stocks
- Be most on your guard after a long upward move of four to five years
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