Name: The Most Important Thing
ISBN: 9780231153683

Howard Marks

This book explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career. Utilizing passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world. Brilliantly applying insight to today's volatile markets, Marks offers a volume that is part memoir, part creed, with a number of broad takeaways.

Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor

The Most Important Thing

Sagar Rathna Sabapathy

One type of analytical error that I do want to spend some tin however, is what I call "failure of imagination." By that I mean eitherhe unable to conceive of the full range of possible outcomes or not f, understanding the consequences of the more extreme occurrences. into this subject at greater length in the next section. mind-set than it is about analytical processes. time on, being fully go Many of the psychological or emotional sources of error were dis. cussed in previous chapters: greed and fear; willingness to suspend dis. belief and skepticism; ego and envy; the drive to pursue high returns through risk bearing; and the tendency to overrate one's foreknowledge. These things contribute to booms and busts, in which most investors join together to do exactly the wrong thing, Another important pitfall- -largely psychological, but important enough to constitute its own category is the failure to recognize market cycles and manias and move in the opposite direction. Extremes in cycles and trends don't occur often, and thus they're not a frequent source of error, but they give rise to the largest errors. The power of herd psychology to compel conformity and capitulation is nearly irresistible, making it essen- tial that investors resist them.

Briar's Reviews

I never read books that are non-fiction and explain things to you (unless it is for school), but I found this book charmed me in a way that is hard to express. 

This book explains to you thoughtful ways to invest, and how not to make mistakes when investing. While I found most of them to be quite obvious, when you put them all together it makes a lot of sense. It is very useful to use when you need help with money, and has made me think over my investments and where I spend my money during my schooling years.

A friend of mine who is studying Business also gave me lots of insight by telling me how true this book is, and coming from Columbia Business School (the "best" school for business, her words) that this book will be a good reference for future investments.

Overall, it was very helpful and thoughtful! Although it will not get me hooked on reading books related to business and how to make money or spend your money, I did enjoy the information I gained from it! 

Four stars out of five.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

The Most Important Thing Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor

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