Recommend a good book...

adamdynamic

Hey,

With interest rates at banks being as low as they are at the moment and as i'm always looking to make my money work for me, I have been looking at stocks & shares as a method of saving/investing my money.

The Motely Fool and sites like it are an on-going source of useful information, I was just wondering whether anyone could recommend any books to me (preferably one I can buy at Waterstones, Amazon etc) that can help me understand how markets work, what makes a stock better/worse than other stock etc.

There seems to be lots of 'Use the stock market to make $$$!!!' type books which I'm keen to avoid, if anyone could make any suggestions that would be appreciated.

Many thanks!

Adam.

Blah99

Start with "The Naked Trader 2" by ol' baldy Robbie Burns. Very good introductory book and will show you what you need to learn (and where your knowledge gap is). Once you've read that you'll have a much better grasp on the markets and where you need to continue your learning.

dunstonh

The Motely Fool and sites like it are an on-going source of useful information,

Be wary. There are some Americanisms in their articles that dont apply to the UK and the forums have a range of people with good knowledge and skills but also a load that think they are just as good but are not. You need to be particularly careful of fashion investing when you visit sites like that. That is when people go with what is fashionable at the moment (and usually means its too late, too risky and ripe for a drop)

agsnu

Are you sure it's really a good time to get into equities?

adambro

agsnu wrote: »

Are you sure it's really a good time to get into equities?

It is definitely a good time to get into equities because so many people think it is a bad time and so prices get pushed down. Sure, it is a risky market at the moment but you have to balance the potential risks with the potential rewards. If you're buying in at the moment when prices are generally quite low, you might loose some cash in companies that don't survive the recession, but those that do will reward you.

ricll

I would recommend "The Financial Times Guide to Investing" as the best introductory text on this.

bigheadxx

kissack101 wrote: »

Hey,

With interest rates at banks being as low as they are at the moment and as i'm always looking to make my money work for me, I have been looking at stocks & shares as a method of saving/investing my money.

The Motely Fool and sites like it are an on-going source of useful information, I was just wondering whether anyone could recommend any books to me (preferably one I can buy at Waterstones, Amazon etc) that can help me understand how markets work, what makes a stock better/worse than other stock etc.

There seems to be lots of 'Use the stock market to make $$$!!!' type books which I'm keen to avoid, if anyone could make any suggestions that would be appreciated.

Many thanks!

Adam.

Get a few issues of What Investment under your belt as they do easy to understand articles and also recommend stocks and funds. TIP : Do not take out a subscription.

adambro

ricll wrote: »

I would recommend "The Financial Times Guide to Investing" as the best introductory text on this.

Seconded. A good book to get you up to speed on all the fundamentals of investing.

turbobob

The Naked Trader second edition is a good start if you are interested in learning to trade shares. Its very easy (and fun) to read.

adamdynamic

agsnu wrote: »

Are you sure it's really a good time to get into equities?

I'm looking at more the 'Warren Buffett/buy shares you want to keep for 10 years' approach than the 'Gordon Gecko/buy-sell-buy-sell-buy-sell' approach. I've read that shares have outperformed property in terms of growth over the last 100 years and I figured that there will be some good companies with under-valued shares at the moment so might not be a bad time to get my feet wet.

Many thanks for the book suggestions, I'll have a dig around on Amazon. If anyone has any other ideas/comments, please feel free to keep them coming!

Adam.

adambro

Well I've ordered The Naked Trader now myself after reading a preview of the older edition on http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=K195Fd8knJ0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:ISBN1897597452. Unfortunately they don't have a preview of the new edition but it will no doubt be similar in style.