Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Manual Of Ideas

I recently had the chance to read a great new book on value investing called The Manual Of Ideas. You might recognize the title from the site with the same name, where you can watch a number of interviews with quality value investors who discuss everything from specific aspects of competitive advantages to their favourite stock ideas.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I'd get much out of the book. I knew what it was about before I started reading it: a breakdown of a number of types of value investments, and how to profit from them. I figured a book with that much breadth would lack the depth I normally desire in a topic in which I'm versed.

But I was wrong. Mihaljevic managed to add a number of insights and dimensions to the various discussions, giving me a new way to think about things. While I've watched Mihaljevic conduct a number of interviews at manualofideas.com, I never saw him as more than a conduit to the reason I clicked through: the interviewee. However, with this book Mihaljevic demonstrates an understanding of business that makes it clear he is a very smart investor in his own right.

Certain aspects of the book I particularly enjoyed are the screening hacks employed to identify potential value investments in the various categories he discusses. Some of them are rather creative, which I am grateful to be able to add to my toolkit!

I don't think I've ever seen this much depth and this much breadth packed into a less-than 300 page book, and I would suggest it is well worth your time if you're a value investor. Enjoy!

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