Alchemy of Self | 1' - 10' Deep Dives

This book, How To Invest, by David Rubenstein, comprises a series of interviews with master investors spanning diverse fields like private equity, venture capital, real estate, and hedge funds.  Each interview explores the individual's investment strategies, philosophies, and career trajectories.  The book also  examines broader themes  in the investment world, such as the role of technology, the...

The Options Wheel Strategy  is a guide to a conservative options trading strategy aiming for  15-20% annual portfolio growth . The book explains the strategy using  cash-secured puts and covered calls , emphasizing risk management and long-term investment principles. It details  stock selection criteria , including avoiding high-growth companies and penny stocks, and recommends  broker selection b...

This text is an excerpt from Benjamin Graham's  The Intelligent Investor , a classic book on value investing, updated with commentary by Jason Zweig. The excerpt explores Graham's core principles, emphasizing the distinction between investing and speculating, the importance of a margin of safety, and the role of Mr. Market in influencing stock prices. It also examines historical market data, analy...

Agustin Lebron's  The Laws of Trading  offers a guide to better decision-making, focusing on principles applicable beyond financial markets.  The book explores key concepts  such as adverse selection, risk management, liquidity, and the development of trading models.  Lebron emphasizes the importance of understanding one's motivations , mitigating biases, and recognizing the inherent limitations o...

Lee Freeman-Shor's   The Art of Execution  examines the investment strategies of top fund managers over a seven-year period.  The book challenges the notion  that successful investing relies solely on having correct investment ideas, instead  highlighting the importance of execution .  Freeman-Shor categorizes investors into "tribes"  based on their actions in winning and losing situations, analyz...

Howard Marks's   Mastering the Market Cycle  is a book on investing that emphasizes the importance of understanding and adapting to market cycles.  Marks argues  that superior investors possess an exceptional sense for cyclical patterns and use this knowledge to strategically position their portfolios. The book  explores various cycles , including economic, profit, and credit cycles, highlighting...

"The Daily Trading Coach"  by Dr. Brett Steenbarger is a guide to improving trading performance through self-coaching. The book  integrates psychological principles , such as psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy, with practical trading strategies. It emphasizes  self-awareness, journaling, and goal setting  to develop emotional resilience and consistent trading habits. The text also  hig...

This text  is an excerpt from e book The New Trading for a Living by Dr. Alexander Elder, focusing on developing successful trading strategies.  It covers three key areas:  psychology (managing emotions and understanding crowd behavior), market analysis (using technical indicators like moving averages, MACD, and volume), and risk management (implementing techniques like the 2% rule and stop-loss o...

This text is excerpted from Trading Psychology 2.0 by Dr. Brett Steenbarger.  It explores how traders can improve their performance by  understanding and leveraging their strengths,   adapting to changing market conditions,  and  cultivating positive emotional well-being.  The book emphasizes  developing robust processes  rather than simply relying on fixed strategies, and it offers numerous pract...

This excerpt from Ross Cameron's "How to Day Trade - The Plain Truth" is a memoir detailing his journey to becoming a successful day trader.  Cameron shares his personal experiences , including early struggles, financial setbacks, and eventual triumph, emphasizing the importance of  discipline, risk management, and continuous learning . He provides  practical advice and strategies , illustrated wi...

This text excerpts from the book Manias, Panics and Crashes by Charles Kindleberger, analyzing speculative manias, panics, and crashes.   It examines numerous historical financial crises, exploring their common features and underlying causes, such as credit expansion and irrational exuberance.   The author uses economic models, particularly Hyman Minsky's, to explain these events.   Furthermore, t...

This book Trading Technical Analysis Masterclass is authored by Rolf Schlotmann and Moritz Czubatinski.  It guides readers  through fundamental and advanced technical analysis concepts,  covering  candlestick patterns, chart formations (like head-and-shoulders and cup-and-handle), trend lines, support/resistance, and various indicators (moving averages, RSI, Stochastic, Bollinger Bands®, and MACD)...

Just Keep Buying  is a personal finance book by Nick Maggiulli offering data-driven strategies for saving and investing. The author challenges conventional wisdom, advocating for a focus on income growth over strict spending cuts and emphasizing the importance of consistent investing, even during market downturns. The book explores various investment options, including stocks, bonds, and real esta...

"The Disciplined Trader" by Mark Douglas  explores the psychological aspects of futures trading, arguing that success hinges on mastering one's mental state rather than solely relying on market analysis or technical tools. The author recounts his personal journey, including a period of financial ruin, which profoundly impacted his understanding of trading psychology. He emphasizes the importance o...

Tom Hougaard's   The Best Loser Wins  is a memoir detailing his journey from an unemployed financial broker to a high-stakes trader.  He emphasizes the crucial role of mindset and emotional control , arguing that technical analysis alone is insufficient for consistent success.  Hougaard shares personal anecdotes and trading strategies , highlighting the importance of self-awareness, managing fear...

Broken Money  is a book by Lyn Alden exploring the history and evolution of money, from its origins in barter and commodity systems to modern fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The author examines various monetary systems throughout history, analyzing their successes and failures. A key theme is the tension between centralized control and decentralized, user-governed ledgers, with...

Jared Tendler's   The Mental Game of Trading  offers a system for improving trading performance by addressing underlying mental and emotional issues.  The book reframes emotions  not as obstacles, but as signals indicating performance flaws.  Tendler's system  involves identifying these flaws through pattern mapping, understanding their root causes, and applying corrections.  This approach focuses...

This excerpt from  One Good Trade  details Michael Bellifiore's experiences building a proprietary trading firm and offers advice for aspiring prop traders. The book explores essential skills, including  market adaptation ,  psychological resilience , and  precise trade execution . It features profiles of successful and unsuccessful traders, highlighting key traits like  competitiveness ,  discipl...

This text is an excerpt from Joel Greenblatt's book, "The Little Book That Still Beats the Market,"  which presents a "magic formula" investment strategy.  The excerpt includes the book's table of contents and selections from several chapters.  These chapters  explain the formula, which ranks companies based on earnings yield and return on capital, suggesting that buying good companies at bargain...

This excerpt from Van Tharp's  Super Trader  focuses on building a successful, consistent trading business.  It emphasizes the  crucial role of personal development and psychology in trading , alongside the importance of  developing a robust business plan and trading strategies adaptable to various market conditions . The text explores  position sizing as a key factor for managing risk and achievi...

This book, Trend Following , by Michael Covel, is a trading strategy that capitalizes on sustained market price movements . It profiles successful trend-following traders, highlighting their methods, philosophies, and experiences , including their substantial gains and significant drawdowns. The text emphasizes the importance of disciplined risk management, objective decision-making, and a deep un...

Numerous testimonials praise Brian Shannon's new book,   Maximum Trading Gains with the Anchored VWAP .  The book teaches readers how to use the Anchored Volume Weighted Average Price (AVWAP) indicator  to improve trading strategies.  Experts highlight Shannon's clear explanations of technical analysis concepts , emphasizing the importance of price, time, and volume, and the role of market psychol...

This excerpt from  Market Mind Games by Denise Shull details a new psychological approach to trading and investing.  It challenges the traditional reliance on purely quantitative models , arguing that  human perception and emotion are crucial factors in market behavior . The book explores how  beliefs, feelings, and unconscious patterns influence decision-making , advocating for a more holistic un...

Mark Minervini's   Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard  is a guide to achieving  superperformance  in stock trading. The book combines  fundamental and technical analysis  to identify high-growth stocks, emphasizing Minervini's proprietary  Specific Entry Point Analysis (SEPA)  methodology. It features case studies of successful trades and discusses  risk management , including the importance of  sto...

Mark Minervini's   Think and Trade Like a Champion  expands upon his previous work, offering a comprehensive guide to stock market success. The book emphasizes  developing a robust trading plan , including  risk management strategies  and  optimal position sizing . Minervini details his  SEPA® trading strategy , highlighting pattern recognition and  technical analysis techniques  for identifying p...