Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings: 40 (Wiley Investment Classics)

I am portfolio manager and I think this books is outstanding. Having said that I was not too interested in the first section. This is a rare book that is full of insight and prctical suggestions from someone who has succeeded and who was a large influcence on the greatest of all investors Warren Buffett. I would reccommend this book to the beginner and the experienced. I expect to reread this book again and again to rinforce the approach he developed in his philosoph of investing. There were times when I could not put the book down and was disappointed when I reached the end.Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings (Wiley Investment Classics)

The book arrived quickly in excellent condition. This book is considered a classic so it needs little promotion. As I have limited funds I am only investing in a few stocks. So my desire for learning has dropped off. I am kind of following the advice in the book about choosing companies with a very good track record. Companies I sometimes buy from or know first hand about. Eliminating as many negatives as possible. Several companies in the UK are changing hands or going under right now and it's time to evaluate who is taking them over and whether they will go from almost zero value to the heights they achieved before. Some will quite easily. I found the book a dry read and soon I was reading other things by the time I was half way through. But I think it's a book worth keeping, not passing on. It's wisdom you need to keep reminding yourself about.

It's a good book, but it is heavy going, not because of the content, but because the style of writing is turgid.

warren buffett recommends this book - so it must have some value. it's easy to see how. its an amazing introduction to fundamental analysis. if you are trying to research in to how one should invest their money then this is the greatest places to start. you will definetely get inspiration on how to find great equities to invest your hard earned cash. i have no issues with awarding this book a full 6 stars out of 5...

this book is the value investing version 2.0, being the first version the security analysis of ben graham which lays the foundations for the analysis of financial statements and the bargain hunting process. This book is different it gives the user tools to evaluate the company prospects from management, product and context overview, which many times is in fact much more important that the strict financials

This book should be in the library of every serious stock market investor. Although it was written many decades ago, the advice he gives is more relevant that ever. It will help you identify growth stocks that can make you a lot of money. It will also help you avoid those stocks that, by promising much and delivering little, lose you money.Buy it: read it. Re-read it.

I enjoyed reading this book, although for a typical small investor this isn't the best stock picking book. This book describes the author's method to pick companies that one can expect to achieve high growth. However, for a typical private investor, there's a couple of weaknesses. First, the book was originally written in the 1950s so it's quite dated. Amusingly it talks about the new technology of the "pocket calculator" and then there's this gem: "If a man, he usually gives but a tiny fraction to handling his investments than he devotes to work. If a woman, the time and effort given is equally small to that devoted to her normal duties". More problematic is that it focuses mostly on manufacturing industry, which might have been the most relevant in the 1950s but less so now. For example, it says you should invest "when the factory is about to come on line". The main reason for this focus is, as the author explains, where his strengths and knowledge lie. By the author's own admission the advice is less relevant to other industries. Second, the advice it gives is more useful for someone who is managing a fund and has the time to spend investigating firms. The author's main point is to spend lots of time talking to management, employees and customers of the firm to find out its prospects. I doubt most small investors could do this. It's not as if I could get a luncheon appointment with a CEO. A fund manager with more experience in this may be able to, which is why I think this book is more suited to them.One final point worth mentioning is the inexplicably pointless preface and introduction by his son, Kenneth. It serves no apparent purpose and worst comes across as an ego trip. On the first page Kenneth (the son that is) manages to mention that "Who knew that I would go on found a large investment management firm, write my own books, and become the sixth-longest-running columnist in Forbes magazine ...". Who knew and who cares? I recommend skipping the preface and introduction and go straight to the book itself!All this aside, as noted earlier I did enjoy reading this book. As a small private investor, it's not the most useful book for me (that is instead, by the way, "One up on Wall Street"). But if you're generally interested in business and fund management, this is a good read. There's lots of interesting anecdotes and gives good insight on fund management.

This book is mainly for experienced investors. But it has something for everyone.First published in 1958, the second edition includes other writings by Fisher. It also includes an introduction by the author’s son (an expert in his own right).Fisher’s book is all about how to find those companies with outstanding growth potential. He was not a fan of economic forecasting. He downgraded the importance of big-picture economic analysis and upgraded the importance of studying individual companies.There are also many little gems in the book. For example, whenever the fear of war causes the stock market to fall, Fisher says we should buy. That’s because after a war ends, the market always ends up higher.For my full review see https://brandhord.com/2023/07/02/common-stocks-and-uncommon-profits-and-other-writings-by-philip-a-fisher-brandhord-book-review/