One Up on Wall Street

By Peter Lynch with John Rothchild

A book review by Steven Moore of t1ps.comOne Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch with John Rothchild can be purchased for GBP 9.99 by clicking here.

Peter Lynch is a true investment legend - the Fidelity Magellan Fund which he managed from May 1977 to May 1990 was the best performing fund in the world under his leadership. One Up on Wall Street reveals the principles behind Lynch's spectacular record and why sensible private investors should be able to outperform most market 'professionals'.

The book is split into three parts - with the first dealing with 'Preparing to Invest'. Here Lynch considers the attractions of stocks versus bonds, the barriers that restrain 'professional investors' and the advantages to the private investor - "you don't have to invest like an institution". A particular striking point Lynch emphasises through the section is that "ultimately it is not the stock market nor even the companies themselves that determine an investor's fate. It is the investor". That is to say it is the investor's attitude - to issues such as short-term market fluctuations - that is key to performance.

Part two deals with 'Picking Winners'. Lynch espouses that by simply taking notice of your immediate world - "from the mall to the workplace" - potentially successful companies can be discovered before the professional crowd catch on. However, he notes "investing without research is like playing stud poker without looking at the cards". As such, this part of the book guides through the research that should be undertaken - favourable attributes of companies, attributes of stocks to avoid, and numbers to look for in company reports.

Part three then focuses on the broader principles which should aid success - such as the design of a portfolio and misguided stock theories which should be ignored.

The book is full of pearls of wisdom - "the stock price is the least useful information you can track, and it's the most widely tracked" - largely linked in with Lynch's own experiences whilst he worked at Fidelity. This, together with an informal writing style and refreshing disdain for establishment thinking - "quantitative analysis taught me that the things I saw happening at Fidelity couldn't really be happening" - make for an entertaining and highly informative read. This is an investment classic and has the power to make everyone who reads it a better investor.

One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch with John Rothchild can be purchased for GBP 9.99 by clicking here.

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