Reddit mentions: The best private equity books

Depends on how old you are.

• Middle school: I really enjoyed this, this, and this, but I don't think I can read those books now (29) without cringing a little bit. Especially, Getting Things Done because I already know how to make to do list, but I still flip through all 3 books occastionally.
  
  
• High school: I really enjoyed this, this, and this, but if you're a well adjusted human and responsible adult, then I don't think you'll find a lot of helpful advice from these 6 books so far because it'll be pretty basic information.
  
  
• College: I really enjoyed this, this, and started doing Malcolm Gladwell books. The checklist book helped me get more organized and So Good They Can't Ignore You was helpful starting my career path.
  
• Graduate School: I really enjoyed this, this, and this. I already stopped with most "self help" books and reading more about how to manage my money or books that looked interesting like Stiff.
  
  
• Currently: I'm working on this, this, and this. Now I'm reading mostly for fun, but all three of these books are way out of my league and I have no idea what their talking about, but they're areas of my interest. History and AI.

So the two books I read that helped me TREMENDOUSLY understand options are:


https://www.amazon.com/Options-Trading-QuickStart-Simplified-Beginners/dp/B01EZ50QO0/ref=sr_1_19?keywords=options+trading&qid=1568413077&s=gateway&sr=8-19


https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=options+trading&qid=1568413077&s=gateway&sr=8-3


These two books alone should get you comfortable enough to trade profitably or at least to simulate it and make sure first.


McMillans is a HUGE actual textbook used in University. It's not PERFECT but very close. Treat it as your options Bible.


The starter book will get you familiar with all basic concepts, jargon and associated entry level knowledge.


Options trading is the opposite of day trading although they can be day traded successfully in my experience. Options is better performed, however, as a Swing Trade assuming your Technical Analysis plays out.


If you aren't very familiar with Technical Analysis then I'd suggest watching Mitch Ray's instructional videos on youtube for a basic grasp.


Also here is the BIBLE of swing trading Technical Analysis, it is another textbook but well worth the time and cash investment. Bulkowski is basically god.


https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Chart-Patterns-Thomas-Bulkowski/dp/0471668265/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=bulkowski&qid=1568413255&s=audible&sr=8-1


Before making ANY trade I HIGHLY recommend reading Trading In The Zone by Mark Douglas :


https://www.amazon.com/Trading-Zone-Confidence-Discipline-Attitude/dp/0735201447/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=trading+in+the+zone&qid=1568413295&s=gateway&sr=8-1


He also has it in free audio book on Youtube if you can do audio books. I listened at the gym which worked but really just needed to read.


There's many more resources, books, etc. but this should get your rabbit hole started.


For basic market info as a newbie i recommend Investopedia.com


I believe they also have a free simulator. Not sure if options are available on there.

Well shucks, glad it was helpful to someone! Before I moved to the corporate side, I was an equity research analyst. So I was the guy writing these reports. I covered another sector though.


Resources:

• Aswath has a plethora of good (and free) excel models and finance material, which he both teaches from and posts online for free at his Stern page here: http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/spreadsh.htm
  
• Detailed modeling courses, including topics applicable to PE, are usually taught by Wall Street Prep or Training The Street. Some of the instructors for those companies also adjunct teach at NY-area business schools, so there's a chance you could always drop in on one of those. Most of the materials from each have leaked various places online.
  
• All the wall st banks either hire WSP or TTS to teach their incoming classes, or have their own structured programs and fly in chosen professors. But they're all teaching toward the same topics covered by the companies above.
  
• There's various popular books like "Valuation" or "Investment Banking" that are crazy detailed and personally, incredibly boring.
  
• I think most people would be better served by talking with folks in the VC or PE space, and dipping their toes into specific areas of interest much the way Aswath, his blog, or the CFA Institute's refresher material does.
  
  If you're smart, and esp if experienced like yourself, most any textbook will be painfully boring. And I mean really, really, painful and uninteresting save for small sections of sparse chapters.
  
  I think Aswath has the most free models, good templates and instructional models can be found from WSP and TTS if you look hard (torrents, wallstreetoasis, etc). There's also some from google "dorking", e.g. narrow a google search by adding these terms after your search string: filetype:xls for excel files only, or site:.edu for results only from schools i.e. those ending in .EDU. You can combine these too, and there's other more specific filters via Advanced Search Options. For example, this search "private equity" model filetype:xls has this LBO model on the 1st page of results: http://mdatraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/LBO-model.xls
  
  Good luck, and hello to a fellow wall street'er on Peloton!

I see that Intelligent Investor by Graham has already been posted but that's certainly a good one. However it can be a bit dry for most readers and if you would prefer something a bit fresher I would read Deep Value by Toby Carlisle. He discusses and critiques Graham's teachings along with the strategies of other notable value investors such as Buffet, Icahn, Greenblatt and many others all in a more modern tone. It's been the bible for my own value investing strategies.

Other books to look into are:

• Dhandho Investor by Monish Pabrai (lots of simple strategies and examples for small risk - big payoff investments)
  
• Education of a Value Investor by Guy Spier (good for understanding the discipline and mental state of a good value investor)
  
• Michael Lewis books such as Big Short and Flash Boys (These are less for learning investing and more for generating your own interest in finance with some fantastic writing. It's also good for learning what the reality of the markets and Wall Street are.)

Valuation is like voodoo. According to the IRS, the fair market value is the most important, but in reality there are lots of factors. For example, what would the business sell for today if the owners agreed to stay on as regular full-time employees - That value might be zero if their cash flow is poor, but clearly the business is worth something (and they are not going to just give away equity based on poor income valuation)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_valuation

This Forbes article does a fair summation of the issues you are dealing with:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/small-business-valuation-entrepreneurs-finance-zwilling.html

I would probably start with asset and income valuation and then try to put a number on the existing owner non-asset goodwill defined as:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_(accounting)

I would avoid, "valuation based on what the founders have already put in, i.e. a % of their day-job salaries and cash." Those are sunk costs. What I mean by that can be explained by analogy: Would you pay someone $30,000 for a rusted-out, broken down 1988 Ford Ranger because the owner put $22,000 of improvements into it over its lifetime?

The owners may feel it's worth $30,000 because of their efforts, but as I often think when I am browsing Craigslist and run across an extremely overpriced vehicle, "If there's not a couple gold bars that go along with it, I'm not paying that." The reality is that the owners are going to tend to over-value the company because of sunk costs, but you have to come to a valuation based on the current realities (future earning projections can be taken into account as well, but I would be conservative in those estimates.)

There are accountants who specialize in business valuation. I would definitely retain one to work for you and not for the company. Look for someone who is a CPA and a Certified Business Analyst or Certified Valuation Analyst or American Society of Appraisers member.

There is a book that was recommended to me (I haven't read it yet) called Valuation.

http://www.amazon.com/Valuation-Measuring-Managing-Companies-Edition/dp/0470424656/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

There is also a workbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Valuation-Workbook-Step---Step-Exercises/dp/0470424648/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1395756019&sr=8-5&keywords=valuation+measuring+and+managing+the+value+of+companies

Again, I haven't gotten around to these yet. I did notice that the first review of Valuation has a recommendation for a book: Business Valuation which that reviewer says is the best for reviewing small, private companies. The review:

http://www.amazon.com/Valuation-Measuring-Managing-Companies-Edition/product-reviews/0470424656/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

The book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047037148X/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk

Good Luck!

It seems you are interested in public policy more than the mechanics of finance and accounting. It's also worth noting that when arguing a point people tend to dismiss the views of someone who must resort to petty insults, so if you are ever having a real discussion with someone about this it would be wise to avoid doing so.

Those losses were not insignificant compared to their overall profitability. Remember, this is done on an annual basis. If they made $100 billion last year but lost $1 million this year they would not owe income taxes this year, barring any deferred taxes due. They quite literally lost more money than they made in certain areas of operation; the government does not tax anybody on losses and allows them to be carried forward or backward for a certain amount of time. This is as true for Grandma's Bakery down the street as it is for a multi national corporation.

After looking at their recent annual reports the vast majority of their tax credits and lower rates come from foreign operations. So I suppose you will be glad to know that other countries incentivize research and development of cleaner energy technology much more than the US does. In fact, in 2009 (the year they had an effective negative tax rate of 11.5%) the total breaks from the US only lowered their rate from 35% to 30.5%. The rest was due to a combination of foreign credits and lower foreign statutory rates.

And no, we did not end up paying them anything. That's not how negative effective tax rates work, at all. If you are actually interested in this, and not just spouting emotional hatred for evil corporations, I highly suggest reading through Financial Modeling and Valuation: A Practical Guide to Investment Banking and Private Equity. It will give you great tools to separate what's really going on from media fluff pieces, and you will have an excellent base of knowledge to actually debate the (in)effectiveness of corporate tax credits. Anyways, a negative effective tax rate simply means that the taxes they actually paid to the IRS were less than the total taxes they report in their financial statements. This is due to differences in accounting for depreciation, carried losses, credits, and deferring taxes until a later year. GE has significant deferred taxes that get paid in pieces each year, and will all be paid.

Furthermore, according to the lobbying group Citizens for Tax Justice, which fights to close loopholes and increase statutory rates, the total amount of tax subsidies enjoyed by the 288 most profitable companies over the last five years was $362 billion, or an average of $72.5 billion per year. The federal government took in $2.8 trillion in taxes in 2013. In other words, if all those tax subsidies had actually been collected it would have represented a grand total of a 2.58% increase in tax revenue for the government. This isn't exactly a significant amount.

And for what it's worth, my personal opinion is that I would rather see tax incentives for things like developing cleaner technologies than giving that money to a government that spends a full 25% of its revenue on national defense but only 1% on education. There are absolutely loopholes that should be closed, such as what some tech companies are doing by incorporating in Ireland and leasing their intellectual property to their US "subsidiary", effectively avoiding US taxes for nothing. However, this does not mean that every time it is reported that a company had zero or negative taxes in the US that there is some shady conspiracy going on designed to line the pockets of Mr. Scrooge CEO.

• The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham
  
  
• Security Analysis - Benjamin Graham
  
  
• The Interpretation of Financial Statements - Benjamin Graham
  
  
• Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports - Howard Schilit
  
  
• Applied Value Investing - Joseph Calandro
  
  
• Analysis for Financial Management - Robert Higgins
  
  
• Margin of Safety - Seth Klarman
  
  
• Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings - Philip Fisher
  
  
• One Up On Wall Street - Peter Lynch
  
  
• Beating The Street - Peter Lynch
  
  
• The Essays of Warren Buffett - Warren Buffett
  
  
• Snowball: Warren Buffett and The Business of Life - Alice Schroeder
  
  
• Buffett Beyond Value - Prem Jain
  
  
• Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond - Bruce Greenwald
  
  
• You Can Be A Stock Market Genius - Joel Greenblatt
  
  
• The Little Book That Beats The Market - Joel Greenblatt
  
  
• The Big Secret for the Small Investor: A New Route to Long-Term Investment Success - Joel Greenblatt
  
  
• Reminiscences of a Stock Operator - Edwin Leferve
  
  
• Fooled By Randomness - Nassim Taleb
  
  
• The Black Swan - Nassim Taleb
  
  
• Poor Charlie's Almanack - Charlie Munger
  
  
• Rediscovered Benjamin Graham - Janet Lowe
  
  
• The Theory of Investment Value - John Burr Williams
  
  
• Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger - Peter Bevelin
  
  
• Security Analysis and Business Valuation on Wall Street - Jeffrey Hooke
  
  
• Value Investing: Tools and Techniques for Intelligent Investment - James Montier
  
  
• Investment Valuation: Tools and Techniques for Determining the Value of Any Asset - Aswath Damodaran
  
  
• The Dark Side of Valuation - Aswath Damodaran
  
  
• Financial Statements: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Creating Financial Reports - Thomas Ittelson
  
  
• Buyout - Rick Rickertsen
  
  
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini
  
  
• Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics - Gary Belsky
  
  
• The Warren Buffett Way - Robert Hagstrom
  
  
• The Most Important Thing - Howard Marks
  
  
• Competition Demystified - Bruce Greenwald
  
  
• Accounting For Value - Stephen Penman
  
  
• Distressed Debt Analysis - Stephen Moyer
  
  
• Bankruptcy Investing - Ben Branch
  
  
• The Vulture Investors - Hilary Rosenberg
  
  
• Creating Value Through Corporate Restructuring - Stuart Gilson
  
  
• Distress Investing - Martin J Whitman
  
  
• The Aggressive Conservative Investor - Martin J Whitman

1. Vanguard is a low cost provider, yahoo finance can show you the expense ratio for any fund you are interested in -- I would decide on the 'type' of fund desired first (s&p500, total US stock market, international stocks, sectors, specialty), see what Vanguard has to offer, then compare their ER with other funds.
   
   
2. The only funds I know that all have lower ER's than Vanguard are the funds within the federal governments 401K (the Thrift Savings Program), but you need to be a federal employee to access these.
   
   
3. Withdrawal fees are up to the individual fund, if you withdraw too quickly some funds will charge a fee (ie <1 year or whatever). If a fund has no withdrawal fees at all (ie even after 1 day) then the fund runs the risk of being 'abused' by higher frequency traders and the cost of servicing these individuals will be paid by the fund's other longer term investors, so that is a business decision up to the managers of each fund.
   
   
4. In a mutual fund, you will pay capital gains taxes for each actual withdrawal (and there are mutiple complex ways to calculate how much tax you owe -- you must keep very good records to know if what is being reported to the IRS is accurate), but also each year you may have to pay taxes on imputed capital gains and dividends, even if you reinvest those distributions in the same fund immediately (ie if the mutual fund company reinvests them for you). The fund will send you a 1099 each year listing your imputed capital gains (ie gains the fund generated internally by trading stocks over the year) and dividends -- and you pay the taxes (even if you did not get the money distributed to you but it was kept in the fund). If you own an ETF, generally you should not have to pay capital gains taxes unless you actually sell shares -- but there may be exceptions!). Also some mutual funds (especially index funds) try to be 'tax efficient', meaning they try to not generate imputed capital gains that you will be taxed on each year.
   
   
5. Research has shown that if you have a chunk of money to invest, you will do just as well to invest all of it at once if you spread the money out, as with a market-wide index fund. If this is of concern to you, read about 'dollar cost averaging'. This approach means you decide to invest a fixed amount of cash in the market (ie in the S&P500 or some other broad index fund) each month or quarter, whether the market is up or down -- just buy the same dollar amount of shares. If the market is down that month, you will get more shares for your $$, if the market is up, you will get a smaller number of shares -- but it will average out and it is considered to be a reasonable approach to a lifetime investing program.
   
   
6. The problem with 'timing' investments is you have to be very smart, and have to be right twice -- once when you decide it is time to invest, and a second time when you decide to sell. Most real humans can't be this smart or knowledgeable, so 'dollar cost averaging' makes more sense. Research has shown that humans who invest in mutual funds don't do as well (don't earn as much) as the mutual fund itself -- the people try to outsmart the market and buy and sell at what turn out to be the wrong (or not the best ) times, so the return of real humans who use specific mutual funds tends to lag (be lower than) the reported fund return itself -- we think we are smarter than we are, we watch the news too much and panic. We sell when we should buy and buy when we should sell.
   
   My suggestion: go slow, read some books on investing. I read this book 30+ years ago and it was helpful. There are many others! Advice from /r/personalfinance can also be helpful in a general way.

You're welcome! If you have any questions, let me know.

When you first learn about investing, it seems like there must be some trick - where is the extra money coming from? Is it like gambling? I think it's simplest to think of it in terms of a business that owns real estate and collects rent. They're using their capital to provide a service that people are willing to pay for. When you save some of your income and use it to buy a small slice of one or more businesses that sell goods and services, you're doing the same thing.

My favorite book on investing is The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need, by Andrew Tobias. Among its other virtues, it's pretty funny! But the other books recommended in the sidebar are good too.

Have you tried emailing them?
https://tbc.uchicago.edu/contact-us

A lot of those questions will probably be answered first week during info sessions, but my understanding:

1. Not too sure how MC and TBC differ (I’m in neither)—I think Blue Chips does due diligence on individual stocks within a sector and then invests an alumni gift diversified among whichever stock pitches pass a quarterly review. MC I think focuses more on educating members on quantitative finance and trading strategies. I think both would prepare you well for a career in finance (I-Banking, Quant Trading, or anything else)
   
2. MC states on their website that no prior finance experience is required so I can’t imagine it’s too hard (and personally I like the accessibility aspect), but you probably need to be familiar with like what an option is for example. TBC is one of the more selective clubs on campus, and yeah like a poster said it seems exclusive or whatever, but that’s also partially the fault of so many students wanting to do finance/consulting after undergrad. Don’t get caught up in prestige tho—just because a club is more selective doesn’t mean it is better (it might just be smaller) and there are many other clubs & classes besides TBC and MC that also teach finance on campus.
   
3. If you read Rosenbaum and Pearl you’ll be fine for TBC (note that you don’t need to buy the textbook, it’s available free as a PDF all over the internet just google it)—understand the principles and technicals of value investing. Not sure if this would be overkill for MC, but it wouldn’t hurt ofc.
   
   Since you asked for worthwhile info: at info sessions ask current RSO members what they want to do after graduation. The more members who can definitively answer you, the more likely it is that the club has helped them define their goals and to some extent put them on the right track to achieving it. Just my two cents I suppose.

Hello,
I'd start here..
http://www.cboe.com/ the cboe website offers free education detailing essentially everything about options, their properties, how they're priced, simple--> complex strategies.

A good book I liked was Getting started in options. The cboe website, while incredibly encompassing, is a bit a brief in their lessons(IMO). This guy offers an easy to understand intuition behind taking some of the trades. The book ranges from beginner tactics to intricate spreads/condors and such.

Id say to cap it off and give you a well rounded education, you keep this one handy Options as a strategic investment. I say this because I think the way it's setup is more of a handbook, it skimps on the details and cuts right to the schematics of each trade and how to manage.

The order of resources was deliberate, I've found when the material is too hefty from the getco it's a bit discouraging when you first start out. However, as you progress you crave more, you dive deeper and once you demonstrate some proficiency, you want to have something easy to skim through and reference just in case.

Hope that helps!

Best way is to compare free cash flow to net income: FCF (OCF - CapEx) should the majority of the time (but not every single year) be greater than net income. If NI is routinely greater than FCF, than it's a pretty good indicator something is not right. There are other tricks, I recommend this and especially THIS if you want to read up more about "quality of earnings" detection.

I'm saying

>knowledge of how Goldman works to begin with would be necessary for evaluating its integrity.

The set of people with the relevant knowledge is a little broader than I first let on, and includes:

• academics who study the finance industry
  
  
• some but probably not most of the people who work or used to work in the finance industry
  
  
• Lawyers who work on either side of legal cases involving firms like Goldman
  
  
• Probably most judges who regularly hear cases involving big banks
  
  
• Probably most of the people who work for the FDIC and some other regulatory bodies
  
  
• Really, anyone with significant knowledge and expertise of both how investment banks work and economics or finance in general. Heck, even this book plus a masters degree in a relevant field (economics, finance, maybe accounting) probably counts.
  
  If your friends who don't like Goldman are actually experts, I apologize. But most of the people I meet, especially online, who have a strong opinion of them and/or "consider them to be most dishonest institution" make it clear when asked to elaborate that they have no idea what they're talking about. And I'll double down on saying that people who have no idea what they're talking about with respect to what Goldman and other investment banks do also necessarily have no idea what they're talking about with respect to whether that's good or not.
  

If I were you, These are some steps I would take to increase my odds of getting a VC job assuming you are new the field and don't have $$ you can afford to easily lose.

A- No experience, little to no money
1- Read at least 5 books about the industry
2- Listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos with VC interviews and teachings
3- Networks with VC
4- Land a job
5- Make money
6- Become a professional VC


Books to read
1- #Breaking Into VC - Bradley Miller
https://www.amazon.com/BreakIntoVC-Investor-Entrepreneur-Professional-Guidebook/dp/1544934343

2Done Deals

3-Essentials of Venture Capital

4- Venture Deals

5- The Business of Venture Capital


Podcasts and radio to listen to
1- Angellist radio
2 - 20 Minutes VC with Harry Stebbings
http://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/
3- Bloomberg radio
4- Investors archives series on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVJalJNQWimC2zWrIHR_bSQ

Networking with VC
You can go on VC firms websites, find some VC partners you admire and email or call them to pick their brain.
You could also attend VC meetings or pitc competitions if you have access to.

These first steps will increase your chance of getting a job or at least an internship leading to a job.

In terms of making money, this is a personal decision up to you. VC firms themselves are funded by Limited Partners such as pension funds or school endowments. So they are pretty much investing other people money in most cases.

All these steps apply if you want to be a professional VC in a traditional sense, a job like one would imagine an investor banker on Wall Street or a doctor working in a hospital.


B- If you have the knowledge and the money likeChris Sacca

Depending on your income, you can start right away and become a VC. If you have money, you can invest in any business venture you want and start practicing your craft. You wouldn't necessarily need to join a firm. You can even start your own firm if you're loaded.

In either case you need to have a deal flow (investment opportunities) and be able to do due diligence. VC is a calculated investment not a lottery.
You would also need a great understanding of the ecosystem of business venture including the relationship between VCs, entrepreneurs and the business opportunities/markets.

Go ahead and become a VC, you do need to get permission from anybody. If you're hungry enough figure it out and GO FOR IT.

I've really enjoyed Financial Fitness Forever by Paul A. Merriman and Richard Buck. Mostly about investing, it's laid out really well, written in a conversational tone and delves into some of the emotional aspects of investing behavior.



Also, The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias ironically contains quite a lot of advice other than just investing and he has a great sense of humor. I haven't read the updated 2016 version - mine is from 2002!

I don’t know how I knew. Maybe you have a youthful and optimistic writing voice.

I’m 37, and I actually manage money for a living as an RIA (registered investment advisor). If you’re unsure about a career for yourself, I’d highly recommend it. Someone only 20 years old with your expertise would have no trouble getting into the business and be very successful.

Using Bitcoin or any hard currency as opposed to fiat adds immeasurable value to society. Read “The Bitcoin Standard” by Saifedean Ammous and your perspective will be expanded

https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/dp/1119473861 and buy

And get a copy of the reference tome: Options as a Strategic Investment

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659

And your investment game will be better than most advisors by the time you’re 22. That’s the best advice I can give👊

Oh lmao my b

I’ve heard McMillan on Options is a good read, though I haven’t read it myself.

A good book on psychology and market behavior is Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Options as a Strategic Investment is personally what I read and it’s very easy to understand and has plenty of examples.

https://www.amazon.com/McMillan-Options-Lawrence-G/dp/0471678759

https://www.amazon.com/Reminiscences-Stock-Operator-Edwin-Lefèvre/dp/0471770884/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=reminiscence+of+a+stock+operator&qid=1565785781&s=gateway&sprefix=reminiscen&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1/132-8096628-1903040?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0735204659&pd_rd_r=311ef362-2080-434e-899b-ea36ca08058a&pd_rd_w=6v6iP&pd_rd_wg=HtwRb&pf_rd_p=3861f3e6-3054-41ac-9570-6a1994716f7e&pf_rd_r=34KSEETK9NV6305R430Q&psc=1&refRID=34KSEETK9NV6305R430Q

As somebody who recently did exactly what you are aspiring to do, there are a few resources I would recommend.

• Macabacus - learn everything on this site. Download the models, use them, learn how they work.
  
• Breaking Into Wallstreet - same with the above.
  
  Learn everything you can about the three financial statements, how they flow into each other, and how to forecast each major line item. Any solid investment banking book will help with a lot of this, I recommend this one.
  
  VBA is nice, but not necessary. I'd much more recommend knowing how to answer:"If I have 100 million in EBITDA and I subtract 10 million from Depreciation and Amortization, how does that impact Net Income, what changes in your balance sheet, and how does that flow through to the cash flow statement?"
  
  But even more importantly in banking is your personality and attitude. You're being interviewed mostly to see if your coworkers can tolerate you for 60+ hours a week, as they're more likely to spend more time with you at work than they are at home with their families.

Fantastic book that will cover everything in regards to the structure, salaries, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470591439/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687522&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0470650915&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1YA313T6PHQEYVRCH3G3

I encourage you to read page by page. It's an awesome resource.

Now beyond that, the hardest part of starting a VC is obviously raising the capital or "raising the fund". Because a VC firm is really just a culmination of separate "funds". I would assume that you would be interested in seed stage investments since you dont sound too sophisticated, so you would raise a few million. This is where your network and resume comes through. Unless you know people in high places, you NEED to have experience as a startup founder, VC experience, consulting or investment banking. Minimum. If not, I'd suggest reading the book and spending a few years entering into these fields.

Hey, you may not have the capital to do serious investing, but don't say you're too young! It's awesome that you are learning about this stuff at a young age, and it will serve you well when you do have the money to invest.

This isn't the easiest book to read (it's over 1,000 pages), but Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence McMillan is considered the bible of options trading, and it will give you a deep understanding of all the basics. You'll still need something else to show you how to put it all together when you're ready to begin trading, but reading this book will build a solid foundation.

I don't have any background in finance, or investing, so I can't attest to how relevant it is, but I recommend Teach Yourself Investing in 24 Easy Lessons, 2E. As a lay person, the book was very easy to understand, and opened my eyes to the world of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc, and how to go about selecting the investments that meet your needs/ goals.

Here are a few I liked.

On the easy side but very thorough, good for starting:

Options as a strategic investment, Lawrence McMillan
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735204659/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_0IfLDbZYQ3Z67

Focusing on market making:

Option market making, Allen Baird
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471578320/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_WPfLDbTZ0C15B

Harder but good stuff:

Volatility Trading, Euan Sinclair
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118347137/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_zKfLDbQ0KSEPG

First you buy:

Options Made Simple: A Beginner's Guide to Trading Options for Success

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0730376370/

Options as a Strategic Investment 5th Edition

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0735204659/

Then you join /r/options. Then you paper trade. Then you trade options.

If you're asking here if you're going to profit or not on a trade, do not start trading yet.

EDIT: I also found these options threads to be helpful:

https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/5pekf6/interested_in_becoming_an_options_trader/

https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/3zwx40/500_to_1000_bucks_initial_deposit_what_next/cypp8td/

The only investment guide you'll ever need by Andrew Tobias
https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937
I was in your position and read this 15 years ago and retired early using his advice to invest. He updates it regularly. It tells you what you need to know in easy to understand terms and gives a good reading list if you want to go further to understand the theories supporting his advice . Read the reviews on amazon for other opinions

Thanks for the book recommendation! I'm guessing you meant the Author is Andrew Tobias, if so here is the link to the book on Amazon:

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011H55NBM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NrS8AbS7AG81Z

If this is not the book, then please let me know. Thanks.

Most books on PE are either top down views from 30,000 ft on the industry or too theoretical to be of practical help.

​

Mastering PE is one I would recommend for an up to date view on the industry:

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Private-Equity-Transformation-Investments/dp/1119327970

​

However, If you're interested in actionable insight for actually working in PE, I write much more about basically all the tricks of the trade I learned working at a top PE firm here http://www.theprivateequiteer.com/

​

​

I suggest Andrew Tobias's The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. If you read it through it should give you a grasp of the basics, but won't give you more than you need (which can get you into trouble).

Aside from that, I would focus my energy on keeping spending low and trying to find higher-paying jobs and/or additional job(s). Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937/

Options as a Strategic Investment was recommended to me as a good book to build an Options foundation on. I'm still working through it but so far, I have to agree. It covers the different strategies in detail. Giving you the what, why, and when to use them.

Thank you, good luck!

Rosenbaum and Pearl IB

For investment banking, you would only really have a shot at a biotech bank looking for a scientific-minded analyst. That said, they probably "know what they're getting" by hiring you, and are planning on training you. If it is something you would really consider, I would highly recommending reading Investment Banking by Rosenbaum and Pearl to gain a basic understanding of financial statements, and the 5 basic valuation methodologies. Being able to speak about these....even at a high level...will go far in an interview (these are the basics of entry level undergrad IB recruiting interviews).

Depending on the bank, some may look for you to fill an associate type of a role, but I wouldn't expect that without banking experience or an MBA, but small shops would use you as a consultant or even an analyst in the right environment. Do some searching for life science and healthcare investment banks and you can see in most "team" sections the background on the individuals at the firm. Small boutique types of shops will focus on getting the most efficiency out of analysts as possible, and your experience can be a large advantage over just a finance background in the right setting

First, many people are here just looking at 1M+ reach thinking financial independence means Retirement.

Retirement is a plan on its own, a kind of fulfillment in life. Being FI makes them towards that fulfillment.

People must read these two books, and plan for FIRE.

Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement

[The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804137366/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

https://www.amazon.com/Investing-Real-Estate-Private-Equity-ebook/dp/B01IW0G0S0

This is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in private equity in real estate. I interned for the author's acquisition's team & he's a smart dude.

I have not personally done any research, but a lot has been done. A quick google search showed the following:

• http://www.theactivistinvestor.com/The_Activist_Investor/Academic_Research.html
  
  Additionally, there is this book, in which Tobias Carlisle (of Greenbackd fame) provides a great overview of activist investing: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Value-Investors-Contrarians-Corporations/dp/1118747968
  

I'd strongly suggest you go over http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance and start reading the articles in the sidebar. You might also consider reading a book like The Wall Street Journal Complete Personal Finance Guidebook as a good introduction to basic personal finance concepts.

I thought this was a pretty good article that I enjoyed. Here are my thoughts. I was a huge fan of the E-Myth and use a lot of the core concepts of the book on a regular basis. The only issue I have is that thinking like a banker is a much higher level concept than most entrepreneurs are ready for. M&A is extremely hot right now but growth through acquisition is an complicated process that can blow up in your face and would be a bad move for an overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs. Even the companies that are the size where it makes sense, most are failures according to a study by the HBR. Also, because of your interest in IB concepts I would put this book on the top of your reading list. https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210 Anyways just my thoughts.

One of the best new books on the subject is Deep Value http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Value-Investors-Contrarians-Corporations/dp/1118747968/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412616436&sr=8-1&keywords=Deep+value it's an updated take on Graham's approach to value investing and quantitatively evaluates different variations based upon their back-tested results over long periods of time. Expensive book but worth every penny IMHO.

www.cboe.com has some great tutorials.

A book I often refer to can be found on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659/ref=sr_1_1?crid=R4LJ2GU5HQ2Y&keywords=options+as+a+strategic+investment+6th+edition&qid=1573349119&sprefix=options+as+%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1

You have done everything nicely. Before going to planner or other web sites, just read these two used books which will help you.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141330835X (first few chapters)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804137366 (chapter 1 enough)

These two saves you lot of time instead of going here and there in web.

I'm reading this book https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Accounting-Gimmicks-Reports/dp/0071703071

Still early in the book. One thing that stood out was too good to believe revenue growth as compared to similar companies during a set time period. e.g Enron

I find this books the best I've read on the subject. I actually got my hands on it through the manager after a meeting with them a year back or so (apparently a pricy book). They also made a new book which I list below.

https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Account-Manager-Turbulent-1993-2002/dp/1587991802

https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Returns-Investing-Through-Managers/dp/1137571640

It's not only about fiber and telecom though.

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need remains one of the best explanations and tutorials about the stock market and investing

I read “the only investment guide you’ll every need” a few years ago for the same reason. I think it’s a great highlight of all the different ways to invest. Also of course the buzz wordy thing is crypto. So if you feel compelled to do that start off very very small until you know what you’re doing and only invest what you can afford to lose.

[This] (https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210) Rosenbaum and Pearl text is widely considered the handbook of IB and does an excellent job of covering the day to day tasks of an analyst / associate.

Affordable / Free Resources:

ASimpleModel.com (Novice / Intermediate)

Macabacus.com (Intermediate / Advanced)

Prof. Aswath Damodaran

Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions In addition to covering the various aspects of valuation and modeling, the text also covers the process of moving through a transaction and describes the documents required. If you want to work in IB, this is a great resource.

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540593340&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=options+as+a+strategic+investment&dpPl=1&dpID=51JdQRw3ZDL&ref=plSrch


It will teach you not only the naked shit these heathens do but also more advanced option plays all the way up to structured products

Seems like an interesting book. From the Amazon listing , it looks like it goes deeper than "buy quality companies at discount prices". I have a few books I'm working through, but this is on my shortlist for my next one.

Honestly, the book I most often introduce would be this: Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports, Third Edition

Great introduction into the workings of earnings management in its various forms, with real world case studies to show how it was performed.

[Only textbook I have ever enjoyed reading] (http://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1413934924&sr=8-4&keywords=valuation)

This book is very good for beginners.

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527461946&sr=8-1&keywords=options+as+a+strategic+investment+6th+edition#customerReviews

The first edition is from 1988, and the Amazon reviews for the second edition say that there are a lot of errors in the new version. How well does the 1988 edition hold up to current trading strategies? Or is there another newer book that you would recommend?

EDIT: Any thoughts on The Rookie's Guide to Options; 2nd edition: The Beginner's Handbook of Trading Equity Options by Mark D Wolfinger? Or Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence G. McMillan?

Honestly, just read this a couple of times - https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210

https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210

WSO and M&I are better bets

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

After reading your other comments, this should help you with understanding what all those acronyms mean. It's a good first book for overall personal finance. It maybe enough for you.

History shows us that even very large companies use questionable accounting (see this list).

If you want to read more about financial statement manipulation, I can strongly recommend Financial Shenanigans as well as Financial Statement Analysis. These would be appropriate reads after 1-2 years of undergrad accounting.

If you want a really in-depth advanced book on options, I'd suggest Options As a Strategic Investment. It has everything.

There are all sorts of exits available for DTC businesses. The size of the outcome depends on what your revenue structure, business operations, and future potential look like.

I've had this in my goodreads queue for a while.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KXYT8V4

[http://www.amazon.com/Options-Strategic-Investment-Lawrence-McMillan/dp/0735204659/]

[http://www.amazon.com/McMillan-Options-Lawrence-G/dp/0471678759/]

[http://www.amazon.com/Profiting-Iron-Condor-Options-Strategies/dp/0134394607/]

[http://www.amazon.com/Option-Strategy-Risk-Return-Ratios/dp/0692028293/]

Those will give you 90% of what you need to know. There are a lot of books out there, the more you read, the more you learn. I have a library of 100+ books like these.

This book is a good resource, pick it up from your local library and give it a read. I think I finished it over a weekend? It's not super difficult.

You can be a stock market genius https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Stock-Market-Genius/dp/0684840073

Deep Value https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Value-Investors-Contrarians-Corporations/dp/1118747968/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482441120&sr=1-1&keywords=deep+value

Some finance & investment textbooks:

• Damodaran on Valuation: Security Analysis for Investment and Corporate Finance, by Aswath Damodaran
  
• Options as a Strategic Investment, by Lawrence G. McMillan

You may not have been alive fifteen years ago.

But if you like to read "personal finance"....you really NEED to read these.

Peter Lynch

https://www.amazon.com/One-Up-Wall-Street-Already/dp/0743200403

https://www.amazon.com/Beating-Street-Peter-Lynch/dp/0671891634/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=


Andrew Tobias

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466002617&sr=1-1&keywords=andrew+tobias

Is this a good book for learning investing? It was recommended by the investment club I am in at uni.

You're kidding me? How have you managed to raise a fund if you can't open a bank account? That said, this book covers some of the back office stuff for VCs: http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Capital-Private-Financing-Entrepreneurship/dp/0470591439/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

I have looked into that one before, but the reviews on amazon seem pretty bad:

https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210

https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Accounting-Gimmicks-Reports/dp/0071703071

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

By Andrew Tobias

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=the+only+investment+guide+you%27ll+ever+need&qid=1566531107&s=gateway&sprefix=the+only+inv&sr=8-1

Link to the book:
https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937


Aaaaaand it's out of stock!!!!!! For real?

I started with Options as a Strategic Investment

edit: formatting

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659

https://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1NVXJXOUNYT70&keywords=investment+banking+rosenbaum+pearl&qid=1551242714&s=gateway&sprefix=investment+banking%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-2

Maybe this one?

https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Accounting-Gimmicks-Reports/dp/0071703071

Options as a strategic investment, by Lawrence G. McMillan.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735204659/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MWSWDbPJ9H54G

Not exactly accounting per sé, but check out Financial Shenanigans.

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659

You could start with: https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937

https://www.amazon.com/Options-as-Strategic-Investment-Fifth/dp/0735204659/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502993339&sr=8-1&keywords=options+as+a+strategic+investment

[Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions] (http://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210/)

Current multiples are normally behind a pay wall. Commonly followed sector specific multiples can be found in this Book

No it's not. There are tons and tons and tons of resources / information available online for what i-banking is, how it works, how to break in, interview guides, compensation information, which banks are the "best", bulge bracket vs. boutique, when recruiting cycles take place, etc.

I mean go to the forums at wallstreetoasis.com if you're curious, or mergersandinquisitions.com, browse investopedia.

There are books available detailing exactly what investment bankers do and how they do it-- like this book written by bankers: http://www.amazon.com/Investment-Banking-Valuation-Leveraged-Acquisitions/dp/1118656210.

I-banking is incredibly transparent. Politicians / the media make it out to be some Illuminati / conspiracy industry.

https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Accounting-Gimmicks-Reports/dp/0071703071

If you want to read about manipulating statements.

Yet it's missing Rosenbaum's Investment Banking

Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks & Fraud in Financial Reports, 3rd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071703071/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Fg6KDbNWCWPRP

Oops! Sorry was listening to some 50 copied wrong link. More beginner resources at :

http://education.optionseducation.org/course/?podcasts=1

https://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/webcast/

Books:

http://www.amazon.ca/Options-Strategic-Investment-Lawrence-McMillan/dp/0735204659

http://www.amazon.ca/Option-Volatility-Pricing-Strategies-Techniques/dp/0071818774/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418529768&sr=1-7&keywords=options

http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Accounting-Gimmicks-Reports/dp/0071703071/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=12KFCM4ENBFTQ61T2D2V

That's a more modern version. A lot of the recent financial shenanigans have changed a bit. They typically involved mark to market scams (Enron), repo (Lehman used Repo 105) to falsify the balance sheets, or surprise earnings (Overstock).

Antar's blog is really good, too.

http://whitecollarfraud.blogspot.com/

That said, I've never seen the Hollywood type of accounting anywhere else. It's incredibly bizarre. The Guardian article w/Eddie Murphy is the only one I've seen that discusses it openly.