Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments - Hardcover

by Michael Batnick (Author)

A Must-Read for Any Investor Looking to Maximize Their Chances of Success

Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments explores the ways in which the biggest names have failed, and reveals the lessons learned that shaped more successful strategies going forward. Investing can be a rollercoaster of highs and lows, and the investors detailed here show just how low it can go; stories from Warren Buffet, Bill Ackman, Chris Sacca, Jack Bogle, Mark Twain, John Maynard Keynes, and many more illustrate the simple but overlooked concept that investing is really hard, whether you're managing a few thousand dollars or a few billion, failures and losses are part of the game. Much more than just anecdotal diversion, these stories set the basis for the book's critical focus: learning from mistakes. These investors all recovered from their missteps, and moved forward armed with a wealth of knowledge than can only come from experience. Lessons learned through failure carry a weight that no textbook can convey, and in the case of these legendary investors, informed a set of skills and strategy that propelled them to the top.

Research-heavy and grounded in realism, this book is a must-read for any investor looking to maximize their chances of success.

• Learn the most common ways even successful investors fail
• Learn from the mistakes of the greats to avoid losing ground
• Anticipate challenges and obstacles, and develop an advance plan
• Exercise caution when warranted, and only take the smart risks

While learning from your mistakes is always a valuable experience, learning from the mistakes of others gives you the benefit of wisdom without the consequences of experience. Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments provides an incomparable, invaluable resource for investors of all stripes.

Front Jacket

Studying and emulating the strategies and behaviors of successful investors are a well-trodden path to improved returns, but there's also a wealth of wisdom to gain from examining the follies and missed opportunities that failed to derail their illustrious careers. Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments shines an eye-opening light on the humbling lessons learned by more than a dozen of the world's most well- known investors.

In this brilliantly researched volume, a diverse collection of investors is fleshed out beyond their famous accomplishments to illustrate investing isn't easy--even for those blessed with remarkable talent and impeccably good timing. If you think you know the stories behind such investing giants as Warren Buffett, Bill Ackman, Chris Sacca, Jack Bogle, Ben Graham, and John Maynard Keynes, to name a few, the unique treatment inside adds a fresh and nuanced perspective to their commonly recognized biographies.

After reading this book, you will become a wiser investor who knows:

• The importance of managing your risk and not getting attached to investments
• Why you need to invest with your strengths, while remembering you aren't as smart as you think
• Taking big losses in stride are critical to success because you only need to win once
• Building the perfect portfolio is futile
• Failing can be your biggest step to achievement

One of the biggest takeaways these cautionary tales provide is the valuable gift each of your mistakes gives you. All of these investors suffered major financial losses, but none of them folded. In fact, many of the skillsets and strategies widely practiced today exist because of epic disasters.

For every investor looking to reach their full potential, now is the time for Big Mistakes.

Back Jacket

PRAISE FOR
BIG MISTAKES

"We're often told how the best get it right, but not how the best can still get it wrong. In Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments, Michael Batnick illuminates the reasons why revered investors like Warren Buffett and Jack Bogle--along with brilliant minds like Mark Twain and even Isaac Newton--have still, at times, lost grand sums of money."
--Bethany McLean, Author of The Smartest Guys in the Room, Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair

"Michael Batnick has written a terrific book on investing that doubles as solid financial history. Learning about what has failed, and why, is often more instructive than highlighting success."
--Jim Chanos, President and Founder, Kynikos Associates

"Michael Batnick's new book Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments is superb. It succinctly covers the mistakes that some of the greatest investment legends made, and in doing so, reminds us that everyone makes mistakes and that one of the best things we can do to improve our investment results is learn from both our own mistakes and those of others. Happily, one big mistake is easy to avoid--not reading Michael's fascinating and informative new book. Now that would be a big mistake."
--Jim O'Shaughnessy, Author of What Works on Wall Street, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Investment Officer, O'Shaughnessy Asset Management

"Michael has written one of the important investment books of our time. Good investing isn't all about being smart; it's about maintaining emotional discipline. This book is an amazing chronicle of investors who, at times, didn't. And since many of those profiled are the greatest investors who ever lived, their lessons are even more relevant to the rest of us."
--Morgan Housel, Partner, Collaborative Fund

Author Biography

MICHAEL BATNICK is the director of Research at Ritholtz Wealth Management. He develops and implements risk management and portfolio strategies for clients and leads internal research efforts. He educates people on investing at The Irrelevant Investor blog and co-produces the weekly podcast, Animal Spirits.