Sharpen your brain, sharp your wallet: 5 books for the investing reader

Summer: the time to take a break from the portfolio and invest in the most important capital of all: your own knowledge. Because while stocks go up and down, you can build some more strategic advantage with a good book. Whether you're sitting in a beach chair or your own garden, this selection will nourish not only your open-minded mind, but also a little of the Charlie Munger in you.  

1 - Your Life is Manufactured - Tim Minshall

We analyze balance sheets and profit margins, but how well do we understand the physical reality behind our investments? This book is an eye opener. Professor Tim Minshall drags you into global factory floors and unravels the complex chains behind everything we own, from a smartphone to a pair of jeans. What is the similarity between a blacksmith and a kitchen? What do sugar and paper production have in common? Who on earth builds a factory to produce 1 product, and then tear down the factory?

For an investor, this book is worth its weight in gold. It forces you to look beyond the quarterly figures and understand the real, physical risks in your portfolio: from supply chain disruptions to the impact of geopolitics on production costs. After reading, you will look at the industrial companies you invest in with a completely different, sharper perspective.

2 - The New China Playbook - Keyu Jin

"Investing in China" is a catch-all term that has long since lost its meaning. Economist Keyu Jin breaks with the clichés of the "Chinese dragon" and delivers a surgically precise analysis of the internal engines driving the economy today: a unique mix of tech ambition, a new generation of consumers, demographic challenges and tight political control. Anyone investing in emerging markets - or Western companies that lean heavily on China - cannot avoid this book. Jin gives you the tools to make sense of the macroeconomic trends that will shape stock prices in the coming years.

The long-term, data-driven plans, contrast sharply with the gut-feel-of-the-day approach of other world leaders. ‍

3 - Behave - Robert Sapolsky

Perhaps the most important book an investor can read, even if at first glance it is not about money. Why do we sell in a panic at the bottom and buy full of FOMO at the top? Neurologist Robert Sapolsky exposes the biological and psychological roots of our (irrational) behavior. He shows why we, as humans, are so poorly wired to deal with the uncertainty of the stock market.

Starting from the chemical processes in the brain, it becomes systematically more complex and complex until we arrive at cultural and historical explanations for our behavior. A masterpiece by a Nobel laureate.  

Understanding these deep-seated mechanisms is the best protection against the most expensive investment mistakes (and other mistakes). This book is the ultimate course in behavioral finance.

4 - 100 Baggers - Chris Mayer

This is not a dry theory, but a true treasure hunt. Chris Mayer goes in search of the holy grail of investing: stocks that go times 100. It is a practical and inspiring handbook for the ambitious stock picker.

Mayer analyzes the anatomy of the most successful stocks ever and distills from it a checklist for identifying tomorrow's winners yourself. A book that not only makes you wiser, but also makes you dream again about the potential of stock picking. ‍

5 - The Contrarian - Max Chafkin

To understand where Silicon Valley and some of today's capital markets are headed, you need to understand the thinking of Peter Thiel. Co-founder of PayPal, first outside investor in Facebook, and a political powerhouse. Unlike that other founder of PayPal, Elon Musk, Thiel prefers to stay a bit in the background;

This book is not a paean, but a critical analysis of the man whose investments and radical ideas are shaping the tech industry.  

It offers a crucial insight into an influential movement that connects capital, technology and politics in a way we hardly know in Europe. Essential to understanding the power dynamics behind the tech giants, and the direction the U.S. will take in the coming years.  

From our own bookcase

Summer is also perfect for seeking depth. A fascinating dive into the history of monetary depreciation can be found in Golden Land by notary Luc Ghesquière, who uses the price of farmland over the centuries to show how purchasing power evaporates.

And for those who want to give concrete meaning to the investor adage "do your homework," there is Beyond the Noise by our own in-house analyst Jens Verbrugge. The book offers insights and analysis tools you often miss in the financial press, and is a light-hearted guide that teaches how to analyze companies yourself, and how to distinguish between market noise and the things that really matter.

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In short, whether you want to fathom the psychology behind market mania, seek the next growth engine or better assess the geopolitical risks in your portfolio, these books will make your time in the sun an investment guaranteed to pay off in the long run. After all, a sharp mind is the best starting point for a healthy portfolio. Happy reading summer

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