Amid the furious frenzy on the exchange trading floor at the Chicago Mercantile Group, there is always time to learn to become a better trader.
As an trader/analyst/commentator and ex-floor guy, I’m often asked for recommendations on the best books to read. I assume that intriguing minds don’t care about fly fishing fiction that takes me to quiet streams in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in God’s country, but rather some industry insight.
My everyday walk past the rows and rows of desks lining the trading floor, less occupied as most of the action is now on the screen as opposed to through a scream of bid or ask prices, uncovered a book bonanza that is worth sharing.
This random collection of reading material from this unofficial Trading Floor Book Club got my attention.
The first book on the list is the classic Reminiscences of a Stock Operator first published in 1923 chronicling the famed Jesse Livermore with quotes that have held the test of time, such as this one: “There is one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or bear side, but the right side.”
Jack Schwager’s Market Wizards is a must read for the mindset of the best of the best in the business.
Here are 4 others that many people on the trading floor read:
1) Rotten Heart of Europe: The Dirty War for Europe’s Money by Bernard Connolly – A prominent European economist was fired for honest evaluation of one currency. Amazing foresight into potential economic and social problems ahead in the EU.
2) David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell – The author challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages.
3) The Quest for Alpha: The Holy Grail of Investing by Larry E. Swedroe–The debate between passive investing and stock picking with market timing techniques.
4) Investment Mistakes even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them by Larry E. Swedroe and RC Balaban- How to avoid being your worst enemy and how to win by not losing.
An interesting aside, the bookmark for this collection was a catholic prayer card, which I hope is not a trading discipline.
Have you read any of these books? Which ones would you recommend?
