Everyone has to start somewhere when it comes to investing. You can learn from your own experience, or take advantage of years of experience from professional investors. They can help steer you towards better investments and show you how you can build your own financial future.
Here are two investing books I myself read, learning the ins and outs for my own investments. Also, I have three stocks that could match the philosophies that these two famous investors follow.
— Beating the Street by Peter Lynch was my very first investing book and what a way to start. Lynch was a former fund manager with Fidelity Investments who had a fantastic track record for investment returns. His investment style was to look for undervalued companies, sometimes in unloved industries, and figure out what their value might be once the stockmarket finally realised their earnings potential. He taught that you have to "turn over many rocks" to find one good company.
He also told readers to buy what they know and to use their natural buying skills to distinguish quality stocks at bargain prices. If he was in Australia, he would point to companies like Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) because of the strong growth potential of a famous food chain franchise. I think he would also like ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARP) for its well-known off-road vehicle parts and accessories retailing business. It's a strong brand that satisfies a much loved four-wheel driving passion in Australia.
— The New Buffettology by the former daughter-in-law of Warren Buffett, Mary Buffett, and David Clark gave me insight into how the most successful investor of our time chooses stocks. This is the book that showed me why Buffett only invests in companies that have competitive advantages which can last decades.
His own investment in the Coca-Cola Company was based on the popularity of the mighty soft drink and a high probability of people drinking it for many decades to come. That could also be a good reason to invest in Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL), the bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola in Australia and four other countries. Right now, the company is restructuring itself to improve its margins and cut costs, so we may be able to emulate Buffett by starting a position in Coca-Cola Amatil and possibly get a good return over the long term.