Top 20 Finance BooksO F A L L T I M E

A Random Walk Down Wall Street1973

“Paean to passive investing long before its time”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.38 Market Efficiency1.56 Technical Analysis

The Big Short

“The canary in the coalmine”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.36 Market Organization and Structure1.38 Market Efficiency1.50 Introduction to Alternative Investments2.36 Credit Default Swaps

1

Liar’s Poker

1989

“What trading has in common with poker”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.45 Introduction to Asset-Backed Securities2.34 Valuation and Analysis of Bonds with Embedded Options

3

The Smartest Guysin the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

2003

“Did you spot that they didn’t publish a quarterly balance sheet?!”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.20 Financial Reporting Standards1.22 Understanding Balance Sheets1.21 Understanding Income Statements1.29 Financial Reporting Quality1.31 Introduction to Corporate Governance and Other ESG Considerations

5

Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street

1992

“Financial Theory 101”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1. 52 Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I1.53 Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II1.49 Basics of Derivative Pricing and Valuation3.11 Capital Market Expectations, Part 2: Forecasting Asset Class Returns

9

Too Big to Fail

2009

“Enough said”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.45 Introduction to Asset-Backed Securities2.12 Economics of Regulation2.16 Analysis of Financial Institutions2.36 Credit Default Swaps

11

Chasing Goldman Sachs

2010

“How banking has changed”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

2.16 Analysis of Financial Institutions

13

Fooled by Randomness:The Hidden Role of Chance in Life

2001

“Self-attribution bias”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

3.8 The Behavioral Biases of Individuals

15

Bogle On Mutual Funds:New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor

1993

“The secrets to Vanguard’s success”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

3.33 Portfolio Management for Institutional Investors3.23 Passive Equity Investing

17

Capital Ideas Evolving

2007

“Financial theory 102”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

3.26: Hedge Fund Strategies

19

Barbarians at the Gate

“How much to pay for RJR Nabisco? Let’s build an LBO model…”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.31 Introduction to Corporate Governance and Other ESG Considerations2.22 Corporate Governance and Other ESG Considerations in Investment Analysis2.23 Mergers and Acquisitions2.24 Equity Valuation: Applications and Processes

7

2

The Intelligent Investor

“The dawn of value investing and equity valuation”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

2.24 Equity Valuation: Applications and Processes2.26 Industry and Company Analysis2.27 Discounted Dividend Valuation2.28 Free Cash Flow Valuation2.29 Market-Based Valuation: Price and Enterprise Value Multiples

1949

4

Mania, Panics & Crashes: A History of Financial Crises

“It turns out finance is a social science”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

3.8: “The Behavioral Biases of Individuals”

1978

6

When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management

“Investment strategies work beautifully until they don’t”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.26 Hedge Fund Strategies1.55 Introduction to Risk Management

2000

8

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt

“Complexity simplified”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

2.48 Trading Costs and Electronic Markets1.1 Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

2015

12

The Black Swan:The Impact of the Highly Improbable

“Did you see it coming at the time? Really?”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

3.7 The Behavioral Finance Perspective3.8 The Behavioral Biases of Individuals3.9 Behavioral Finance and Investment Processes

2007

14

The Warren Buffett Way:Investment Strategies of the World’s Greatest Investor

“Stick to what you know. If you don’t understand it, don’t buy it”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.40 Introduction to Industry and Company Analysis2.26 Industry and Company Analysis

2004

16

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense:The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers

“Lehman post-mortem”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

2.16 Analysis of Financial Institutions

2010

18

Den of Thieves

“Walking round Manhattan with a bag of cash? Red flag”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.2 Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

1992

20

One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market

“You thought the iPod was cool in 2003, right? So why didn’t you buy the stock?”

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CFA PROGRAM RELEVANT READINGS

1.40 Introduction to Industry and Company Analysis2.26 Industry and Company Analysis

10

Based on

Recommended Books for Finance Students:An Annotated Bibliography and Finance Faculty Ratings

By George W. Kester, D.B.A. and Timothy B. Michael, Ph.D.

Read their complete white paper here.

Another quality extra-curricular list from Professors Kester and Michael for those who want to im-

press their interviewers, bosses and co-workers with their rounded finance education. If this list

makes you feel inadequate, don’t despair. It has taken the head of the CFA Program 25 years to

read just 8 of these 20 books. It was a tough call, but his favorite was Den of Thieves which he

describes as a “Manhattan crime drama”.