DIARY OF A PORTFOLIO MANAGER
December 19, 2025
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up.”
Good afternoon,
It’s been an interesting year. I don’t think I have read a book or magazine without being distracted and putting it down, then reading something else before coming back to it. I don’t think it’s ADHD but rather that nothing has captivated me that much. Same goes with movies, TV shows. Looking back on it, I appear to have five things on the go at all times. Keeps it interesting. The list below are definitely things that are in my sphere of interest and definitely won’t appeal to everyone.
I READ THESE TO BECOME BETTER AT CONVEYING CONCEPTS WHEN MEETING WITH YOU THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation
From the bestselling author (Andrew Ross Sorkin) of Too Big to Fail, “the definitive history of the 2008 banking crisis,” (The Atlantic) comes a riveting narrative of the most infamous stock market crash in history—one with ripple effects that still shape our society today. What it interesting is just how much naïveté and leverage (most investors borrowed 90% against their portfolios). Speculation, fraud, credit, extreme valuations - how could it not have gone wrong?
The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life by Sahil Bloom
It’s on the bookshelf in the “to read soon” pile but the author has impressed me when I saw him being interviewed.
The Intelligent Investor, 3rd Edition
Updated in 2024; first published in the 1930s. The bible on “Value Investing” and yet value investing has been out of vogue lately. Not for the faint of heart but a must read for the young person in your life entering the finance industry.
How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a happy, successful, and wealthy retirement
Written by a Director at Morningstar (one of the tools we use to assist with intrinsic value calculations). I like that there is a lot of discussion about the non-financial aspects of retirement.
The Counting House
With its wry appreciation for the absurd, The Counting House lays claim to the title of funniest novel about American business. Underneath the humor, however, is an unprecedented, necessary story of the inner life of investing: a story that reveals how the workings of our daily lives rest upon the market's unforgiving truths.
The Trading Game: a Confession
Street Freak: A Memoir of Money and Madness
Both of the above books I read in their entirety. Both are autobiographical and both written by troubled individuals dealing with some level of mental illness.
Winning the Loser’s Game
Comparing investing to tennis, the key concept is that successful investing involves making fewer mistakes vs a lot of big wins. Also looks at pitfalls of market timing.
The Anxious Investor
Another one in the “to read soon” pile. I’ve read the author’s previous books and was impressed when I heard him on a recent podcast. Will get to it over the holidays with some eggnog close by.
NEED TO LAUGH AT SOME POINT
A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap.
For the first time, director Rob Reiner and co-creators Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer provide the full behind-the-scenes story of the making of the groundbreaking mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap and its sequel. I admit that I did not get the original movie when it came out in 1982. Then again, I was 12 and most adults didn’t get it either. I get it now…
What This Comedian Said Will Shock You
Big fan of Bill Maher. Like his show because both political sides are invited to share their views.
Steve Martin Writes the Written Word
I remember my uncle lending me his Steve Martin comedy albums in the 1970s. Couldn’t figure out how someone who looked so serious could say such nutty things. Great writer and the recent documentary about him also worth checking out.
Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
A book about the Canadian who’s been at the helm of the show for 50 years. A great look behind the scenes of the show.
Harold
Steven Wright, the dry comic with the absurd one-liners, writes a novel that follows the thoughts of a 1960s third grader during a single day at school.
RANDOM
The Amplified Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana
“Just tell the truth. That’ll be better than anything else that's been written about me.”—Kurt Cobain to author Michael Azerrad
Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine
Brock Yates, famous Car and Driver editor, wrote this many years ago. I re-read it when the movie version came out. The movie is somewhat dark and tells the story of a somewhat complicated man.
The Doorman
First read for me from Chris Pavone and the first fiction book on this list. Well regarded and I can see why it is a New York Times Notable book of 2025.
The Lincoln Highway
I meant to buy the Lincoln Lawyer and got this instead. Kidding. Interesting story from multiple points of view and multi-layered which is a format that I am a fan of.
The Financier
Another piece of historical fiction, this one going back to the late 19th century.
Junk to Gold
Inspirational story of the founder of Copart who built the multi-billion dollar business from humble beginnings.
Formula 1 The Pursuit of Speed
Formula 1 75 Years
These were gifts that I received as I was heading off to Silverstone this past July. Lots of pictures as well as words. Good gift idea for the F1 fan in your life and I think they were purchased on sale at Home Sense.
Holiday season is upon us. Your DS team will be taking turns being off here and there during the holidays but one of us will be in the office on days that are not holidays should you need anything.
Thank you for another great year.
