Here are 12 books which are filled with great ideas and concepts to help you sharpen your skills and your practice.
As an investment professional, knowledge is the ‘brahmastra’ that will help you realize the full potential of the new opportunities presented by market.
Here are 12 books, which range from basics of investment to practice management, which are essential reading for you in 2015.
1. Art of thinking clearly
Penned by Swiss author and entrepreneur Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly deals with human psychology and reasoning. The book tells us about the 99 common fallacies of our thinking which lead us to make mistakes and gives us practical advice and tips on how to think better.
2. Pound foolish
Journalist Helaine Olone exposes the myths, contradictions and outright lies of the personal finance industry in this book. One such often cited myth is that women are bad at managing finances. It is a compelling book which forces us to change the way we think and talk about money.
3. Intelligent Investor
First published in 1949, Intelligent Investor written by Ben Graham is the most acclaimed book on value investing. Described as ‘by far the best book on investing ever written’ by the legendary Warren Buffet, this is a ‘must read’ book for all investment professionals.
4. Fooled by Randomness
Author Nassim Nicholas Taleb uses a mix of philosophy, science and personal anecdotes to bring out the hidden role of chance in life and business. A key lesson for investment professionals is that random events do change the outcomes of our decisions and actions.
5. Questions great financial advisors ask and investors need to know
Alan Parisse’s book will help advisors strengthen their probing techniques. The book contains questions, suggestions and stories from some of the world’s top financial advisors, including a chapter on ‘great questions to ask’.
6. Investing psychology explained
This seminal work in behavioural finance by Martin J Pring shows how to overcome emotional and psychological barriers that can lead to faulty decision making and offers classic trading principles that have stood the test of time in the bull and bear markets.
7. Story selling for financial advisors
Make the complex, simple and understandable is what Scott West and Mitch Anthony advocate in this book. The author shows with real life examples how describing a financial concept with the help of a story helps engage a client.
8. Ineffective habits of financial advisors (and the disciplines to break them)
The book is a step-by-step guide to on how advisors can bring excellence into every client interaction, generate higher revenue per client and take their practice to a new level. The book lists the ineffective habits of advisors which are countered with a discipline to help them improve their practice
9. e-myth
Michael Steranka’s e-myth teaches how advisors can put systems and processes in place to professionalize their business. The book will help budding advisors start a successful practice from scratch and experienced advisors to maximize their practice’s performance.
10. Common Sense on Mutual Funds
The founder of Vanguard Group, John Bogle has highlighted how an approach based on common sense and simplicity can deliver effective results. He makes out a strong case for indexing, an advice that advisors in India need to pay more heed to.
11. The Art of Sale
Philip Delves Broughton mines powerful insights after interviewing some of the world’s most remarkable salespeople. So whether you are selling a plan, advice or a product, there is a lot to be learnt from this book.
12. In search of the perfect model
Advisor or distributor? Fee based or commission led? Niche or mass clientele? What kind of business should you build? If you have grappled with some of these issues, you will find many useful pointers in Mary Rowland’s book.
Let us know if you have read a book which can be of help to advisors. Happy reading!
