We live in an age of serial asset bubbles and spectacular busts. Economists, policymakers, central bankers and most people in the financial world have been blindsided by these busts, while investors have lost trillions. Economists argue that bubbles can only be spotted after they burst and that market moves are unpredictable. Yet Marathon Asset Management, a London-based investment firm managing over $50 billion of assets has developed a relatively simple method for identifying and potentially avoiding them: follow the money, or rather the trail of investment. Bubbles whether they affect a whole economy or merely a single industry, tend to attract a splurge of capital spending. Excessive investment drives down returns and leads inexorably to a bust. This was the case with both the technology bubble at the turn of the century and the US housing bubble which followed shortly after. More recently, vast sums have been invested in mining and energy. From an investor's perspective, the trick is to avoid investing in sectors, or markets, where investment spending is unduly elevated and competition is fierce, and to put one's money to work where capital expenditure is depressed, competitive conditions are more favourable and, as a result, prospective investment returns are higher. This capital cycle strategy encourages investors to eschew the simple 'growth' and 'value' dichotomy and identify firms that can deliver superior returns either because capital has been taken out of an industry, or because the business has strong barriers to entry (what Warren Buffett refers to as a 'moat'). Some of Marathon's most successful investments have come from obscure, sometimes niche operations whose businesses are protected from the destructive forces of the capital cycle. Capital Returns is a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practical implementation of the capital cycle approach to investment. Edited and with an introduction by Edward Chancellor, the book brings together 60 of the most insightful reports written between 2002 and 2014 by Marathon portfolio managers. Capital Returns provides key insights into the capital cycle strategy, all supported with real life examples from global brewers to the semiconductor industry - showing how this approach can be usefully applied to different industry conditions and how, prior to 2008, it helped protect assets from financial catastrophe. This book will be a welcome reference for serious investors who looking to maximise portfolio returns over the long run.

Principle Based Investing is the belief that principles must guide our long-term investment decisions and that predictions are useless, regardless of the source. Principles are the foundation of sensible investing. They are what allow us to ignore the day-to-day noise and emotional clatter that can jeopardize rational thinking and sound investment decision-making. In this sensible, well-reasoned book, Alan Skrainka draws on his many years as a successful investment manager to describe the process he has followed to help investors attain their specific objectives. These principles provide the guidance to enable investors to set a logical course, stay on course, and gain the advantages of a sound long-term investment program. Take these lessons to heart. They'll make your investment voyage easier and more successful. Clearly, the proof is in the principles.

A smart, back-to-the-basics approach for generating abnormally high returns Turn the TV on and you’ll hear a chorus of voices telling you where, when, why, and how to invest your money. Founder and editor of the popular investing blog Abnormal Returns Tadas Viskanta has some advice: Don’t listen to them. The truth is, all that noise will just confuse you. In Abnormal Returns, Viskanta reveals the simple truths about fixed income investing, risk management, portfolio management, global investing, ETFs, and active investing. In no time, you’ll have the knowledge you need to address your portfolio issues with skill and confidence. Prices are low and access to quality information is more abundant than ever. Now is the time to kick your investing into high gear with Abnormal Returns.

In the fifteen years he’s been teaching, Dr. Jack Burrow has observed something disturbing. His students at the University of North Carolina Dental School, Department of Orthodontics are the brightest of the bright...but few of them understand the first thing about money. These young people will go onto stellar careers in orthodontics, while having little idea of how to run their own businesses. But help is now at hand! Drawing on the knowledge of some of the most storied investors in the business world, as well as his own successful investment history, Dr. Burrow breaks down the fundamentals of investing and delivers them in bite-sized, digestible bits. His lessons in saving, lifestyle, compounding, how to read financial statements, and how to value a business are absolutely essential to understanding how to make good investment choices. Breezy and fun to read, the skillfully crafted individual lessons and well-chosen excerpted material illuminate the darkest corners of investment strategy. Dr. Burrow’s pathway to financial freedom will be invaluable to young people just starting their careers...though it’s never too late to profit from the lessons he has to teach.

The first book to show individual investors how to move from "active" to "passive" index funds and play a winner's gameThroughout the last fifteen years of the bull market, individual investors were able to participate and amass financial holdings by way of mutual funds. But the constant buying and selling to "beat the market" and grow their fund's wealth also entailed costs and capital gains. And who paid for it? The investor. Over the past 20 years smart investors began switching to index mutual funds to keep more of their money. Index funds buy and hold all of the stocks in an index, dramatically reducing trading costs and taxes. And now, with Larry Swedroe's expert advice, the small investor can take advantage of this investment strategy and win big.In The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need, Larry Swedroe explains: -- How index mutual funds out-earn older investment strategies-- How to pick the right balanced "passive" portfolio that will reward investors with the highest expected return for the amount of risk the investor is willing to accept-- How to play the winner's game with this big and rapidly growing investor trend.Based on over forty years of research by the world's leading financial economists, the advice Larry Swedroe offers in this new and valuable book shows that those willing to move beyond conventional wisdom will open themselves to a method of great financial growth.-- The Only Guide to a W

Paul Cabot (1898–1994) was an innovative mutual fund manager and executive known for his strong character, charismatic personality, and trendsetting achievements. Iconoclastic and rebellious, Cabot broke free from the Boston Brahmin trustee mold to pursue new ways of investing and serving investment clients. Having spent nearly two decades working for Cabot’s company as an analyst, research director, portfolio manager, and chief investment officer, Michael Yogg is well positioned to share the secrets behind Cabot’s extraordinary success. Cabot oversaw the birth of the mutual fund industry in the 1920s and lobbied on behalf of key New Deal securities legislation in the 1930s. As Harvard University Treasurer, he increased endowment allocations to equities, just in time for the bull market of the 1950s, and as a corporate director in the 1960s, campaigned against conglomerates’ abusive takeover strategies. Cabot pioneered the use of fundamental stock analysis and its progressive practice of interviewing company management. His accomplishments all stemmed from his passion for finance, imaginative thinking, and unbreakable will, facets Yogg is able to illuminate through elite access to Cabot’s papers and a wealth of interviews.