One Up On Wall Street: How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Market Paperback – April 3, 2000

Decided to pick up this book after reading Kiyosaki's bestseller, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I've lost a bit of money in the market (2001 - 2004, but who hasn't?) and resolved to myself that I would learn more about investing. Kiyosaki's recommendation was for Lynch's other book, "Beating the Street" but "One Up on Wall Street" looked more interesting and timely.Given that I'm from the Boston area, I was already familiar with Peter Lynch and Fidelity Investments. Lynch's claim to fame was managing Fidelity's flagship mutual fund, Magellan, to stellar returns over many years. Lynch's advice in this book is based around the premise that most mutual fund managers while professionals, are often conservative in nature as compared to individual investors. They are bound to rules and regulations within their industry and trying to move a billion dollars worth of equities can be slow and tedious. Also their tendency to protect their capital and follow the pack means that most fund managers only perform adequately and don't really earn their pay.According to Lynch, an informed and educated individual investor can match or beat most fund managers. He has a much better chance of beating these professionals if he looks for undervalued stocks and stays in for the long-haul. Not that much different from Warren Buffet's investing mantra, it's all about assets and earnings. Lynch recommends going for the smaller growth stocks with strong fundamentals to really impact your portfolio since they are typically under most fund managers' radar screens. Once they are discovered, you can ride the stock up as they take positions. Finding these diamonds in the rough requires a bit of screening and research but all the tools and information are now available to the average investor on the internet. Oftentimes, these diamonds are right under your nose, businesses that you are familiar with as an every-day consumer.I really enjoyed Lynch's writing style, he mixes substantive graphs and real-life examples with self-deprecating wit and personal stories. It's comforting to know that even a investment guru like himself is capable of making (and learning from) mistakes. There are a handful of chapters and pages that are particularly useful providing broad guidelines and metrics that one should use when analyzing stocks.The bottom line is if you want to make money investing, you need to identify what type of investor you are, do your research and homework on companies, invest in stocks that meet your criteria/goals and keep an eye on things. The work required is not insignificant but if you don't do your homework, you're better off going to Las Vegas and betting on red. Overall, Beating the Street is not only an enjoyable read but a really wonderful overview of how to create a personal investment strategy. I tip my hat to Mr. Lynch for this great primer, all beginner investors should have this book on their bookshelf...

The 1% of people who don't like this book consist of 1. Some printing problems. 2 The majority don't like the book because it is too "outdated, not current information, won't work today." Blasphemy! "This time it's different," the most dangerous words in investing.I am 40 years as an investor and advisor. This book is the most accessible, very fun to read, more-so if you golf. I use his original formulas as do many hundreds of money managers. He is a national treasure.Those 1% are mostly new investors that are "mistaking a bull market for brains," as Buffett says. They fancy themselves as "traders." They will change, or fail. They want to know where technical analysis is in the book. Well, Lynch has a famous quote about that. It doesn't work. The proof is that of 10's of thousand of managed funds, not one uses technical analysis day to day for choosing stock. Technical Analysis is for magical thinkers and pattern seekers. Buy it! You will make money and have fun doing it.

It is a very useful book for novices who want to gain some basic knowledge and concepts about how stocks work in the financial market and how to select the best portfolio of securities. Peter Lynch made many seemingly difficult concepts easier to understand and to highlight their practical significance. He shared his valuable experiences and told us how he felt or how he dealt with losses and success when investing. This is one of my favorite financial advice books ever. I am still applying the tips I found in here.Pros:* The book is well-written and structure so that even laymen can easy to understand* Reads like a story book, goes over some of Peter's personal successes and losses* Provides many examples based on Peter's experience* Describes his failures and lesson learnt, giving a balanced view* Uses common sense and explains things in ways that are logical. (For instance: He points out many investors try to time the market, rather than to focus on researching companies or using knowledge that they have which gives them a personal edge.)* Timeless book.Cons:* Some of the tips do require you to actually have some financial networks or resources to apply.Any book will only be as valuable as what you personally take out of it. If you are already a savvy financial guru, then maybe you don't need to read this book. If you have read 10,000 financial books, maybe this is too easy or basic for you. If you are intimately connected with the financial sector, again, why are you reading books that are intended for the ordinary masses? This book is stellar!