The Zurich Axioms
by Max Gunther
On This Page
Description
Harriman Classics with a new foreword by James P. O'ShaughnessyIf you want to get rich, no matter how inexperienced you are in investment, this book can help you. Its message is that you must not avoid risk, nor court it foolhardily, but learn how to manage it - and enjoy it too.The 12 major and 16 minor Zurich Axioms contained in this book are a set of principles providing a practical philosophy for the realistic management of risk, which can be followed successfully by anyone, not merely show more the 'experts'. Several of the Axioms fly right in the face of the traditional wisdom of the investment advice business - yet the enterprising Swiss speculators who devised them became rich, while many investors who follow the conventional path do not.Max Gunther, whose father was one of the original speculators who devised the Axioms, made his first capital gain on the stock market at the age of 13 and never looked back. Now the rest of us can follow in his footsteps. Startlingly straightforward, the Axioms are explained in a book that is not only extremely entertaining but will prove invaluable to any investor, whether in stocks, commodities, art, antiques or real estate, who is willing to take risk on its own terms and chance a little to gain a lot. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Over decades a cabal of expatriate Swiss bankers meet in New York bars to discuss their speculative deals and determine a set of universal investment truths.
It could be the scene of a thriller. In fact it is the makings of an investment classic ... The axioms are not commandments. They are vague and intertwined truths. An excuse to knit a series of stories together to make a folksy philosophy.
The twelfth axiom (you cannot plan the future because you do not know what it will hold) is a lot like the fourth (do not stake your wealth on a forecast, the future cannot be told) and they all owe something to the tenth (disregard the majority opinion, it is probably wrong).
It is a simple, appealing philosophy: Think for yourself and avoid the show more common psychological pitfalls and you will make riches.
Take the couple who bought real estate in the wilderness, speculating roads would be built and pipes laid as the property company enthused. They were not. The couple had succumbed to optimism and greed. Had they considered the possibility of disappointment they may have bought a more expensive plot closer to existing amenities, which they could have extended themselves if necessary. They may have lost money, but not everything.
It is easy to be convinced, you want to be.
But there is more to the axioms than an appeal to man's baser instincts and a few salutary tales. First of all, the axioms made their creators very rich, apparently.
Secondly they trash conventional investment advice like diversification and liberate the investor to follow hunches - provided they are well thought through.
Agree or disagree, by picking apart the mechanics of buy and sell decisions the axioms challenge us all to work out precisely why we make the decisions we do.
It is an important exercise because, as Gunther reels off story after story of financial ruin it becomes increasingly apparent that without axioms the investor is reliant on blind luck. show less
It could be the scene of a thriller. In fact it is the makings of an investment classic ... The axioms are not commandments. They are vague and intertwined truths. An excuse to knit a series of stories together to make a folksy philosophy.
The twelfth axiom (you cannot plan the future because you do not know what it will hold) is a lot like the fourth (do not stake your wealth on a forecast, the future cannot be told) and they all owe something to the tenth (disregard the majority opinion, it is probably wrong).
It is a simple, appealing philosophy: Think for yourself and avoid the show more common psychological pitfalls and you will make riches.
Take the couple who bought real estate in the wilderness, speculating roads would be built and pipes laid as the property company enthused. They were not. The couple had succumbed to optimism and greed. Had they considered the possibility of disappointment they may have bought a more expensive plot closer to existing amenities, which they could have extended themselves if necessary. They may have lost money, but not everything.
It is easy to be convinced, you want to be.
But there is more to the axioms than an appeal to man's baser instincts and a few salutary tales. First of all, the axioms made their creators very rich, apparently.
Secondly they trash conventional investment advice like diversification and liberate the investor to follow hunches - provided they are well thought through.
Agree or disagree, by picking apart the mechanics of buy and sell decisions the axioms challenge us all to work out precisely why we make the decisions we do.
It is an important exercise because, as Gunther reels off story after story of financial ruin it becomes increasingly apparent that without axioms the investor is reliant on blind luck. show less
iconoclastic investment ideas. Most of them go against the conventional wisdom. Has to be taken with a pinch of salt. And if you are in hurry, you can skip the case studies associated with axioms
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
19+ Works 423 Members
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 221
- Popularity
- 146,968
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.65)
- Languages
- English, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 18
- ASINs
- 8
