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Loading... The Zurich Axioms (edition 1992)by Max Gunther
Work InformationThe Zurich Axioms by Max Gunther
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) harishwriter | Oct 12, 2023 |  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 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. (  ) m8eyboy | Aug 13, 2006 | no reviews | add a review
If you want to get rich, no matter how inexperienced you are in investment, this book can help you. Its message is that you must learn neither to avoid risk nor to court it foolhardily, but 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 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 has 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. No library descriptions found. |
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