A new book from Michael J. Mauboussin

The Investing Mind

A guide to the principles and processes of successful investing. Renowned investment strategist Michael J. Mauboussin reveals the ten most important attributes of successful investors.

Hardcover · Harriman House · Pre-order price guarantee

The Investing Mind book cover

About the book

Not what to think.
How to think well.

Michael Mauboussin has spent 40 years on Wall Street and more than three decades teaching investment analysis at Columbia Business School. In that time, he has met, worked with, taught and studied many great investors.

Now, for the first time, he brings that wealth of experience together and answers the question: what are the qualities that lead to success in financial markets? As Mauboussin shows, this is not about what investors should think. It is about how investors can think well.

In The Investing Mind, Mauboussin discusses the importance of practical abilities such as numeracy, capital allocation and balancing risk versus reward, as well as behavioral qualities including assessing strategy, understanding your own bias, and maintaining an open mind.

In an increasingly competitive investment landscape, The Investing Mind provides actionable insights for investors. It is a must-read for anyone who makes decisions under conditions of uncertainty, including investors everywhere.

You’ll learn

01

Think probabilistically

How and why investors need to think probabilistically when the future refuses to sit still.

02

Always ask, “Compared to what?”

Every judgment of value, skill, or performance only means something against the right benchmark.

03

Play to your strengths

How to play to your strengths and avoid playing the wrong games.

04

And much, much more

Actionable insights for anyone who makes decisions under conditions of uncertainty.

From the book

The Snowball Effect

“Life is like a snowball. The important thing is finding wet snow and a really long hill.”

Warren Buffett

Pack a snowball, pick your snow and your hill, and let it roll. It grows slowly at first. Then all at once.

diameter
30 cm
how well it packs
60%
fresh powder
15 cm
grade
14°
the long hill
150 m
If it keeps rolling Ø 1.7 m

Pack the snow, set the hill, and let it roll.

About the author

Michael J.
Mauboussin

Michael J. Mauboussin is one of the most respected voices in investing, a strategist known for bridging the worlds of finance, psychology, and complex systems.

He has spent 40 years on Wall Street and has taught investment analysis at Columbia Business School for more than three decades, where generations of investors have passed through his security analysis course. He is Head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global, Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

His previous books include Expectations Investing (with Alfred Rappaport), More Than You Know, Think Twice, and The Success Equation. These works have shaped how a generation of professionals think about skill, luck, and markets.