In this “library”, we have assembled resources for investors under a range of headings, which we add to, over time. The articles and papers have all been produced in pdf format, so they should be easy to print off – we believe that it’s easier, quicker and more effective to read on paper than on a screen (but of course, you are welcome to read them on screen).
If you click on each category, there is a sub-page with some of the PDFs highlighted.
We are always interested in useful articles, please feel free to share with us at info@behind thebalancesheet.com. Thanks!
Click on the headings to see some of the picks in each section. Sub folders will take you direct to the folders in Dropbox
Academic Papers
These are filed according to the following categories and include both academic papers and commentary from the likes of AQR who produce academic quality research.
Accounting Issues
A dry subject but there are some great articles in here on topics like the worst accounting scandals and even Chain Saw Al Dunlap’s obituary. I may be a geek, but honestly, this can be a fascinating subject.
Behavioural Finance
Lots has been written on this bit we think we have some unusual content, notably some blogs from Essential Analytics.
Books
We respect copyright and I don’t like the fact that my book is freely available in PDF so I will not offer books. In fact the only copyrighted content that we have in the library to our knowledge is certain Credit Suisse papers by Michael Mauboussin who thinks they should be freely available and they are available in multiple places on the internet, similarly with Nick Sleep’s letters where we have also made the author aware. So here you will find mainly periodicals and free books.
Business Strategy
A big subject and one we don’t pretend to have cracked in any detail – there could be a whole library here. But note the memos from Bill Gates, Howard Schulz and others plus stories about great entrepreneurs (Diller, Henry Singleton of Teledyne and others) plus much more, including Zack Kanter’s piece on Amazon, commentary from BCG, HBR and others.
Career as an Analyst
The idea here is to help those who would like to get a job as an analyst, hence a quite varied selection, including advice from Bill Gurley and Steve Jobs.
Current Markets and Outlook
By definition this stuff is out of date – you can see at the top-level directory that there are historical quarterly directories. Most relevant as we wrote this webpage was the 2022 outlooks folder.
Economics
Commentary on monetary policy, interests rate forecasts and two specific folders covering debt and the all important topic of inflation.
Great Investors
In the Great Investors Section, we have all the greats represented. We include investor letters, interviews, commentary from other investors and more in an attempt to understand what makes these greats tick, and to see what we can learn from them:
Michael Mauboussin(OK, technically not an investor but his writings are awesome)
Investment Philosophy
A look at the philosophy of some great investors and some great communicators – understanding how others do it helps you frame your own philosophy but in the end you have to design your own technique to suit your own circumstances and more important psychology.
Letters to Investors
Lots of fund letters, arranged by quarter – we shall at some point create some files of the better investors’ letters by investor. It’s in the plan.
2020
2021
2022
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Company Letters to Shareholders
A few examples of interesting letters, form the likes of Bezos, Buffett, Mark Leonard and more.
Practical Tips
Some really helpful tips from serious investors and commentators
Productivity
A collection of a few recommendations to improve your work life so you have more time for investing.
Research Themes
A few themes which I think are interesting when doing your research.
Sector Research
A few folders with sectoral research.
Stocks
Nothing to explain about stock notes but organised into tech and other:
Themes to Invest In
Some general strategic notes organised by some important themes.
Urbanisation and Globalisation
Valuation
A collection of notes about valuation.
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