The Little Book of Bull's Eye Investing: Finding Value, Generating Absolute Returns, and Controlling Risk in Turbulent Markets

by John Mauldin

To make money in this troubled economy you need to understand where the markets are headed, not where they?ve been. Clinging to outdated strategies and played out market trends are sure ways to miss out on new investments, and in The Little Book of Bull?s Eye Investing, acclaimed investment expert John Mauldin teaches you how to read the direction of the markets to make decisions that capitalize on today?s investment opportunities. A practical road map to what?s in store for the markets to help you stay ahead of the curve, the book debunks many of the myths that have come to govern investment logic, particularly the buy-and-hold, relative return vehicles that Wall Street peddles to unsuspecting investors. Giving you a clear view of the trends shaping the markets right now which are likely to provide investment options for the decade ahead, The Little Book of Bull?s Eye Investing teaches the value of careful research before you put your money to work.

Whether the market is on its way up or down, there are always excellent opportunities to invest profitably. You just need to know where they are. Looking at how the markets have behaved in the past to make an educated prediction about where they?re going, The Little Book of Bull?s Eye Investing explains how to make investment decisions that make sense today, whether you?re trading stocks, bonds, gold, real estate, or anything else.

Making the most of the markets is like hitting a moving target?difficult, but not impossible?and with The Little Book of Bull?s Eye Investing in hand, you have everything you need to improve your eye for investing and make stable and secure trading decisions that can turn a profit in even the most turbulent of times.

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Business, Audiobook

154 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2012

About the author

John Mauldin is a renowned financial expert, a best-selling author, and a pioneering online economic commentator. His weekly e-newsletter, Thoughts From The Frontline, was one of the first publications to provide investors with free, unbiased information. Today, it is one of the most widely distributed investment newsletters in the world, translated into many languages. He is also the President of Millennium Wave Investments.

Reviews

[Jackson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mauldin beings with hunting analogies to explain his investment thesis: when hunting with a rifle, you aim at where the prey is going to go, not where it is. Therefore, from the standpoint of investing, you should invest in those markets and securities that are bound to go up, not those that are bound to go down. But how do we know what is going to go up or down and when it's going to happen? It is essentially an exercise in market timing and he spends 3/4 of the book citing various studies on what he thinks is a reliable way to time markets: mean reversion. He provides numerical studies to show some mysterious 17-year bull/bear cycle, mentions value investing and how PE's will mean revert, and based on his philosophy of mean reversion, advises that the market is headed for a deep 'secular' bear market and advocates a heavy investment in gold at the time of writing (2012), both of which he has gotten spectacularly wrong at the time of writing this review (2018). His entire book talks about correlation without mentioning causation, there is no deep thought into why things will mean revert, what underlying factors that cause mean reversion to work, and when it will not work...

[Niranjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has good insights on how markets move in long term and how valuations at the time of investment determine the returns, even over the next decade. I liked the book's approach of highlighting how individual investors are mislead by market cheerleaders to buy irrespective of valuations and why buy and hold at any valuation might not work for long term returns. The book, while being US centric, also gives a good primer on the important trends in the world economy. That said, where I find the book lacking is the amount of depth the author goes in helping investors figure out if any asset is over or undervalued. It is a good one time read and very refreshing to see someone debunk blind buy and hold without considering valuations. But then, you will need to work out to figure out what is right for you.

[Arun Narayanaswamy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dated take on what’s happening in the investment world. Books starts with generic concepts of investments and where things go wrong. Gives some facts and figures on how the equity market trends. And ends as usual with a marketing pitch to say, ‘thanks for buying my book, now also subscribe to my newsletter so that I can keep selling “.
This book has not aged well, it’s assumes and predicts trends which have not happened. Which exactly is what the book is trying to teach but goes against.
Might have made sense in the past, don’t waste time on this now!

[David Green · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read a lot of books on investing stocks and most offer at the very least something of use. This book is garbage. All it is is stock market gobbledygook with a catchy title. Don't waste your money. I want a refund.

[Kevin Demel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part of this book was his thoughts on Bull and Bear cycles each take about 17 years and buy and hold won't always work when the cycle is this long. He did make a recommendation to invest based on deep value but the work to do this is probably a full time job.

[JS · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's macro predictions, underscored throughout the book, did not come to fruition in the decade following publication, 2012. However, this short book is still worth a read, namely for the portions pertaining to market psychology and the snippets about about various traders/investors.

[Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book mostly just makes a case for there being a current secular bear market which will remain here for about 5 more years, with a little lightweight advice about what kind of stock to invest in a bear market (from a strong value-oriented point of view). There's even a chapter on alternative investments such as gold, commodities, real estate, and starting your own business, but like the rest of the book it's a very surface treatment. I think you can get almost everything this book says in The Little Book of Sideways Markets: How to Make Money in Markets That Go Nowhere, but that book has a lot more including more solid information about how to find and evaluate companies.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of John's five million plus closest friends, it is difficult for me to be objective about his work. After reading the original Bull's Eye Investing, I signed up for his free newsletter (which I highly recommend.) For year's now I have been receiving the newsletter and other interesting emails. The book is a bit brief if you are new to his opinions. Another reader suggested the original book which is much more in depth. For me this little book was a refresher course and an update to the present day (as of early 2012.) I appreciated it for those reasons.

[John Barbour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bottom lines: We are in a secular bear market. It began in 2000. There will probably be 2 more recessions before it ends. The heart of the book is in chapter seven " The Essence of Bull's Eye Investing". During a secular bear, go back to Graham's number and start there. I found a stock screen here: http://www.grahaminvestor.com/screens... But really do your research. If possible create an investing team with 10 members from different walks of life and divide up the work. Happy value investing!

[Dzung Vuong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Know what you invest. Do your homework thoroughly.