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# Readers Win: What to Read to Become a Great Investor
- URL: https://newsletter.richardtoad.com/readers-win-what-to-read-to-become-a-great-investor/
- Published: 2026-10-18T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T05:19:14.000Z
- Author: Richard Toad

During the interview, the PM asked the candidate a simple question: "What are you reading?"

"Honestly, school keeps me pretty busy. I don't get much free time to read." The candidate said.

The interview was over. She just didn't know it yet.

Bill Nygren of Harris Associates hears this answer from candidates who swear they love investing. It puzzles him every time.

> "I get puzzled when I'm interviewing a candidate who claims to have that level of passion about investing and you ask them what they're reading and they say, 'Oh, my reading time is pretty much consumed by school. I don't get much free time to read.

> When I was in school, I was trying to get my hands on every Wall Street research report I could. I was reading investment books that were not part of any course I was taking. That passion comes through in an interview and I think it's really important to be able to demonstrate it. It's not something to fake because you're going to be miserable in this career if it's not an honest passion you're presenting." — Bill Nygren, Portfolio Manager, Harris Associates

In my last article, I said the best way to find your investing style is to test it. This one is about the fuel: what to learn and what to read.

I pulled advice from more than 30 investors, from Howard Marks of Oaktree to Ken Griffin of Citadel to Chris Hohn TCI. There is no variant here – if you don’t love learning, you aren’t going to be a great investor.

### **Good News: This Can Be Trained**

Start with the big question. Is investing a gift you're born with, or a skill you can build?

Sir Chris Hohn, who runs one of the best-performing funds in the world, has good news:

> "Is it talent or can it be trained to become a good investor? I think it can be trained... There's a judgment element of it, but I think it can be trained, for sure." — Sir Chris Hohn, Founder, TCI Fund Management (source: Nicolai Tangen podcast)

Howard Marks agrees, with a catch. You need the right mindset, and you need someone to learn from:

> "If you like responding to an intellectual puzzle and you can stand the ups and downs and the vagaries of being wrong, I think (investing) it's a great area. But you have to equip yourself philosophically to do it, and then you have to have an apprenticeship in which you learn from somebody else who knows how to do it." — Howard Marks, Co-founder, Oaktree Capital

So it can be learned. The next question is how.

### **Rule #1: Read. A Lot.**

![person picking white and red book on bookshelf](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1513475382585-d06e58bcb0e0?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDV8fHJlYWR8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzkyMjA2NzA1fDA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000)

Ask the best investors what separates them, and the same word keeps coming up.

> "You can never rest. You have to learn every day, knowing you're never going to whip this game. I think it's a huge commitment. The best investors I know are really big readers. They are very thoughtful and they're deeply committed. That's not for everybody." — Michael Mauboussin

Lee Ainslie of Maverick Capital keeps it short:

> "Read a lot. Read as many investment books as you can get your hands on. I've been able to learn something from almost every book I have ever read." — Lee Ainslie, Founder, Maverick Capital

And no, a podcast or AI won't replace it.

> "You have to read a lot to understand a lot. That's always been the case, and it always will be the case, I imagine. I don't think podcasts or artificial intelligence will change the need to be eager to learn as much as you can about a lot of different businesses and companies." — Ric Dillon, VELA Investment Management

Larry Robbins and Alex Sacerdote both use the same word: sponge. Soak up every idea, even the ones you won't adopt.

> "You should be a voracious reader and sponge of information from other investors. With all the ideas out there, you do not have to agree with them or adopt them, but you should consider them." — Larry Robbins, Founder, Glenview Capital Management

> "You have to love learning and really get excited when you gain conviction in a theory. You have to be a sponge for information and ready to learn from anyone or anything." — Alex Sacerdote, Founder, Whale Rock Capital Management

Worried you read too slowly? Yen Liow has a fix. He reads 70 to 100 books a year, on top of his daily work reading. And he says it's a learned skill, not a gift:

> "Do a speed-reading course. We read a lot in this business. Effective reading is a highly learnable skill and it takes less than eight hours to become good at it. It is a huge advantage over time. Besides all of the work-related reading I do daily, I try to read 70-100 books a year. I do not read this much because I was born with any special skill - it was a skill I learned 25 years ago and I make time to use it." — Yen Liow, Founder, Aravt Global

So what should you actually read?

### **Start With the Greats**

![a group of presidents carved into the side of a mountain](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4d/60/4d60283d-e94c-4fca-9a5a-8b4eec1b1f23/content/images/2026/10/photo-1644761674961-90f3daefe74b.jpeg)

Almost everyone starts in the same place: Buffett.

Austin Hawley of Diamond Hill says start with Buffett, then follow the string. If you love it, you'll find your way to Greenwald, Greenblatt, Mauboussin, and the rest. He also adds a warning about the mistakes that come with the job:

> "Just start with the classics of reading Buffett. If you really enjoy it, you'll start to on your own pull that string and get to Greenwald and Greenblatt and Mauboussin and all these people who all have different flavors of knowledge that they bring to the broad term of value investing.

> … And I would encourage people just as a piece of advice to really think a lot about your process and how you're going to react to those types of situations and whether that process fits well with the organization where you're working." — Austin Hawley, Diamond Hill Capital Management

Connor Haley of Alta Fox gives the most specific reading list of anyone, particularly for those pursuing event-driven investing:

> "I would read everything Joel Greenblatt has ever put out. I'd read everything that Peter Lynch has ever put out. I'd read the old Warren Buffett partnership letters as well as all of the Berkshire Hathaway annual reports. Read everything that investors with exceptional long-term track records of alpha and outperformance have put out there. And try and really understand how those principles resonate with you. You'll take the best of each of them and weave them in with your own personality and style." — Connor Haley, Alta Fox Capital Management

### **But Don't Just Copy – Synthesize and Form Your Own**

You read a few Buffett letters and decide you're a Buffett investor. That's a trap.

Gavin Baker of Atreides Management is blunt about this:

> “Do not be a philosopher. Do not be a high priest of investment religion. Be a practitioner. Every year, there's this crop of kids who start working at investment managers and think, because they've read Warren Buffett and Michael Mauboussin and Peter Lynch, that they are special. They’re not. Everyone understands all that stuff. Don’t think because you're steeped and versed in Buffett that you're special. Everyone is. Everyone.” – Gavin Baker, Founder, Atreides Management

Paul Moroz of Mawer Investment Management urges you to understand why you believe each principle:

> "You can't blindly latch on to any sort of investment philosophy. As opposed to someone saying 'I read a couple of Warren Buffett's letters, so I'm going to try to invest using his philosophy,' I'd much rather focus on discovering and understanding why I'm making a decision, how I feel about each principle. It's not only a lot of fun, it will also lead to a much clearer understanding of where you stand, as opposed to getting lumped in with a particular brand without even having a core understanding of why you're there." — Paul Moroz, Mawer Investment Management

### **Learn Financial History**

![concrete statues near wall](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1544605718-5142ee501c3a?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDJ8fGdyZWF0JTIwZGVwcmVzc2lvbnxlbnwwfHx8fDE3OTIyMDY4NjN8MA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000)

If there's one subject the old guard begs young investors to study, it's history.

Joe Rosenberg ran money at Loews Corporation for decades. He sees the same problem in his own office:

> "My advice to young people, if they really want to be successful in this business, is to learn financial history. Learn history in general and then dig deeper into financial history and you will not be in such awe of everything that's going on.

> I see the same problem in my office. People just don't know any financial history and they think that everything that is happening is unusual. Everything else can be learned on the job." — Joe Rosenberg, Chief Investment Officer, Loews Corporation

Kevin Tanner says there are no shortcuts. History is on his list too:

> "Learn financial and economic history. Study valuation and finance and keep a world view. Pay attention to everything happening around you." — Kevin Tanner, Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Matt McLennan of First Eagle goes broader: history, biographies, behavior, and the cycles that keep repeating. Do it right, and you build yourself an "invisible board of directors":

> " Learn more broadly about behavior, philosophy of thinking, biographies, and history. Get a sense of the possible. Look at the repeating cycles in human history. There's an abundance of material out there, so you can build your own invisible board of directors, if you will. That's incredibly important." — Matt McLennan, First Eagle Investments

Most investing content is about finding the next ten-bagger. Arthur Young of Tensile Capital says that's the wrong half of history:

> "Study bear markets and unsuccessful investments not only as much as, but more than your successful case studies. Given the bull market we've been in, I can't tell you how many pieces I've seen regarding how to find a successful multi-bagger or a disruptor. Those are terrific, but you should also be focusing on mistakes and why investments didn't work out. And in this bull market that we've been in, I think there's been a lot lost there." — Arthur Young, Tensile Capital Management (said in 2021)

### **Read Way Beyond Finance**

Here's where the best investors get surprising. Many of them say the most useful reading has nothing to do with stocks.

Ken Griffin built Citadel into a giant. If he went back to school, he wouldn't load up on finance classes. He'd study philosophy, government, math, and computer science:

> "I'd probably go back to University and study a bit more in the realm of philosophy and government. Those have been problems that have always interested me. Good governance is important, and having a solid underpinning philosophy I think helps to better policy decisions. I'd probably also take a bit of time to study mathematics and computer science and understand the state-of-the-art today better..." — Ken Griffin

Paul Singer, trained as a lawyer and the founder of Elliott Management, the most enduring and formidable activist investment firm of the world, concurs with Ken Griffin:

> “My advice to those people has been and is... unchanged over a long period of time... that I value a broad classic liberal education. They should not take business courses in college. They should take as much history, political science, philosophy, religion... as they can fit in." – Paul Singer (source: Nicolai Tangen Interview)

Rupal Bhansali calls it a prerequisite. Not a nice-to-have.

> " You should read a wide range of topics, not just finance. When you're researching businesses, it's not just about numbers, it's about business and management strategy. It's about understanding change as opposed to the status quo." — Rupal Bhansali, Ariel Investments

Arthur Young takes it even further. World War II strategy. A stint as an Uber driver. A master's in philosophy. A Ben Franklin biography. A unique view, if it's right, can lead to outsized returns:

> "Expand your horizons beyond traditional investing. Whether it's taking a history class on World War II strategy, doing a stint as an Uber driver, getting a master's degree in philosophy, reading Ben Franklin's biography, the beautiful thing about investing is that it's a discipline where not only is knowledge power, but one where a unique perspective, assuming your perspective is correct, can lead to exponential returns. I also believe that as a long investor, having experience shorting and having experience being on a board or even as an observer or at a private company, is very helpful. Bringing this full circle to the legal side, there's a reason why a lot of the most successful defense attorneys started their careers as prosecutors." — Arthur Young, Tensile Capital Management

Chris Begg of East Coast Asset Management found some of his best insights in Eastern philosophy. Western thinking pushes a model onto the world. Eastern thinking adapts to constant change. That's a lot closer to how markets actually work:

> "On the reading side, over the last couple of years I've found a lot of important and timeless insights in Eastern philosophy. Western thinking is where we're trying to project a model onto the world, and we're trying to see how our model or our projection aligns with the way we think things should be. Oftentimes, the reality is far off. Eastern philosophy is much more about aligning yourself with the constancy of change, and looking at things from the potentiality and the propensity of the outcomes." — Chris Begg, East Coast Asset Management

And if you want to run your own fund one day, Brian Bares says read books about the LP side so you understand your future clients:

> "So for aspiring managers, I wouldn't limit reading to investment philosophy and process. I would extend my reading list to include books like Swensen's, where you can start to understand what your prospective customers think and how they make decisions." — Brian Bares, Bares Capital Management

Now you no longer have to wonder why some of the legendary investors are philosophy majors, good reasoning is way more valuable than the analytics. 

### **The Job Is Never Done**

![A blue sign with "keep going" and an upward arrow](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1779890367112-14f5279c5197?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDN8fGNvbnRpbnVlfGVufDB8fHx8MTc5MjIwNjkxM3ww&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000)

Remember, after you get the job, you have to perform on the job if you want to get paid the big bucks down the road. Don’t read just for landing a job.

> "Learning is a lifetime endeavor. Upon graduation, you need to keep studying and keep reading. Look for patterns because you're going to be building this mental database, a framework of your experience that you'll be able to rely upon to help guide your decision making. Those that develop the greatest practical knowledge end up accumulating the most wealth, not just in terms of monetary rewards, but wealth in terms of friendships and non-monetary pursuits." — Jim Brilliant, Century Management

Matthew Peterson calls it an intellectual treadmill:

> "You're on an intellectual treadmill. You're constantly learning, growing, and evolving." — Matthew Peterson, Peterson Capital Management

To some, that sounds exhausting. To the right person, it's the best part of the job. Bill Stewart says you never get bored, because you can always dig one level deeper:

> " In this business, you have the opportunity to never get bored. For sure, there are 20 big stocks out there that are going to double next year, and the challenge is to go out and find them. I think that challenge is wonderful, and you never get all the way there. You can always improve your methodology, there's always room to do a little bit better, to go an extra mile. If you're talking to a company that you've really got a good story from, you want to check with a competitor, talk to customers; you can always go deeper and learn more. The job is never done." — Bill Stewart, Stewart Asset Management

John Huber of Saber Capital says the drive to get better is the reward itself. And you can start in whatever job you have today:

> "The common denominator that we're all looking for in a career is satisfaction. For me, the best way to achieve satisfaction is to focus on continual improvement. That's what drives me, that's what gets me out of bed in the morning. My ultimate goal is become a great investor, but the motivation to get better at my craft is what I find most fulfilling. The nice thing is, you can do that in any position you're in, any job that you have right out of school, you can start trying to become great at whatever it is you do." — John Huber, Saber Capital Management

Christopher Lin of Fidelity sums up the traits that tie all of this together. It starts with curiosity:

> "Curiosity is one of the foundational characteristics for people I think who do well in this business, and if you're a learner, the investing business is phenomenal. I think that people who do well as investors display curiosity, discipline, patience, judgment, stability, and confidence. Intellectual honesty is very important, as are an absolute hunger to keep learning and willingness to work really hard." — Christopher Lin, Fidelity Investments

### **The Bottom Line**

Go back to the candidate from the start.

She didn't fumble the interview because her stock pitch was bad. She lost it because one honest answer showed she wasn't curious enough. In this business, winners are actually working on their game by getting smarter about the world. And firms test for that, as they should.

Either you love learning or you learn to love it. Or, I guarantee you will fail in this business.

I will repost Stan Druckenmiller’s quote here to remind you why you will always lose if you do not work on your game non-stop even after decades as an investor.

> "There's too many people in the business like me that just love the game and the passion... and they're not going to be \[able\] to out work the people that are passionate in the game and it's not a fun game if you're losing." — Stanley Druckenmiller; Founder, Duquesne Capital; Lead PM, Quantum Fund (source: Nicolai Tangen Interview)

Keep learning. I will see you at work.

Thanks for reading. I'll talk to you next time.

Sources:

- CSIMA newsletter