Why Your Reading List Is More Important Than Your Watchlist

Welcome to the very first edition of Weekly Investing Fundamentals—the newsletter where I dig into practical, no-nonsense strategies to help you become a successful—and sane—investor. Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on Chapter 3 of my book (yep, the Boring Investment Book), where I talk about five key traits that any driven investor should cultivate. Trust me—if you master these, you’re already way ahead of the curve. Today, I’ll discuss the first trait, and next week I’ll explain the second. If you can’t wait, consider purchasing my book.

Love for Reading

I know, reading might sound like a chore, especially when Netflix is calling. But guess what? There’s no shortcut here. Reading annual reports, market analyses, and even random bits of business history hones your “gut feeling” far more than mindlessly scrolling social media. Think of it like fueling a car: no gas, no go. Same with investing—no reading, no growth.

In today’s world, countless distractions make it challenging to focus on reading. However, that actually creates an advantage for those who can shut out these diversions and dedicate time to reading. It’s essential to make that time count by concentrating fully on the task at hand.

There’s no shortcut—you have to read extensively to evaluate a company properly. That means going through not only the latest annual 10-K filing but also those from the past five years. You’ll also need to examine quarterly 10-Q reports for both the company and its competitors over at least the last two years. Your reading list should extend beyond financial reports to include industry research, books, news articles, and other relevant sources. If you dislike reading, investing might not be for you. Many people claim to rely on their “gut feeling” or personal experience—like a friend who buys Starbucks stock after enjoying a White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino?. But that’s not our approach. We need to know everything about the company, its market, its management, and the people who control it.

Speaking of “gut feelings,” Malcolm Gladwell suggests in Blink that intuition is simply the subconscious processing vast amounts of information. If you read extensively, even if you don’t consciously absorb every detail, your subconscious will. When you develop a real gut feeling, it’s because you’ve built a foundation of knowledge. The solution? Read more.

If you’re serious about investing, you need a system, and one of its most crucial aspects is reading. I dedicate an hour in the morning and another at night to reading. I also keep a book in every room, so if I ever feel bored, I pick one up instead of mindlessly scrolling social media. However, it’s also important to be selective about what you read. Every January, I create a list of books to read throughout the year, and not all of them are about investing. It’s crucial to cycle through different topics to become a well-rounded individual. Beyond investing, read about significant market events like the 2008 financial crisis. Read biographies, history, and even poker strategy books. Each book offers insights you can integrate into your investment system. Poker books, for example, have taught me how to maximize gains when I have the advantage while minimizing losses when I don’t. From history books, I’ve learned that while history doesn’t repeat, it often rhymes. Biographies, on the other hand, have shown me how to avoid mistakes others have learned the hard way.

I want to share a secret with you. It’s accessible to almost everyone, yet most people don’t take advantage of it. I know how to extend life—not just by a few years, but by centuries. And no, it’s not through diet or exercise. While those can help, their impact is limited. A daily 30-minute walk might add a few years to your life, but spending 2–3 hours in the gym followed by a 10 km run may only add a year or two—while consuming a lot of your time.

I’m talking about reading books. Not articles, tweets, or blogs—books. Think about it: how long does it take to post a tweet? Maybe one minute? Ten if you’re putting thought into it? Even the most useful tweet might save you a couple of hours—like avoiding a traffic jam. So, investing two minutes in a tweet that saves you 150 minutes is a 74× return on your time.

What about blogs or articles? A well-researched article might take a journalist two weeks to write but only 30 minutes for you to read. If that article saves you 4,800 minutes (assuming a 40-hour workweek), that’s a 159× return on your time.

Books take this to an entirely different level. Let’s use my book as an example. It condenses my decades of investing experience. If it takes you four hours to read, that’s a 39,419× return on your time. But that’s not all—I didn’t start from scratch. As of January 2025, I’ve read 522 books. If each book represents five years of the author’s experience, that means I’ve accumulated 2,136 years of wisdom (2,095 from books plus 41 of my own life) in just 70 days of reading. Investing 70 days to acquire more than 2,000 years of knowledge is the best investment you can make in yourself.

Books have significantly refined my investment strategy, and a prime example is Good to Great by Jim Collins. This book examines 1,435 companies over four decades, identifying 11 that achieved sustained greatness. These businesses outperformed the market, generating stock returns that were seven times higher on average over 15 years. The book highlights key factors they shared, such as “Level 5 Leadership,” where CEOs are humble yet relentlessly focused on their company’s success rather than personal gain. Recognizing this led me to emphasize management quality in my investment decisions, which is why I devoted an entire chapter of my book to analyzing company leadership—it’s that critical.

Now, let’s talk about news. In the past, news was vetted, sources were verified, and potential impacts were assessed before publication. Today, in the era of instant information, there’s little filtering—everything is published in real time. My recommendation? Don’t consume news mindlessly. Set up Google Alerts for the companies, competitors, and industries you follow. Skim through the alerts and save anything that might be worth reading. Then, once a day, review the saved articles and pick the top three.

Reading extensively is not just a way to gather knowledge—it’s a fast track to unlocking centuries of collective experience and wisdom. If you’re serious about investing success, start by turning the pages (or scrolling the e-reader) to build that deep, nuanced foundation. And if you’d like more in-depth stock analysis and real-world investment insights, subscribe—for free—to my stock-picking newsletter, Beating The Tide. In Beating The Tide, I provide deep dives on companies, access to my portfolio, and real-time investment alerts.

What’s one new topic or industry you’re excited to explore through reading next?