Investing in the stock market has never been so accessible… nor so confusing.
Between ETFs, social media, finance influencers and the sheer volume of sometimes contradictory information, it has become increasingly difficult for beginner and intermediate investors to separate what truly matters from the noise.
Yet one thing has not changed over time. Investing remains a vast field, with many approaches and strategies, where risk management, discipline and a clear understanding of what you are buying make all the difference in the long run.
This is precisely what the great classics of investment literature convey. In this article, we have selected 10 essential books to understand the stock market and invest with a method, written by investors who have proven themselves over time.
Also worth reading: Which undervalued stocks offer the strongest potential?
The Intelligent Investor
Do you know Warren Buffett? Then you should get to know his mentor: Benjamin Graham. Warren Buffett has repeatedly cited him as his primary source of inspiration and the person who taught him almost everything. The Intelligent Investor is widely regarded as the bible of value investing. This strategy focuses on identifying high-quality companies trading below their intrinsic value, which over the long term tend to converge towards their true worth. Benjamin Graham sets out the core principles of stock picking, but not only that. He also develops the habits investors should adopt in financial markets, distinguishes between different types of investors and their associated strategies, and provides concrete analyses and comparisons of several companies, showing what is important to examine before investing.
At a time when many investors are chasing quick performance, Graham’s principles of margin of safety and capital protection remain more essential than ever for surviving in the markets.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
If you ask professional investors to name the finance book they like the most, there is a good chance they will mention Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. First published in 1923, this original book tells the gripping story of Jesse Livermore and his trading adventures. It is not a technical book and does not focus on financial theory or trading strategies. Instead, it presents, in the form of a novel, the psychological factors and life situations that led Livermore to make, lose and make again millions of dollars in the markets. It is entertaining, honest and raw, and traders and investors will undoubtedly recognise themselves in it.
One Up on Wall Street
Any serious investor has read Peter Lynch. Why? Because in the 1970s and 1980s he managed one of the largest funds in the world, the Fidelity Magellan Fund, and achieved 13 consecutive years of positive performance for his clients, with an average annual return of nearly 30%, while the S&P 500 delivered around 10% over the same period. He is therefore regarded as one of the greatest portfolio managers of all time. In this book, Lynch explains the principles and methods he applied repeatedly in managing his fund. It is highly practical and concrete. In particular, he emphasises that as an individual investor, it is possible to outperform experts if you know where to look.
His approach reminds readers that individual investors still have a genuine edge today, provided they understand what they are buying and avoid following market fads.
Beating the Street
In this highly practical book, Peter Lynch develops his core idea that individual investors can outperform financial professionals. He provides precise examples and shows how private investors can benefit from their own knowledge and experience. He also devotes several chapters to his years at Fidelity as manager of the Magellan Fund, allowing readers to understand his logic and decision-making process, and how he managed to achieve such strong performance in the markets year after year.
This is a particularly valuable read for investors who hesitate between passive investing and stock selection, and who want to understand how to make intelligent use of their own real-world knowledge.
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
Probably less well known than Lynch or Graham, Philip Fisher is nevertheless considered a cornerstone of stock market investing. Active throughout the 20th century, he influenced many great investors, including Warren Buffett. In this book, he presents his investment philosophy and the essential characteristics to analyse before buying a stock. His guidance is extremely precise. He explains what to buy, when to buy and also when to sell. He outlines a series of key points designed to maximise the chances of identifying exceptional companies. This classic remains highly relevant for improving stock-picking skills.
The Market Wizards
Unlike the other books in this selection, the author does not present his own strategies here, but those of others. Jack Schwager brings together several major figures in US trading and explains their techniques. It is therefore a powerful synthesis of different methods and success stories from around fifteen professionals, covering areas such as futures and currency markets, equities and, above all, trading psychology. Through in-depth interviews with these exemplary traders, Schwager, himself a trader, gets to the heart of what drives their success, exploring their market approaches, the trading rules each adheres to and personal advice for beginner traders.
This book highlights a point that is often underestimated: psychological mistakes and emotional management play a far greater role than pure technical skills in an investor’s results.
A Gift to My Children: A Father’s Lessons for Life and Investing
For those who may not know him, Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros and retired at the age of 37. The author of numerous books, Rogers shares here life and investment lessons drawn from his personal experience. The perspective is broad and reflective. He discusses philosophy, history, travel, China, as well as his successes and failures. This approach has the merit of being original, of breaking away from conventional investment books, and of offering a step back from purely technical investing to gain a wider view.
Stocks for the Long Run
For those looking for practical insight, this book delivers. Jeremy Siegel is a finance professor at the prestigious Wharton School and a frequent contributor to financial television and publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and the Financial Times. His book is an outstanding gateway to long-term equity investing. It provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of historical market trends, enabling readers to build a robust and profitable long-term equity portfolio. Topics covered include stock returns, the verdict of history, the impact of the economic environment on equities and short-term market fluctuations.
This book is particularly relevant for investors questioning long-term investing, ETFs and the ability of equity markets to create value over several decades.
The Most Important Thing
As Chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, with nearly $75 billion under management, Howard Marks brings together in this book the memos he sent to clients outlining his view of financial markets. Collected for the first time in a single volume, the book makes his investment philosophy, developed throughout his career, accessible to all. As an added bonus, it includes comments and explanations from four renowned investors: Christopher C. Davis (Davis Funds), Joel Greenblatt (Gotham Capital), Paul Johnson (Nicusa Capital) and Seth A. Klarman (Baupost Group). Key concepts explored include second-level thinking, the relationship between price and value, patient opportunism and defensive investing.
In a context of volatile markets, his emphasis on risk, cycles and second-level thinking strongly resonates with the challenges faced by modern investors.
The Alchemy of Finance
Best known for aggressively shorting the British pound and making a fortune in the process, George Soros is a towering figure in financial markets. He is Chairman of Soros Fund Management and heads the Quantum Fund, whose performance, averaging around 35% per year, left many other fund managers trailing behind. In this book, Soros explains his theory of reflexivity. As such, it is relatively theoretical and delves deeply into history and the construction of the financial system, as well as global debt, the banking system, the credit cycle and regulation. This approach helps readers better understand the mechanisms at work in the markets. The Alchemy of Finance is more than a guide to how financial markets function internally; it forms the foundation not only of the investment strategies that made Soros a legendary fund manager, but also of his broader worldview.
📌 Which books should you read based on your investor profile?
👤 You are completely new to investing
If you are taking your first steps, there is no need to look for complex strategies or miracle methods. Books by Benjamin Graham and Peter Lynch help you understand the essential foundations of investing: what a stock represents, how to value a company, and why discipline matters more than chasing quick gains. These books help beginners avoid classic mistakes, often linked to overconfidence or rushing into decisions.
⏳ You invest for the long term (stocks or ETFs)
For long-term-oriented investors, understanding market cycles, stock market history and the role of time is essential. Books such as Stocks for the Long Run by Jeremy Siegel or The Most Important Thing by Howard Marks offer a realistic and reassuring vision of investing, far removed from daily market noise. They consistently remind readers that patience and risk management are far more powerful allies than perfect timing.
🧠 You are interested in market psychology and investor behaviour
If you are already invested and want to understand why investors repeatedly make the same mistakes, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator and The Market Wizards are essential reading. These books demonstrate that the difference between success and failure often comes down to emotional control, discipline and the ability to remain faithful to a strategy during difficult market periods.
