Friday, August 23, 2013

The World's Most Expensive Investment Book at $1979

Do you believe that the most expensive advice is the best advice? Do you believe that you have to pay for quality? Then you might want to consider buying the book Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor by Seth Klarman, extremely successful portfolio manager of The Baupost Group. Unfortunately the book is out of print but it is available through Amazon (AMZN) at very high prices. Currently three Amazon sellers are offering a new version of the book at prices ranging from $1,979.95 to $2,399.99. If those prices are too rich for your blood, then you can always buy a used copy for only $989.99. According to some of the Amazon comments, it is one of the most-stolen library books.
So why is the book so successful? First, Klarman is an extremely successful money manager. Second, the print run for the book wasn't that big. Third, the book has been out of print for about twenty years, based on my understanding. Fourth, because of all these reasons, the book has become a collector's item as opposed to a book.
And what's the book all about? Value investing, which he covers in extensive detail. He also continuously promotes the philosophy of maintaining a margin of safety. This hardback book is 249 pages long and is published by HarperCollins. Surprisingly, it ranks #23 in the category of Books > Business & Investing > Investing > Bonds.
You probably don't want to buy the book as a gift for someone (you would hate to find out it ended up in a charity book sale). But if you are interested in it for yourself, and price is no object for you, you should get Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor.




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