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Revision as of 14:48, 13 December 2013
, 14:48, 13 December 2013Created page with "{{infobox |title=How to Make a Million Slowly: My Guiding Principles from a Lifetime of Investing |author=John Lee |reviewer=Sue Magee |genre=Business and Finance |summary=Mo..."
{{infobox
|title=How to Make a Million Slowly: My Guiding Principles from a Lifetime of Investing
|author=John Lee
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=More the reminiscences of how Lord Lee became the UK's first PEP/ISA millionaire than instructions on how to do it yourself, but an interesting read for those who'd like to follow the Stock Market.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=168
|publisher=FT Publishing International
|date=November 20133
|isbn=978-1292005089
|website=
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472109376</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1472109376</amazonus>
}}
You should, of course, remember the old adage. ''If something seems too good to be true, it probably is''. If you find a slim book with the title ''How to Make a Million - Slowly'' you shouldn't assume that you're about to have an entirely different relationship with your Bank Manager. On the other hand John Lee - Lord Lee of Trafford - was the UK's first PEP/ISA millionaire, from an investment of £125,000, so there's no need to suspect that you'll open the book to find that you're told to ''do as I do''. This is a man who has done it and has a lot of good advice - after all, he wrote the ''My Portfolio Column'' in the Financial Times for fourteen years.
And it's these columns which Lee revisits in the book. Bear in mind that they were written for readers of the FT and you'll realise that this isn't going to be the book for someone who is a novice in the financial world. There's some jargon and a little bit of theory - none of it too taxing - and some very sound advice. I liked his common sense approach - he leans towards family companies because he likes the feeling that the people running the companies are genuinely invested in the company's success - for the same reason he insists that companies in which he invests have directors who also invest their own money in the company and not just through share options.
Perhaps the soundest advice for me was that if you're not ''excited'' by the idea of the Stock Market and willing to put a lot of time and effort into reading about it, attending AGMs and listening to investment gossip then you might be better letting a mutual fund or similar institution handle your investments for you. There is a tendency to feel that investing in the Stock Market is something which you ''ought'' to do and the book could well be worth the cover price even if it only persuades some people that they have better things to do with their time and/or money.
Lee is rightly proud of what he has achieved but also honest about the fact that he has made mistakes, usually either because he sold a stock too soon or because he simply misjudged. Either way he's adamant that if you make a loss you should learn the lesson and move on.
This book won't be your bible, the one you return to time and time again, but it could be a sensible investment if you have some financial knowledge and you'd like to explore the idea further. It's the book for people who are prepared to build their portfolio steadily, one stock at a time and work on the principle that you're buying for the long term.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals then you might also be interested in [[Dear Mr.Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street by Janet Tavakoli]] and [[The Long and the Short of it: A Guide to Finance and Investment for Normally Intelligent People Who Aren't in the Industry by John Kay]].
{{amazontext|amazon=1472109376}}
{{commenthead}}
|title=How to Make a Million Slowly: My Guiding Principles from a Lifetime of Investing
|author=John Lee
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=More the reminiscences of how Lord Lee became the UK's first PEP/ISA millionaire than instructions on how to do it yourself, but an interesting read for those who'd like to follow the Stock Market.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=168
|publisher=FT Publishing International
|date=November 20133
|isbn=978-1292005089
|website=
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472109376</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1472109376</amazonus>
}}
You should, of course, remember the old adage. ''If something seems too good to be true, it probably is''. If you find a slim book with the title ''How to Make a Million - Slowly'' you shouldn't assume that you're about to have an entirely different relationship with your Bank Manager. On the other hand John Lee - Lord Lee of Trafford - was the UK's first PEP/ISA millionaire, from an investment of £125,000, so there's no need to suspect that you'll open the book to find that you're told to ''do as I do''. This is a man who has done it and has a lot of good advice - after all, he wrote the ''My Portfolio Column'' in the Financial Times for fourteen years.
And it's these columns which Lee revisits in the book. Bear in mind that they were written for readers of the FT and you'll realise that this isn't going to be the book for someone who is a novice in the financial world. There's some jargon and a little bit of theory - none of it too taxing - and some very sound advice. I liked his common sense approach - he leans towards family companies because he likes the feeling that the people running the companies are genuinely invested in the company's success - for the same reason he insists that companies in which he invests have directors who also invest their own money in the company and not just through share options.
Perhaps the soundest advice for me was that if you're not ''excited'' by the idea of the Stock Market and willing to put a lot of time and effort into reading about it, attending AGMs and listening to investment gossip then you might be better letting a mutual fund or similar institution handle your investments for you. There is a tendency to feel that investing in the Stock Market is something which you ''ought'' to do and the book could well be worth the cover price even if it only persuades some people that they have better things to do with their time and/or money.
Lee is rightly proud of what he has achieved but also honest about the fact that he has made mistakes, usually either because he sold a stock too soon or because he simply misjudged. Either way he's adamant that if you make a loss you should learn the lesson and move on.
This book won't be your bible, the one you return to time and time again, but it could be a sensible investment if you have some financial knowledge and you'd like to explore the idea further. It's the book for people who are prepared to build their portfolio steadily, one stock at a time and work on the principle that you're buying for the long term.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals then you might also be interested in [[Dear Mr.Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street by Janet Tavakoli]] and [[The Long and the Short of it: A Guide to Finance and Investment for Normally Intelligent People Who Aren't in the Industry by John Kay]].
{{amazontext|amazon=1472109376}}
{{commenthead}}
