Pitch The Perfect Investment: The Essential Guide To Winning On Wall Street

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Paul Sonkin and Paul Johnson are one of our favorite small cap investors/academics. Sonkin is one of the authors of our favorite books of all time Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond, while Johnson co-authored Howard Marks’ very famous best seller,  The Most Important Thing Illuminated: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, We just found out they are coming out coming out with a new book on an interesting topic. You ever get asked by someone young looking for an analyst job how to write a pitch? How to measure risk? How long to make it how short to? I do all the time! And there is no quick answer. Now I can just tell them to check out their new book.

The book not only has interesting info but diagrams some cool illustrations and more. Paul informed me that ValueWalk readers can get the first chapter for free by visiting this link, we personally checked it out and it works – no gimmicks!

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Also, we will also be posting some interesting research, articles etc from Paul in the coming weeks so stay tuned for that.

Check out the first chapter here and see more from the flap below.

Pitch the Perfect Investment: The Essential Guide to Winning on Wall Street by Paul D. Sonkin, Paul Johnson

Pitch the Perfect Investment - Description

Please visit our "teaser" website at pitchtheperfectinvestment.com to download an advance chapter and sign-up for email updates

Investors who succeed on Wall Street spend their career analyzing companies, and honing and refining their investment strategies. But they had to start somewhere.

Training for research analysts is basically non­existent on Wall Street resulting in a "baptism by fire" that forces the new analyst to develop expertise on their own through an agonizing process of trial and error. To overcome this deficiency, Sonkin and Johnson have written the ultimate "survival" guide for someone embarking on a career as an investment professional. Arnie Ursaner, a sell side veteran, who retired after 43-years on Wall Street said, "I wish I had this book when I started in the business. I re­member my early days being characterized by a lot of hits and misses. This book provides valuable short­cuts to experience more hits and fewer misses."

The single most important element in survival is having knowledge, as knowledge dispels fear, and on Wall Street, fortune favors the prepared mind. Pitch the Perfect Investment accelerates the learning process, giving the college or MBA student the edge they need to succeed, whether they are pitch­ing a stock idea in a job interview, in a stock pitch competition, or for a student-run investment fund. Echoing this sentiment, Aswath Damodaran, a prolific author of over 20 books on valuation and a professor at New York University, said, "...this is a book that most of my students would have loved to have had before their first interview and job."

Sonkin and Johnson also seek to push the open-minded, seasoned investment professional out of their comfort zone and challenge them to think about familiar concepts differently. In an industry where even the most successful veterans must worry about younger managers snapping at their heels, Pitch the Perfect Investment equips the Chief Investment Officer and Director of Research with new tools, enabling them to tighten their analytical process and signifi­cantly improve communication and efficiency throughout their organization. As noted by Geoffrey Moore, author of several highly-acclaimed strate­gy books in the technology industry, "Much heartache will be avoided and faster decisions will be reached by any organization that adopts Sonkin and Johnson's recommendations."

Nicholas Galluccio, CEO of Teton Advisors, added, "In this era of hyper-competition on Wall Street, active portfolio management is under attack by ETFs and passive investment vehicles. In this new environment, beating the market is even more essential to the active portfolio man­ager and even the smallest edge can make the difference between success and failure. Pitch the Perfect Investment will give the professional inves­tor that edge."

No other single resource will provide students, money managers, analysts, bankers, executives, salespeople, and individual investors with a faster way to improve their performance. Pitch the Per­fect Investment is the essential guide to winning on Wall Street.

Questions? Email [email protected]

Review

Advance praise for Pitch the Perfect Investment

"It is rare that you get a book on finance that is fun to read, immensely informative and deeply insightful. Sonkin and Johnson have pulled off the trifecta in this book. Read it if you work in the investing business already, plan to work in it or want to make sense of an investment pitch made to you." Aswath Damodaran Professor of Finance, New York University Stern School of Business and author of The Dark Side of ValuationThe Little Book of Valuation and Narrative and Numbers.

"My decades of experience have taught me that pitching is a vital skill one must master to succeed on Wall Street. Sonkin and Johnson's book gives someone new to the industry a significant head?start in obtaining this skill." ? Regina Pitaro, Head of Institutional Marketing ? GAMCO Asset Management, Inc. and author of Deals... Deals... and More Deals.         

"On Wall Street, fortune favors the prepared mind. In Pitch the Perfect Investment, Sonkin and Johnson provide a novel framework for this preparation, enabling you to both select investments and convince others of your view. Their explanations of market efficiency, the wisdom of crowds, and security valuation set a benchmark for clarity and practicality. - Scott E Page, Leonid Hurwicz Collegiate Professor Complex Systems, Political Science, and Economics - The University of Michigan

"A successful investor has to say 'no' far more often than they say 'yes.'The key is making it count when you find the right investment.  The first 30 seconds of your pitch are often the most important chance to win or lose your audience.  Pitch the Perfect Investment provides the toolkit to build conviction in your analysis and effectively articulate how it should be implemented.  Sonkin and Johnson follow their own advice with concise and persuasive principles.  Their guidance will neutralize the intimidation factor in pitching a portfolio manager,and allow the analyst to shine."  - Bruce Geller, CEO of DGHM & Co., LLC     

"To the active portfolio manager, beating the market is essential. Sonkin and Johnson explain how to identify and exploit mispricings to accomplish that goal. It's refreshing to read a book that stresses the importance of fundamental research in stock analysis, especially when active portfolio management is under attack by ETFs and passive investment vehicles." - Nicholas Galluccio, CEO Teton Advisors, Inc.

"The job of a venture associate is to bring great investment opportunities to the general partners they support.  The models and frameworks in Pitch the Perfect Investmentalthough aimed at public stock investing, translate easily to venture capital, where young analysts make the same mistakes in pitching their recommendation to senior VCs.The authors present their ideas is a straight-forward, fun manner. Much heartache will be avoided and faster decisions will be reached by any VC organization that adopts these recommendations."- Geoffrey Moore, author Crossing the Chasm and Zone to Win

"I wish I had this book when I started in the business. Having recently retired from a successful 43 year career on the sell side, I remember my early days being characterized by a lot of hits and misses. Pitch the Perfect Investment provides the newcomer with valuable shortcuts so they can experience more 'hits' and fewer 'misses.' Sonkin and Johnson translate serious financial concepts into an easy to understand, enjoyable read." - Arnie Ursaner, Founder and Former President, CJS Securities.

"Pitch a Perfect Investment succeeds at elucidating a set of concepts that are often difficult to wrap your brain around. There are many misconceptions regarding how the investment management industry works, Sonkin and Johnson do a great job of succinctly and judiciously laying out the truth regarding what's really happening in this world." Leigh Drogen, Founder and CEO, Estimize Inc.

"Communicating investment research in a thoughtful manner is both art and science, which Sonkin and Johnson masterfully teach in Pitch the Perfect Investment.  I found their work wonderfully illuminating and I'm sure eager students, of all backgrounds and ages, will as well."- John Mihaljevic Managing Editor, The Manual of Ideas

"Sonkin and Johnson have written a superb book for investors. Their insights are timely but also timeless. As I discuss in my book, A Dozen Lessons for Entrepreneurs,a venture capitalist tries to buy long-dated, deeply-out-of-the-money call options at prices that are a bargain. However, a successful venture investmentalso requires a profitable exit. Pitch the Perfect Investment provides valuable tools to evaluate a company'slong-term competitive advantage, calculate the value of growth, and understand how investors in public companies think about value. In other words, theirframework explains the critical elements that maximize exit valuations." - Tren Griffin, Senior Director, Microsoft, 25iq.com, and author of Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor and A Dozen Lessons for Entrepreneur

"Pitch the Perfect Investment is a must read for anyone who, having formulated an investment idea, must "sell" the idea to a harried portfolio manager who is beseeched with ideas from numerous sources. The authors, highly regarded Wall Street veterans, share with the reader invaluable insights regarding not only the development of an investment theme,but, more importantly, how to market the idea in the most efficient manner. I'm highly confident that every young Wall Street analyst will reap immeasurable benefits from this highly readable book whose conversational style makes the information in the book readily accessible." Robert Willens, President Robert Willens, LLC

"Pitch the Perfect Investment is a game changer. Whether you are an experienced investor or new to the industry this book serves as both a reminder and primer for what you need to know to stand-out in the crowd and apart from the competition. The book systematically challenges prevailing beliefs regarding market efficiency and outlines key rules for valuing stocks and presenting your ideas. More importantly,from the perspective of job search and career management, Sonkin and Johnson tell you how to create a differential advantage so that your ideas get the attention they deserve and you are viewed as a rockstar. The authors provide powerful insights in an industry where first impressions either resonate immediately with your audience or eliminate you and your ideas from the outset. And, these insights apply to virtually everyone in the food chain - from experienced professionals to undergrads seeking their first Wall Street internship." - Roy Cohen, Career Coach and best-selling author of The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide

"Farnam Street's mission is to help investors add to their mental toolbox, expand their knowledge and improve their thinking. Through its clear prose and interesting examples, Pitch the Perfect Investment offers thought-provoking views on many investing-related topics. Specifically, Sonkin and Johnson's discussion of risk and uncertainty expanded my thinking on these concepts." - Shane Parrish, Editor and Blogger, Farnam Street Media, Inc.

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