Peter Lynch

I have always been a fan of Peter Lynch. He is a brilliant man who over decades of professionally managing money has been able to develop valuable skills and wisdom in which he so generously shares in this book.

As a former Fidelity Investment employee myself I fully comprehend the fanfare that accompanies Mr. Lynch. He is an extremely talented man whose humble and quiet demeanor attracts and captures the attention of people from all walks of life. He has an amazing talent in teaching a somewhat complex subject matter such as investing, in a very comprehendible and simplistic form.

The purpose and intent of this book I believe was to instill in the hearts and mind of the everyday person, confidence that they could succeed in the stock market. Mr. Lynch managed one of the largest and most successful mutual funds, he is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and he is in a very exclusive circle of business executives and investment professional. Despite this he is able to nonchantly state the facts of the stock market and inform all of the key fundamental guiding principles in investing. These guiding principles are available to all - not to just the wealthy or elite, or to those on Wall Street.

He applies these principles over three phases of investing, 1) The Pre-Investing/Prepatory Period, 2) Investing/Stock Picking, and 3) The Long-Term View.

Phase 1 is a critical period in which the potential investor must decide if they are willing to commit themselves to this venture. Commitment consist of educating oneself on the function of the market, time required to research and allow an investment to grow, and the discipline required to make sound decision and judgment in regards to ones investment objectives and portfolio. "Taking the Mirror Test." is an excellent gauge mentioned that one should take before investing.

Phase 2 is the commencement of investing. Mr. Lynch once again preaches with conviction the importance of discipline and sound judgment with this phase also. Choosing a stock requires research and a belief that the company's outlook, performance, and values are aligned with yours. He cautions against buying based solely on emotion, past performance, on the fact that a company has "the name", or is a "blue chip", word of mouth, "The next something", or "The whisperer stock." Choosing stocks