cover image VALUE INVESTING WITH THE MASTERS: Revealing Interviews with 20 Market-Beating Managers Who Have Stood the Test of Time

VALUE INVESTING WITH THE MASTERS: Revealing Interviews with 20 Market-Beating Managers Who Have Stood the Test of Time

Kirk Kazanjian, . . Prentice Hall Press/New York Institute of Finance, $26 (336pp) ISBN 978-0-7352-0321-1

Kazanjian (Wizards of Wall Street), a former executive and business journalist, offers q&a-style interviews with leading value investors—those who specialize in finding undervalued stocks and snapping them up for below-market prices. Some of these money managers—William Miller of Legg Mason Value Trust, David Dreman of Dreman Value Management and Martin Whitman of Third Avenue Funds—are well-established advocates of the value approach. Others are relative newcomers, such as the Oakmark Funds' William Nygren and Jean-Marie Eveillard of First Eagle SoGen Funds. The general approach to the interviews is the same: a brief summary of the manager's background, including education and career history, is followed by examples of stocks the managers have bought or sold, how each researches a potential investment and an explanation of his or her approach to buying and selling stock. Along the way, readers learn how the interviewees feel about mutual funds, intrinsic value, foreign currency and more. Kazanjian is well-versed in personal finance and asks solid, if not wildly original, questions. Novice investors wanting an overview of value investing will find this book challenging. More experienced investors will probably be familiar with the strategies of many of these managers. B&w photos. (May)