Books for Aspiring Malaysian Capitalists

Often times when we go to the local bookshops, we find that one of the largest sections there is the investment and wealth-related section. Too often though, these bookshops stock capitalistic-themed books which are not at all relevant to the Malaysian market, usually catering to the US market or the UK. I have, however, come across some books which I have found very useful and extremely relevant to the Malaysian market for those aspiring Malaysian capitalists out there.

Books to consider for Real Estate Investment

This book I predict, will become a classic in Malaysia, as it is one of the most comprehensive and systematic guides to beginning real estate investment I have ever come across in Malaysia. In 'How to become a Property Millionaire', Azizi Ali shares his own experience in real estate investing in this book and I like it because it makes a lot of sense and he doesn't try to be too fancy; although, his language can be a bit off sometimes and some of his humour can be a little awkward since this is one of the first books he wrote, but nothing too serious. The best part of this book is that he has devised a systematic and objective way of evaluating a property for investment and has developed a system for tenant management. Be aware though, that this book is actually an updated version of his older book called 'How to become a millionaire landlord' which is essentially the same except for the colour and some added chapters.

After you're done with Azizi Ali's book, it is a good idea to read these two books by local author Renesial Leong, 'Your Tenant, Your Jewels' and 'Property Jewels', which both deals with content relating to their respective titles. I would categorize her books as more for the intermediate property investor as she talks about investing in the many different types of properties available in Malaysian, such as land, factories, shophouses etc, in comparison to only landed residential property in Azizi Ali's book. She has also come up with many ideas and suggestions which can help you during your property investment ventures. However, her books, I feel, does not give you as solid a foundation as Azizi Ali's book, but it does help to complement and supplement the latter's book.

In Stock Market Investing, I like to divide it into two main categories; fundamental investing and technical investing. Fundamental investing, which is favored by investor Warren Buffet, is investing in a company's stock based on the company's actual performance, irrespective of it's stock price. Usually this will involve analyzing a company's annual report for the past few years to see if the company is consistent and profitable and then buying the company's stock when it is selling at a discount. On the other hand, technical investing, which is favored by hedge fund investor George Soros, is investing in a company's stock without regard for the company's underlying performance but by looking at the trend and history of a company's stock price movement. This technique is usually much more difficult to do than fundamental investing but can be a way to let you earn from stocks relatively quickly. Usually, this technique involves considering the odds of something happening which could either make the stock price move up or down.

Here I will recommend some books written by local authors dealing with the two different categories of stock market investment.

Books to consider for Stock Market Investing

Books on Fundamental Investing

Written by local author Ho Kok Mun, the books 'How to make money from your stock investment even in a falling market' and 'Essential Stock Investment strategies to make money even in a falling stock market' ( yeah, I thought his book titles were long winded too ) are a good way to start learning about the techniques involved in fundamental investing. I would advise to start with his first book, the 'How to...' one, because in it he goes through the techniques and formulas you will need to analyze a company's annual report. Once you're done with that book, you can graduate towards his second book, the 'Essential Stock..' one . In this book, he goes into the more subjective part of fundamental investing, where he advises you on how to look beyond just a company's annual report and to see the bigger picture, such as how popular are the company's products in society and is the management of the company good etc.

Book on Technical Investing

Although you might see Azizi Ali's name written on this guy's book, he did not really contribute to the content of the book except for praising the author and sharing a little bit of his experience. I also have to admit that the author, Bill Wermine isn't really a local author, he is from the US ( if I'm not mistaken ), however he does claims to have been investing in the Malaysian market for over a decade and his advice is sound. In this book, 'How you can get rich Swing Trading' he teaches you some basic techniques you could use to start on your journey of technical investing. His book provides you with the knowledge you will need to analyze candle stick charts ( a popular kind of chart for analyzing stock price movement ) and provides a few good examples. Although he advises you to create a system for your investing, he doesn't really go into much detail and prefers that you develop your own system, which would involve a lot of trial and error. The candle stick charting software that he recommends in his book, I feel, is quite redundant and expensive; and if I'm not mistaken, as long as you have a registered account with any local brokerage companies ( now known as 'Investment Banks' for some reason ), you can download charting software from their website or use a web-based version of it from them. Thus far I am using OSK's brokerage service, and I find their system to be adequate. Some advice from my own personal experience with technical investing; first, start with a capital of at least RM10k to avoid your profits to be erroded and your losses to be amplified; by having to pay brokerage fees, and second, make sure you don't misread your charts!!!

There you go. These are the books that any aspiring Malaysian capitalist should read and I can attest that I have read each of these books myself. Of course, these books won't turn you into a Donald Trump or Warren Buffet overnight, I admit, I myself am still learning too, but it will provide you with some solid grounding you will need when you start investing in the future.