Pitch the Perfect Investment: The Essential Guide to Winning on Wall Street

Respect and fear the old men in a profession where men die young

"Pitching stocks is a dark art. What begins with meticulous research, cold and rational analysis, and clear judgment, must then become seduction. Sonkin and Johnson explain this alchemy in wonderful detail. They′ve structured their book around an unappreciated key to success in finance: Nothing is as important to landing your first job, and then thriving there, as pitching the perfect investment."
Jeff Gramm, Portfolio Manager, Bandera Partners, and author of Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism

"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."
Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance, NYU Stern School of Business and author of Investment 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

"Sonkin and Johnson′s 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, and author of The Difference and The Diversity Bonus

"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, Chief Investment Officer, Dalton, Greiner, Hartman, Maher & Co. LLC

"Communicating investment research in a thoughtful manner is both art and science, which Sonkin and Johnson masterfully teach in Pitch the Perfect Investment."
John Mihaljevic, Managing Editor, The Manual of Ideas

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Part I:  The Perfect Investment: How to

Chapter 1: ...Value an Asset

Chapter 2: Value a Business

Chapter 3: Think about Competitive Advantage and Valuing Growth

Chapter 4: Value a Security

Chapter 5: Think about Market Efficiency

Chapter 6: Think about the Wisdom of Crowds

Chapter 7: Think about Behavioral Finance

Chapter 8: Add Value through Research

Chapter 9: Assess Risk

Part II:  The Perfect Pitch: How to

Chapter 10: Select a Security

Chapter 11: Organize the Content

Chapter 12: Deliver the Message

Afterword

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Index

PAUL D. SONKIN is an analyst and portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds and previously spent 14 years at the helm of The Hummingbird Value Fund. For 16 years he was an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and is coauthor of Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond.

PAUL JOHNSON runs Nicusa Investment Advisors and is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. He is a contributing annotator to The Most Important Thing Illuminated (by Howard Marks), co–author of The Gorilla Game, and a contributing author to Columbia Business School: A Century of Ideas.