What I Learned About Investing from Darwin

I have read pretty much every good book (and most of the bad ones) on investing, and THIS is now on my list of the Best Investment Books of All Time! In fact, I would put this book up there with the classics: Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, The Intelligent Investor, One Up On Wall Street, The Psychology of Money, and even Margin Of Safety by Seth Klarman. I will typically read my list of Investment classics once a year, and this will be added to that list. Not only was this a great book on value investing, but is incredibly well written. Almost like a blend of Malcolm Gladwell and Peter Lynch, which is great since the author covers a wide variety of topics and goes back and forth between investing and Darwin's theory. It's amazing how the 2 worlds are so similar, yet I never thought of that before! I have 3 pieces of advice: 1.) Buy this book. 2.) Read this book, and 3.) Re-Read this book at least once a year. From now on, this will be once of the books I recommend to anybody looking to learn about investing!

One of the very few books I have read in my lifetime have made me reflect deeply on almost every page. I have lost count of the number of times I came across incredible insights on investing in this book. It feels like one truth bomb after another being dropped, while you stare at it in disbelief and marvel at your own stupidity all this while.

In the chatty, lively, and engaging book "What I Learned About Investing from Darwin," author Pulak Prasad takes readers on an illuminating journey through the world of investing. With wit and charm, Prasad weaves his own experiences and insights with the lessons he has learned following his two gurus, Charles Darwin and Warren Buffett. Prasad, a relatively unknown for those unfamiliar with the Indian equities industry, is an investment legend with a track record comparable to the best worldwide over the last fifteen years. His audacious investment style is deserving of study. This is not just because of the performance but also because of how logical, almost irrefutable, its tenets sound as he explains them, deploying the similes and examples from evolutionary sciences. While his approach may not be the only path to financial success, it is undoubtedly effective and provides readers with plenty of food for thought. To this reviewer, investors should first and foremost adopt a disciplined, logically sound style that suits their personality and access. Pulak has done this perfectly with a discipline rarely observed among the best professionals. One may have heard Darwin and Buffett's theories countless times before, but he is able to breathe life into well-trodden concepts in every section through the novel connections he makes between the fields. When dotted with real-life examples of his investments, they do not remain pure theories in the book! Throughout the book, readers are treated to an array of thought-provoking ideas, such as the importance of avoiding forecasts, the benefits of being an investor who focuses more on rejections, the wisdom of minimum versus optimum debt in corporate books, and summary rejection of things that obsess regular investors like quarterly results, daily stock prices, models like DCF, etc. The book reads like a guide on everything unconventional, and yet the logic is presented with such clarity and conviction that one begins to doubt one's sanity for ever believing in anything different! Overall, a must-read for anyone interested in the world of investing. Its refreshing take on investment strategies and unparalleled depth of wisdom makes it a far superior choice to many of the more popular books on the subject.

Even if you don’t agree with the investment philosophy espouse by the author, I think you would appreciate the writing style of the book. It’s a great combination among theories, investing philosophy and practical examples. And oh, I think he presents one of the best argument from never selling an investment, regardless of valuation! And of course, it is very interesting to learn about the evolutionary theories presented in the book!

This is a great book for investors in public or private businesses including if you are deciding to start a business. You have heard of many of the detailed investment concepts but Pravda connects it to survival. It becomes painfully clear why other investment approaches fail and result in destroying wealth. He also explains controversial discipline in his/Natanda’s process that seems like overkill but are reinforcing and mission critical. The simplicity of the approach is what is most rewarding if you can keep it.

The author describes investing done right. The book essentially confirms the path I follow - stick almost exclusively to index ETFs and concentrate my efforts on improving on their returns. and place only a small portion in individual stocks when top-notch industry leaders go on sale. I don't have the time, expertise or infrastructure to evaluate individual companies the extent necessary to do better.

The best investment book I've ever read! I must admit that I have read the majority of the popular books on the market. This book distinguishes out for its simplicity and wealth of information

Just when I thought that there wasn’t much to incrementally learn on the ‘theory’ of value investing, this book came as a refreshing & insightful read. The author presents well-reasoned arguments by drawing parallels to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Also, there are numerous examples from Nalanda’s portfolio that act as practical examples. Lastly, it was nice to read a book which presents public markets investing in the context of India. I’ve been an admirer of Pulak Prasad ever since I started my investing career in 2016, and it was great to read about his investment philosophy is so much detail. I would highly recommend this book!