Join Now
Books

Book Review: The Sleuth Investor By Avner Mandelman

The Sleuth Investor is the best book I’ve read on conducting due diligence beyond the norm.

If you were buying a brand new car, would you do so without a test drive? No of course not. Not only that but you would likely do a Google search to see what buyers are saying about the car, maybe buy a consumer reports magazine to compare similar models, talk to friends who may drive that particular model, and if you have a friend in the car business ask them for their advice. I think all of this would be considered rather normal before you made a purchase decision.

The irony is that most investors put more due diligence into a car purchase then where they are putting their life savings. So many investors, even professional investors, only conduct surface due diligence on companies. Surface due diligence is information that is readily available like SEC Filings, financial statements, and press releases. Yes, surface due diligence is very important and necessary but this is only where due diligence starts. Analyzing a company and management team without meeting management or visiting their facility is like buying a car without test-driving it. At the very least you should talk to management, and this is a must with microcap investing.

The Sleuth Investor is the best book I’ve read on conducting due diligence beyond the norm. Sleuth is another word for being a detective and this book highlights sleuthing tactics to get little known facts about a company that can give you an edge in investing. Mandelman goes into detail about his three physical elements of sleuthing: People (management, customers, suppliers), Product (analyzing products), and Plant & Periphery (touring factories, offices etc). I felt some of the approaches he used were a bit extreme, and even Mandelman notes to check with an attorney before conducting certain types of due diligence. Overall though I felt the book was a great read and provided thorough insight into how sleuthing is done as it relates to investing. You will enjoy The Sleuth Investor

===> Interact and learn with 250+ of the best microcap investors on the planet. [Join Us]

MicroCapClub is an exclusive forum for experienced microcap investors focused on microcap companies (sub $500m market cap) trading on United States, Canadian, European, and Australian markets. MicroCapClub was created to be a platform for experienced microcap investors to share and discuss stock ideas. Since 2011, our members have profiled 1000+ microcap companies. Investors can join our community by applying to become a member or subscribing to gain instant view only access. MicroCapClub’s mission is to foster the highest quality microcap investor Community, produce Educational content for investors, and promote better Leadership in the microcap arena. For more information, visit http://microcapclub.com and https://microcapclub.com/summit/

Share
Sign up for more like this.

Get Alerted to our Next Educational Blog Post

Related posts
Grow Yourself

Grow Yourself

You must always be growing yourself ahead of your portfolio.

7 min read
Gambler

Gambler

Both stock picker and gambler need to develop a systematic approach to become consistent enough to take money from the casino, sportsbook or the stock market over the long-run.

6 min read