Only a handful of investors can compare their portfolios to that of the legendary Peter Lynch. His rise to investing stardom began back in 1977. This is when he was appointed the fund manager of Fidelity’s then relatively anonymous Magellan Fund.
When Lynch took over, the fund had around $18 million in assets. After 13 years at the helm, Lynch increased the fund’s size by almost a thousand-fold. In 1990, the Magellan Fund, and its over $14 billion in assets, became the biggest mutual fund in the world. At times, the fund held over 1,000 different stocks in its portfolio. Also, there was a period when it had an average annual return of 29.9%.
Some of Lynch’s most successful stock acquisitions during his tenure with the mutual fund include Ford, Volvo, MCI, Fanny Mae, General Public Utilities, Kemper, General Electric, Lowe’s, and Student Loan Marketing.
Quick Look: The Best Peter Lynch Books
- Learn to Earn by Peter Lynch - Buy it now
- Beating the Street by Peter Lynch - Buy it now
- One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch - Buy it now
- The Intelligent Investor: Revised Edition by Jason Zweig - Buy it now
- Forbes’ Great Minds of Business - Buy it now
- The Book of Investing Wisdom: Classic Writings by Great Stock-Pickers and Legends of Wall Street edited by Peter Krass - Buy it now
- Corporate Social Investing: The Breakthrough Strategy for Giving and Getting Corporate Contributions by Curt Weeden - Buy it now
After his retirement from the Fidelity Magellan Fund, Peter Lynch wrote three books on investing. Each would go on to become a best-seller. Learn To Earn, One Up On Wall Street, and Beating The Street are regarded as some of the finest business books to this day. Peter Lynch is often featured or mentioned in books on investing by other authors.
In the Forbes Great Minds Of Business, he was interviewed together with Paul Volcker, Pleasant Rowland, Andrew Grove, and Fred Smith. Benjamin Graham refers to Peter Lynch as a legend in his best-selling book The Intelligent Investor.
What to Look for in a Peter Lynch Book
Peter Lynch’s books are there for all who want to learn about investing and how to buy and sell stocks. They are written in a down-to-earth, approachable manner and offer advice. Experienced stock traders can learn a great deal from these books too, as Lynch often explains his best and worst decisions in detail.
Lynch’s books often accentuate the advantages the independent investors have over brokerage houses and large funds. He also emphasizes the roles of common sense and thorough research in investing.
You should pick up Peter Lynch’s books not only because they are highly recommended by Wall Street experts. You are certain to learn a thing or two about investing and trading in stocks. Also, Lynch is often quoted and mentioned as a great role model in other authors’ books.
Subject Matter
Peter Lynch’s books are centered on stocks, investing, and how to successfully navigate the stock market. His books offer a deep dive into the subject matter and complete with nuggets of both life and investing wisdom.
In his books, Lynch explains the fundamentals of the stock market, how it works, and why you should pay close attention to news reports.
If you decide to pick up one of his books, you can expect straightforward explanations of even the most complicated concepts and strategies, in-depth advice on when and how to buy and sell stocks, as well as thorough explanations of Lynch’s investing principles.
Time Period
Long-term investing is one of the key concepts in Lynch’s investment philosophy and a recurring theme in all of his books. Lynch holds that the value of stocks is rather easy to predict over a 10 to 20-year period, while short term predictions are pretty much anyone’s guess. Therefore, he strongly urges the reader to always go for stocks of companies that they believe in and wait for them to go up over a long period of time rather than selling for quick profits.
According to his personal study, if you invest a $1,000 every year on the highest day for a period of 30 years, you can expect a 10.6% annualized return. On the other hand, if you invest the same sum on the lowest day of the year, you can expect an 11.7% compounded return over the same period.
Peter Lynch also encourages the reader to look for the tenbagger stocks. A tenbagger is a stock that rises in value 10-fold or 1,000%. He advises against selling when the stock goes up 40% or even 100%. Instead, he urges the reader to hold onto them, despite the trend of taking profits by selling winning stocks.
Our Top Picks
We’ve picked the best books both authored by and about Peter Lynch based on sales, reputation, and information provided. Our list contains books for novices, intermediate, and advanced investors. Keep reading to find out what you can get from each book.
Learn to Earn
- Who’s it for? This book is primarily for beginners and inexperienced investors looking to learn the ropes of stock trading and investing.
- Price: Kindle e-book costs $13.39 and paperback $11.64, or you can read it free with an Audible trial - Try it now
In Learn To Earn, you will learn the basics of getting started in the investing world. Straightforward explanations of the fundamentals of the stock market and Lynch’s main investing principles make up the core of Learn To Earn. Lynch also sheds light on how to assess companies you want to invest in and how to analyze their financials. One main point of the book is encouraging the readers to invest in what they know instead of what’s popular.
Lynch also sheds light on how to assess companies you want to invest in and how to analyze their financials. One main point of the book is encouraging the readers to invest in what they know instead of what’s popular.
Beating the Street
- Who’s it for? You should pick up Beating the Street if you’re looking for a new approach to investing in stock market and building your portfolio of stocks.
- Price: Kindle version of this book costs $12.52, while a paperback copy costs $10.98, or you can read it free with an Audible trial - Try it now
On the pages of Beating The Street, Peter Lynch explains to readers how an amateur investor can perform as well, or even better than, Wall Street pros and large investment firms. Lynch posits that you shouldn’t invest in a company if you can’t explain your investment to a fifth grader.
He also states that the highest growth potentials are to be found in undervalued companies rather than the high flyers.
One Up On Wall Street
- Who’s it for? You should get this book if you want to find out how to build your portfolio in a safe and sustainable manner.
- Price: Kindle version of this book costs $14.66, while the paperback version costs $12.86, or you can read it free with an Audible trial - Try it now
In One Up On Wall Street, Peter Lynch writes about how to invest responsibly, starting with the principle that you should only invest if you can afford it. He also advises the reader to go with what they know, instead of what’s hot. Finally, Lynch takes an in-depth look at futures and options and urges against them when building an investment portfolio.
Finally, Lynch takes an in-depth look at futures and options and urges against them when building an investment portfolio.
The Intelligent Investor: Revised Edition by Jason Zweig
- Who’s it for? Regular people looking for advice on how to invest.
- Price: $15.38 Kindle or $13.49 paperback, or you can read it free with an Audible trial - Try it now
Jason Zweig’s 2003 update of Benjamin Graham’s 1949 classic, The Intelligent Investor, is full of examples that confirm the main principles of Graham’s investment philosophy.
Zweig also draws parallels between today’s market and the late 1940s.
In his update, he also mentions some of the greatest investors of our time. Zweig takes a look at Peter Lynch, his investment strategies, and even calls him a legend.
Forbes’ Great Minds of Business
- Who’s it for? This book is a great choice for investors looking for a sneak peek into some of America’s greatest business minds.
- Price: Kindle version is not available. Paperback will cost around $24 and hardcover $15.75, or you can read it free with an Audible trial - Try it now
Forbes’ Great Minds of Business is a companion book to the Forbes’ Great Minds of Business TV show. It is comprised of five interviews with five giants in business.
The roster includes Peter Lynch, Fred Smith, Paul Volcker, and Pleasant Rowland. The interviews are done in an informal manner and offer excellent advice and a unique perspective on the interviewees’ business philosophies.
The Book of Investing Wisdom: Classic Writings by Great Stock-Pickers and Legends of Wall Street
- Who’s it for? This book is the perfect choice for investors who want to know how the best stock pickers think and work.
- Price: Kindle version costs $28.00, while the hardcover printed version costs $14.10, or you can read it free with an Audible trial - Try it now
The Book Of Investing Wisdom was compiled and edited by Peter Krass.
Throughout 46 essays, it examines the strategies and philosophies of some of the greatest investors of all time.
Among the greats he covers, the roster includes Peter Lynch, Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Charles H. Dow, and many others.
Corporate Social Investing: The Breakthrough Strategy for Giving and Getting Corporate Contributions by Curt Weeden
- Who’s it for? Those who are eyeing corporate contributions for various social causes.
- Price: Kindle version costs $23.11. This book is out of print, but you can still find new and used books, some at a slight premium, or you can read the book free with an Audible trial - Try it now
Corporate Social Investing by Curt Weeden, written in 1998, posits that the time of corporate philanthropy has come to an end. Weeden claims that corporations are no longer willing to invest unless there’s a strong business reason.
The author also lays out a detailed plan for nonprofits and businesses to create alliances to increase their gains while still being able to provide resources to civic groups, colleges, and schools. Peter Lynch wrote an excellent foreword to this book.
The More You Know
An investor should always aim to be on top of his or her game and expand their horizons. Reading quality books is one of the best ways to go about it. Reading finance books that target what you want to know is a great first step towards building your financial future.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some excellent investing books by Peter Lynch?
Some great books by Peter Lynch include “Beating the Street,” “Learn to Earn” and “One Up on Wall Street.”
What are the best books on investing?
The best books include “The Intelligent Investor,” “A Random Walk Down Wall Street” and “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.”