The Art of Investing: Lessons from History's Greatest Investors

A boot camp on investing; discovering the influences that led Professor Longo to a career in finance; meeting some of the major figures to be studied; surveying the key principles and strategies that build their fortunes.

Many of the most successful investors of the 20th and early 21st centuries are influenced by the work of Ben Graham; studying the underpinnings of his philosophy; the contrasting strategies of the enterprising investor and the defensive investor.

Exploring the career of Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest people; learning how Buffett modifies the strategy of his mentor, Ben Graham, by searching out high-quality companies with a competitive advantage, or "moat".

Turning to the fathers of growth investing; how to tell growth stocks from value stocks; learning to spot signs that a stock is worth holding over the very long term; this is the goal of this school of portfolio analysis.

What two Nobel Prize-winning economists have to say about risk; Harry Markowitz puts risk on an equal footing with return; Modern Portfolio Theory; its implications for investors; the insights of William Sharpe's Capital Asset Pricing Model.

Seeing the index fund phenomenon from the inside through the career of John Bogle; considering the evidence for and against the Efficient Market Hypothesis, on which index investing is based; looking into pitfalls to avoid when buying index funds.

Exploring the world of small-cap investing, which targets companies with a certain level of market capitalization; how investors Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and Michael Burry flourish in this market; surveying one's own options for getting involved.

Going stock hunting with John Templeton, who changes the world of finance; reviewing Templeton's checklist of the qualities that make a nation an attractive investment opportunity, such as a low tax rate and high savings rate.

One is likely to be their own worst enemy when it comes to investing; finding out if one makes the common mistakes on market psychologist David Dreman's list; known as a contrarian, Dreman makes a fortune by bucking trends.

Studying mutual funds through the career of Peter Lynch, renowned for his management of the Magellan Fund in the 1980s; the meaning of key mutual fund terms; how Lynch picks winners; his mantra, "Invest in what you know," is only part of the formula.

Many people are at a loss when it comes to bonds; getting a grip on this investment vehicle; probing the strategies of two contemporary bond kings, Bill Gross and Jeff Gundlach; considering the best way to use bonds in a portfolio.

Sovereign wealth funds are investment portfolios owned and managed by the government, examining the history of these funds, how they operate and their increasingly important role in the current global economy.

Take the mystery out of hedge funds with A.W. Jones, the sociologist who started the modern hedge fund industry. Jones designed a fund that smoothed out the rollercoaster ride of traditional buy-and-hold investing by offsetting long purchase position

Company hunting with activist investors, sometimes called corporate raiders; charting the exploits of three leading practitioners; learning the meaning of terms such as greenmail, black knight, white knight, shark repellent and Pac-Man strategy.

Short selling is a dangerous game; comparing the short-selling strategies of two investing legends; Jesse Livermore, who makes millions during the crash of 1929; James Chanos, who predicts the collapse of Enron in the early 2000s.

George Soros, financier and philosopher, makes more than a billion dollars in one day; tracing the saga of this man's life, from Nazi-occupied Hungary to the world stage; his journey from social science theorist to global macro trader.

Learning from the successes of Ray Dalio, founder of one of the world's largest hedge funds; the firm's Pure Alpha Fund gains almost 10 percent during the financial crisis in 2008; focusing on Dalio's global macro and multi-strategy.

Studying the investment strategy of Paul Tudor Jones, the man who predicts the stock market crash of 1987; focusing on Jones's background in futures trading; his savvy use of technical analysis and market psychology.

Tracing the financial career of mathematician and former cryptographer James Simons, who tackles the challenge of consistently beating the market; how "quants" such as Simons use computer algorithms to model security prices and execute trades.

For the intrepid investor, there are potential riches to be made when companies go under; exploring distressed investing through the successes of two masters; how to seize opportunities by buying what others do not want or must sell under duress.

Traveling with the commodities specialist dubbed "the Indiana Jones of finance"; Jim Rogers tours the world, scouting out opportunities in emerging markets; how to break into commodities trading; Rogers's tips on what to look for in a foreign market.

Turning to private equity and leveraged buyouts; exploring notable deals by two stars of the field; Kravis's takeover of RJR Nabisco in 1988; though one may never do an LBO oneself, they can invest in private equity firms that are publicly traded.

On average, women are better investors than men, with the qualities crucial to success in the financial world; studying Hetty Green, Linda Bradford Raschke, Sonia Gardner and Leda Braga, and each of their approaches to building wealth.

Survey the shifting fortunes of one famous company that over the course of a century made it appeal to almost every type of investor covered in this course. Then go through a detailed checklist that reveals the investment approach that matches your o