The Forever Portfolio: How to Pick Stocks That You Can Hold for the Long Run [Hardcover]

James Altucher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2008

How to find companies with high long-term value by understanding key trends

Warren Buffett once said that his favorite holding period for a stock is “forever.” Now James Altucher shows how to find “forever” stocks—ones you can safely buy and hold for at least twenty years. These companies will profit from broad demographic trends and can ride out any short-term market fluctuations.

For instance, Altucher says it’s smart to invest in:

• Obesity: 33 billion dollars are spent each year on services for the obese
• Dirty Water: Developing countries are finding it much harder to deliver clean water to their growing populations, and companies that sell clean water treatment technologies will thrive
• Luxury: The rich are recession-proof, and the stocks of luxury producers make a great hedge against any slowdown in the global economy

The Forever Portfolio shows investors how to build a strong, consistent, long-term portfolio, diversified enough to withstand the various cycles of the market.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Altucher is president and founder of Stockpickr LLC, which runs a thriving Web site that has been called the “MySpace for finance.” He is also a managing partner at the asset management firm Formula Capital, a columnist for The Financial Times, a frequent guest on CNBC, and a nationally ranked chess master.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (November 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591842115
• ISBN-13: 978-1591842118
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,162,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've made a lot of money. I've lost a lot of money. I've lost homes/family/friends. I've made some of the above back.

I've gotten really lucky. Several times. With determination, I'll make it stick. And I think you will also.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Interesting premise, poor execution, December 30, 2008

By 

Concerned Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forever Portfolio: How to Pick Stocks That You Can Hold for the Long Run (Hardcover)

The premise of the book is quite interesting---what are fundamental trends with significant tail wind? And, indeed, the author throws out some interesting ideas, like varicose vein treatments in response to obesity problems. That said, the book is horribly written---the author has about 20 pages of interesting content interspersed with 200 pages of random digressions, about his love of computer games and the longest words in the English language.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars leaves more to be desired, February 21, 2010

By 

D. N. Ivanoff "Seeking the best of Alpha" (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forever Portfolio: How to Pick Stocks That You Can Hold for the Long Run (Kindle Edition)

This is a good book and i respect James efforts to steers us towards respectable companies.
However, as a standalone book it leaves much more to be desired. The students of trading need to revisit the writings of Toby Crabel and Linda Raschke in order to learn from real traders and hedge fund managers. These could be found here or on Ebay. From what i understand James does not trade full time.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not painful but not as good as I had hoped, December 25, 2008

By 

H. Allen (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forever Portfolio: How to Pick Stocks That You Can Hold for the Long Run (Kindle Edition)

I like the basic idea of the book that time is one advantage individual investors have. Unfortunately, I found the book superficial. The author is on to something but does not develop his thoughts well enough for the reader to take away a truly useful framework for investing.