The Zurich Axioms (Harriman Classics): The rules of risk and reward used by generations of Swiss bankers

I have been a professional investor for about 15 years. If I had to choose only one book for my bookshelf, The Zurich Axioms would be it.Consider the puzzle of Switzerland. It's a rocky country, half the size of Maine. It has not one inch of seacoast, no oil, and a climate and topography that is inhospitable to farming. It has stayed out of wars for 300 years because no invader really wanted it. Yet the Swiss are among the most affluent people in the world. How? By being the world's cleverest investors and speculators.This book suggests that to make any kind of gain in life, you must place some of your material and/or emotional capital at risk. The Swiss conclude that the sensible way to conduct one's life is not to shun risk but to expose oneself to it deliberately. To make money you must bet, but not in a mindless way. To bet, instead, with care and in such a way that large gains are more likely than large losses.There are twelve major "axioms" or rules that guide investors to much better results. This book is a simple read with powerful rules. If you follow these guidelines, investing success will be much easier. But, of course, most people will let their emotions get in the way and let hope, greed, and stubbornness dominate. They will listen to "experts" make forecasts and make investments accordingly. And, as you can imagine, most investors will do very poorly.Buy this inexpensive book and take the axioms to heart. It will make you a much better investor.

This is a real easy book and refreshes a tired mind in trading. I recommend this book strongly for any trader. Max Gunther write very clearly. Anytime I seem to move away from rules of trading I pick up this book. Not only have I kept a copy next to my terminal at home and office but also have one copy on kindle.

This book is filled with gold. It is fun to read and you may not even notice how much valuable information you will find in each page. The axioms cover so many areas of human psychology and trading that you may only later realize what you have in your hands.It does not go into details about trading strategies, money management (apart from the basic but fundamental ones such as "cut your losses" and "realize your profits early") and position sizing. But this is not what this book is about. It is an eye opener with key fundamental ideas and principles that you will soon or later find more than essential.Two of the many fundamental principles stated there that many people ignore - and many may not see their full value at first reading (or even later!):- do not diversify your capital allocated to risk investments if your goal is growth,- to invest is essentially to speculate.You will be more than excused to read about speculation when others think that you should be reading about investing. You will understand why.Yet it is not a perfect book. It gives no value to any kind of technical analysis or trading system. But it is so, because it does focus on a healthy scepticism - which is without doubt better than taking the opposite side! So its shortcomings are forgiven.Not often will you find this kind of information packed in a concise, straightforward and fun-to-read style. A great book! Highly recommended for just anyone.

Very interesting book, easy read.

Max Gunther summarized "the speculator's wisdom" into 12 major and 16 minor axioms. The axioms sound true and useful, although interestingly they lean toward defensive strategy in the spirit of "first rule is not to lose any money". Gunther dismisses technical analysis as pointless staring at random patterns, he thinks markets are entirely random and unpredictable (bordering playing the lottery). He cites earth quakes, terrorist attacks, financial collapse to prove that point, but these events are indeed extremely rare. He advises against diversification, one should go all in with meaningful bets, without diluting the gains. Then stay there, but not too long. He dismisses long term planning, listening to the crowd (although multiple studies prove the wisdom of the crowd over the individual, disregarding bubble effects), dollar cost averaging, forecasts, intuition, patterns, but offers no alternative.Very little can be used in trading or speculation. When, what, why, how, where should a speculative bet be made?( Jesse Livermore’s book “How To Trade In Stocks” is dismissed as “perfect nonsense”. At least Livermore attempted to be more specific than listing “axioms”. )After the reader is convinced about unpredictability of the market (with ever present danger of losing all investment money) he is left with no counterpoint. This is the biggest weakness of the book. While it is an entertaining read, if someone is looking for truly useful advice, I would recommend "The Coffeehouse Investor" or "Millionaire Teacher". If one aims to be more than an "investor", I suggest "The Perfect Speculator". But if one is an “axiom” believer, I recommend the excellent “Simple Rules” by Sull and Eisenhardt.

Awesome insight into the world of speculation. I immediately felt at home inside the pages of this book. It is a must read for any investor and will equip one with the guidance needed to meet the challenges of not only how and when to speculate but how to mentally deal with the ups and downs of profits and losses.If there is a primer for the speculator this is it. I know I will consult it frequently.

Solid! Hard principles to accept for the risk averse. But if you want to grow some financial hair on your chest, read this book. If you don't like speculation, this book is not for you... stick to golf...

An interesting, concise, book that all serious investors should read. Axiom 7: Intuition - A hunch can be trusted if it can be explained. Never confuse a hunch with hope.

Es un libro muy rápido y muy concreto. Gráficamente describe las características de todos tus amigos perdedores, y te adelanta el hecho de que la vida es difícil, no existe fórmula mágica, debes acostumbrarte a las pérdidas y debes ponerte las pilas... Everybody wants to win, but not everyone wants to bet...

Great reading, after spending few years in stock market and trying all the tricks in public domain, losing some money, this book opens another dimension for me on investment world. Very interesting narrative and interesting perspectives, I was able to extrapolate few axioms to personal life on relations and career management as well

... gäbe es weniger Gewinne an der Börse - einfach, weil weniger Leute einzahlen würden. Der Autor schreibt für meinen Geschmack ein bisschen sehr annektotisch, die Aussagen selbst sind aber wahrhaft axiomatisch. Dabei provozieren sie in gewissem Umfang, z.B. mit der Ausage, dass man immer zu früh aus einer Positionen aussteigen sollte, was meiner bisherigen Überzeugung des "Gewinne laufen lassen" widerspricht. Bei näherer Betrachtung aber erkennt man, dass hinter diesem Axiom das Streben nach absoluter Risikokontrolle steht. Diese absolute Kontrolle ist zwar nicht erreichbar, aber das Streben danach sichert Gewinne und hält Verluste relativ und absolut klein. Die 12 Axiome singen ein Lied auf das EIngehen von Risiken ebenso wie auf deren Kontrolle. Sie zeigen auf das Risiko-Management als das Kernstück, als den eigentlichen "Heiligen Gral" des Erfolgs als Händler. Darin liegt ihr unschätzbarer Wert.

one of the best for me, Love the book.

A pearl, a gem... wonderful book, spirited, great style. A book to read and occasionally re-read and find new meanings and lessons.