"Loeb tells us to put all our eggs in one basket, and watch the basket."
-John RothchildFinancial Columnist, Time magazine
"This book is very special in my life. It is the very first Wall Street book I ever read. After reading 1,200 additional finance books, The Battle for Investment Survival's principles and concepts are still valid for consistent success."
-Victor Sperandeo Author of Trader Vic on Commodities
In The Battle for Investment Survival, the turf is Wall Street, the goal is to preserve your capital at all costs, and to win is to "make a killing without being killed." This memorable classic, originally written in 1935, offers a fresh perspective on investing from times past. The Battle for Investment Survival treats investors to a straightforward account of how to profit-and how to avoid profit loss-in what Loeb would describe as the constant tug-of-war between rising and falling markets.

GERALD M. LOEB worked on Wall Street as a stockbroker for forty years, beginning in the late 1920s. He was also a financial writer whose articles were published in Barron's, Wall Street Today, and Investor Magazine. A prolific writer throughout his career, Loeb also authored Gerald Loeb's Checklist for Buying Stocks and Your Battle for Stock Market Profits.

Foreword ix

Introduction xix

1. IT REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND FLAIR 1

2. SPECULATIVE ATTITUDE ESSENTIAL 5

3. IS THERE AN IDEAL INVESTMENT? 8

4. PITFALLS FOR THE INEXPERIENCED 11

5. HOW TO INVEST FOR CAPITAL APPRECIATION 15

6. SPECULATION VERSUS INVESTMENT 20

7. SOUND ACCOUNTING FOR INVESTORS 23

8. WHY COMMITMENTS SHOULD NOT BE HAPHAZARD 26

9. SOME "DON'TS" IN SECURITY PROGRAMS 29

10. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN CORPORATE REPORTS 32

11. CONCERNING FINANCIAL INFORMATION, GOOD AND BAD 37

12. WHAT TO BUY-AND WHEN 40

13. IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT TIMING 43

14. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, MARKET TRENDS, AND PUBLIC PSYCHOLOGY 46

15. PRICE MOVEMENT AND OTHER MARKET ACTION FACTORS 50

16. FURTHER TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS 55

17. MORE ON TECHNICAL POSITION OF MARKET-ITS INTERPRETATION AND SIGNIFICANCE 62

18. ADVANTAGES OF SWITCHING STOCKS 67

19. "FAST MOVERS" OR "SLOW MOVERS"? 70

20. DETECTING "GOOD" BUYING OR "GOOD" SELLING 73

21. QUALITIES OF THE GOOD INVESTOR OR INVESTMENT ADVISER 76

22. GAINING PROFITS BY TAKING LOSSES 78

23. YOU CAN'T FORECAST, BUT YOU CAN MAKE MONEY 82

24. STRATEGY FOR PROFITS 85

25. THE EVER-LIQUID ACCOUNT 91

26. A REALISTIC APPRAISAL OF BONDS 95

27. MERITS OF MINING SHARES 100

28. DIVERSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS 103

29. TRAVEL AS AN EDUCATION FOR INVESTORS 106

30. GENERAL THOUGHTS ON SPECULATION 109

31. INVESTMENT AND SPENDING 113

32. INVESTMENT AND TAXATION 117

33. INVESTMENT AND INFLATION 130

POSTSCRIPT 137

34. CASE HISTORY EXAMPLES 141

35. INVESTMENT TRUST INVESTING IS AVERAGE INVESTING 153

36. DO TAX LOSSES MEAN SAVINGS? 155

37. ODD-LOT INVESTORS AREN'T ALWAYS WRONG 157

38. WHAT WOMEN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT STOCKS 159

39. TIP TO THE INVESTOR: ALWAYS WRITE IT DOWN 162

40. WHAT IS BETTER: DOLLARS IN THE HAND-OR "IN THE BUSH"? 164

41. LAST WILLS AND TESTAMENTS SHOULD BE CAREFULLY DRAWN 166

42. PRICE OF STOCK IS WHAT COUNTS 168

43. CAREFUL INVESTORS LOOK FOR SIGNS OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT 170

44. ACT YOUR AGE WHEN INVESTING 172

45. INVESTORS SHOULD BUDGET FOR FUTURE FLUCTUATIONS 174

46. WHAT TO DO ABOUT LOSSES 176

47. SEVERAL FALLACIES OF THE MARKETPLACE 178

48. ARE YOU FAST ENOUGH TO SWITCH CAPITAL? 180

49. HOW A BULL MARKET AFFECTS YOUR INVESTMENT THOUGHTS 182

50. DON'T LET TAX QUESTIONS CLOUD INVESTMENT DECISIONS 184

51. STOP ORDERS NEED CAREFUL EVALUATION 186

52. CASH DIVIDENDS MAY SLOW GROWTH OF YOUNG COMPANY 188

53. MIDDLE COURSE HELPS BUYERS TO AVOID MARKET FALLACIES 190

54. WALL STREET PROVERBS ARE OFTEN FALLACIOUS 192

55. INVESTING IN NEW PRODUCTS 194

56. NEWS AND THE MARKET 196

57. A LITTLE INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE IS NECESSARY FOR EVERY CITIZEN 198

58. DON'T LOOK FOR MANAGEMENT AT BARGAIN RATES 200

59. MIRACLE PLAN INVESTING 203

60. THE STEP SYSTEM 208

61. DOUBLE DIVIDENDS 211

62. A LAYMAN LOOKS AT BUILDING 221

63. INVESTMENT MANAGER'S DILEMMA 228

64. I DON'T SELL-PEOPLE BUY FROM ME 230

65. MONEY FROM MARKET LETTERS 246

66. THE IDEAL CLIENT 250

67. PERPETUAL PROFITS 253

68. WHAT MAKES A STOCK "GOOD"? 255

69. A DOLLAR TODAY 257

70. THE LEOPARD NEVER CHANGES ITS SPOTS 259

71. WORDS FOR THE BEGINNER 264

72. MORE ON TAPE READING 270

73. WHAT'S THE VALUE OF WATCHING "TAPE"? 279

74. IMPORTANCE OF EQUITY INVESTMENTS 281

75. WALLFLOWER STOCKS 285

76. MORE DOUBLE DIVIDENDS 288

77. NEVER ACCEPT WITHOUT CHECKING 303

78. HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR INVESTMENTS 305