Product Description

The renowned, iconoclastic head of the Acorn Fund shares his profit-maximizing, risk-minimizing investment advice in a book as irreverent as it is smart.

When USA Today asked a group of prominent professional portfolio managers whom they would choose to manage their personal wealth, the person most often cited was Ralph Wanger (Warren Buffett came in second). Hailed by both Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report as the "dean" of small-cap investing, Ralph Wanger explains the principles of investing in small, rapidly growing companies whose stocks will yield well-above-average returns.

Investors are like zebras in lion country: They must settle for meager pickings by sticking in the middle of the herd, or seek richer rewards at the outer edge, where hungry lions lurk. Wanger shows investors -- whether they are investing in mutual funds or buying stocks on their own -- how to achieve the right balance of safety and risk to survive and prosper in the investment jungle. Destined to become a classic in the field of investing, A Zebra in Lion Country is as entertaining as it is instructive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #499672 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From Library Journal
Wanger has managed the highly successful Acorn mutual fund for over 25 years, investing in undervalued but financially sound smaller companies with superior growth potential. Because there are so many stocks to evaluate, Wanger first looks for growth themes and then identifies specific companies. He doesn't believe in market timing and considers mutual funds to be the best option for most investors. Like Peter Lynch and John Rothchild's One Up on Wall Street (S. & S., 1989), this book does a good job of explaining the basics of investing in a nontechnical and often amusing manner, though it is largely limited to Wanger's own investing experience. Recommended for general and informed readers interested in investing.?Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ., Harborcreek, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Don Phillips Morningstar, Inc. Ralph Wanger's A Zebra in Lion Country is a delightful book. Few managers can match Wanger's investment prowess. Fewer still can share the secrets to their success with such wit and clarity. From novice to pro, every investor should read this book. -- Review

About the Author
Ralph Wanger is Founding Partner of Chicago's Wanger Asset Management, which is responsible for more than $5 billion in three mutual funds -- Acorn, Acorn International, and Acorn USA -- and two variable annuities, Wanger Advisors Trust US and International. Acorn, created in 1970 to specialize in the stocks of small, rapidly growing companies, has one of the best long-term performance records in the mutual fund industry. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a master's degree from the same university, Wanger lives in Chicago with his wife, Leah, a Harvard Ph.D. and partner in Wanger Asset Management, and their two daughters. He has three children from a previous marriage.

Customer Reviews

Easy read, broad concepts - for the mutual fund investor
If you are looking for a book on how to pick small cap stocks, this book is not for you.

If you are looking for reasons why mutual funds are better off than picking stocks on your own, this book will offer you many such reasons.

Mr Wanger invests in what I would conclude as a fundamental-value style and indeed there are certain principles that a reader may be able to extract and apply to his own stock picking approach, eg investing in themes, buying value etc.

However, the more I read, the more the book seemed to promote mutual funds for the lay investor. Depending on your personal preferences, that may indeed be the way to go for some of you.

I offer the following quote from page 237 as a summary of this book:

'Don't overpay, no matter how much you like a company. Invest in themes that will give a company a long-term franchise. Invest downstream from technology. Think and invest globally. Find stocks to own, not trade.'

A must-read for small-company stock and fund investors!
Ralph Wanger writes about his investment philosophy and his experiences while managing the Acorn Fund (spanning over 25 years, and encompassing varied stock-market environments) in this `un-putdownable' book. Most investors know that the phrases "disciplined investing" and "small-cap stocks" generally don't go together. In an area where gunslingers dominate the scene, Wanger's approach, explained by him in his inimitable humorous style, comes across as a breath of fresh air. "A Zebra Among the Lions" will be useful both for mutual fund investors and for those who want to invest in small-cap stocks on their own. Chapter 6 ("Themes and Variations") and chapter 7 ("Downstream from Technology") are of particular interest -- Wanger not only explains his investment philosophy in detail here, but also gives helpful pointers to those who have the time and the inclination to venture into the small-cap world on their own. And for those who prefer to stick to mutual funds, he provides a yardstick by which to evaluate their fund managers. Wanger also elaborates on the opportunities in international small-cap investing (and its importance in the coming years and decades) in Chapter 11 ("While You're at It, Include the World"). Finally, in Chapter 12 ("Parting Reminders"), he offers valuable guidelines that the investor has to keep in mind in order to achieve success. In summary, Wanger explains how it is possible for the zebra (the investor) to eat fresh grass (get attractive returns) and yet, minimize the chances of being attacked by the lions (losing money in the market)! "A Zebra Among the Lions" shatters the myth that small-cap investing has to be tumultuous and risky. Quite to the contrary, it can be systematic and rewarding. And fun too! If you find this a little hard to believe, I strongly recommend that you read this book!

Ralph Wagner explains how to invest in Ralph Wagner
The subtitle claims this book explains "how to invest in small rapidly growing companies".

Well, it turns out that, according to this book, the best way to accomplish this is to invest in small, rapidly growing companies. In all seriosness, there is almost no useful advice in this book about how to pick stocks.

What this book does explain, in extravagent detail, is why you should not pick stocks, you should use a mutual fund, and while we are on the subject, the Acorn fund (which is run by Ralph) has made lots of money. Also Acorn lost some money here and there, you shouldn't get the impression that the author is claiming infallability.

In all fairness, this was a fairly interesting read, and provided some good general insights into investing. But as far as useful insights into choosing small, rapidly growing companies, the reader is left with the impression that this can only be done by professionals. A legitimate viewpoint, except for the fact that this is exactly what the book promises (fraudulently, in my estimation) to explain how to do.