Beyond the Zulu Principle: Extraordinary Profits from Growth Shares (Harriman Modern Classics) Book

"Good investment is often a case of turning conventional wisdom on its head", says Jim Slater in the very first sentence of chapter one. He certainly goes against received wisdom in proposing that small investors eschew diversification and concentrate their energies and their capital on 10 to 12 stocks. However, more than being an extension of the Zulu Principle, this volume serves as a companion to his real magnum opus, Company REFS (Really Essential Financial Statistics).Slater draws an early distinction between "value" and "growth" investing, but the true underlying contest is between growth investing and the "Efficient Market" hypothesis that holds that "everything that is known about a company" is reflected in the share price. The fulcrum of the argument is that there are growth shares that are underpriced because the market has not yet absorbed available information and consensus forecasts. Beyond the Zulu Principle is dedicated to elucidating and applying the tests for determining whether a growth share has further to run. Much of this book makes compelling and seductive reading although after the initial euphoria, the doubts began to intrude--particularly regarding the theoretical underpinning of the crucial PEG factor--the ratio of the prospective P/E and estimated growth in EPS--which, unlike its constituents, seems to be an arbitrary ratio and does not appear to measure anything. Likewise, some of the author's arithmetic has an engaging seat-of-the-pants frisson.In the main, Beyond the Zulu Principle is well focused, commendably brief and rarely heavy going. There is one final reservation, however. The usefulness of this volume in the absence of Slater's REFS itself is a moot point. REFS claims to take all the slog out of the testing process, but it costs. Do you sincerely want to be rich? --David MeyerRead More