I’m often asked what books anyone working in, or looking to work in, investor relations should read. Obviously there are plenty books on finance, strategy, communications, presentations etc etc, but for fun, I usually suggest the person has a look at some of these too.
1. Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
2. The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis is a prolific writer, which leads me to the second book. You can cheat on this one and just watch the movie if you prefer.
3. The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort
Feel free to read any of Michael Lewis’s books, but for a variety, here’s another “character”. Again, you can opt for the movie version. A more grubby account than Liar’s Poker and soooo hard to put down!
4. Catching the Wolf of Wall Street
If you’ve read (or watched) The Wolf of Wall Street, you’re probably dying to know what happens next. Go on, you know you want to!
5. Barbarians at the gate by Bryan Burrough
Another classic first published in 1989, this time looking at the battle for control of corporate giant RJR Nabisco. Written by a Wall Street Journal reporter, it brings a different perspective. It was made into a TV movie in 1993, but it’s a bit dated to watch now so I’m going to encourage the book.
6. Rogue Trader by Nick Leeson
Personally blamed for the failure of Barings Bank in 1995, Nick Leeson’s name was splattered all over the UK media. It does take the “it wasn’t my fault” line (Bart Simpson?), but that’s understandable. Oh, and of course, there’s a movie. So much for the reading list!
8. The smartest guys in the room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
In 2001, the financial markets reeled from the tangled mess that was Enron which resulted in Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
9. Too big to fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin
Bringing us up to date, the last few books cover the financial crisis.
10. Shredded: Inside RBS, the bank that broke Britain by Ian Fraser
This is a clever title from his nickname “Fred the Shred” and the resultant RBS-specific verb “to be shredded”. Now, I worked for RBS for over a decade, so I’m not going to comment on the book – you’ll just have to read it and draw your own conclusions. The author is a financial journalist and has written for all the big publications.
11. Making it happen : Fred Goodwin, RBS and the men who blew up the British economy by Iain Martin
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