The Motilal Oswal Chairman during a 2022 podcast ‘Market Ki Baat’ by Groww, which was later compiled in a book named ‘The αlpha bets’, said that a book becomes a part of him. “I take it to my office, keep it at home, and carry it while travelling until I finish reading it,” he said, adding that if a book is particularly engrossing, he sometimes takes two days off work to finish reading it.

According to Agrawal, investors should focus on only two books but study them in depth. “Absorb their essence. Let them enhance your knowledge base,” he advised, adding that whether you agree with the author or not is irrelevant.

Here is Raamdeo Agrawal’s list of book recommendations for investors.

Legendary American investor Peter Lynch‘s 1989 classic, One Up on Wall Street, laid out a deceptively simple approach to investing. The book is a classic take on spotting investment opportunities from everyday life. In the book, Lynch explains that investment opportunities are everywhere – from the supermarket to the workplace. By paying attention to the best ones, investors can find companies to invest in before professional analysts discover them. When investors get in early, they can find the “tenbaggers,” the stocks that appreciate tenfold from the initial investment.

Also read: Why Rakesh Jhunjhunwala bought Titan shares when everyone else was selling? Raamdeo Agrawal explains

Warren Buffett’s annual reports

Raamdeo Agrawal also recommends investors to go through all of Warren Buffett’s writings in the annual reports of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. The legendary investor made it a point to communicate his thinking to his shareholders in a letter at the end of every year. These much-awaited letters were not only lessons in investing, but also in history.

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The Snowball

For those not keen on reading such voluminous material, The Snowball, Buffett’s biography, is a good alternative, according to Raamdeo Agrawal. The book details Buffett’s life and his investing career, which began to take off in 1956. That’s when he gathered $105,000 from four relatives and three close friends to start the Buffett Partnership. Later, the partnership began buying the stock of Berkshire Hathaway, a New England textile firm, for $7 and $8 a share in 1962. After 1969, Berkshire became Buffett’s investment vehicle.

Also read: AI bubble or boom? Why Warren Buffett called Big Short fame Michael Burry ‘Cassandra’

The ‘Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits’ by Philip A. Fisher is also on Raamdeo Agrawal’s list of books for investors to read. He in fact called it an essential read for investors keen on the stock market. “It is a very good book — a must-read,” he said, as quoted by the book which added that the market expert read it four or five times, and believes it should be kept as a guide.

Expectations Investing by Michael Mauboussin

‘Expectations Investing’ by Michael Mauboussin and Alfred Rappaport provides a powerful and insightful alternative to identifying gaps between price and value. In this book, the authors advise that investors should start with a known quantity, the stock price, and ask what it implies for future financial results. The book then explains how to assess the likelihood of revisions to these expectations.

The Theory of Investment Value by John Burr Williams

Raamdeo Agrawal also highlights a classic from 1938, The Theory of Investment Value by John Burr Williams. “Everyone talks about how to assess value, but nobody explains how price is determined. This book discusses that. It is truly unique in that way,” Raamdeo Agrawal was quoted as saying in Groww’s podcast.

The Motilal Oswal Chairman also named Mastering the Market Cycle by Howard Marks as another good read for promising investors. “Every book contains one or two powerful lessons. Internalise them. Apply what you learn. That’s how you elevate yourself beyond a CA into a CA+++,” he suggests.
Also read: Wealth lesson by Charlie Munger | ‘The big money is not in the buying or selling, but in the waiting’ The timeless wealth lesson from Warren Buffett’s legendary partner ‘Oracle of Pasadena’(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

While large-cap oriented indices are expected to participate in the country’s long-term economic expansion, the fund house believes micro-, small- and mid-cap stocks could be better positioned to deliver excess returns during the next phase of the market cycle, the fund house said in its monthly factsheet.

Also Read | Why is Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund still a top recommendation despite underperformance? Expert explains

“The markets are expected to consolidate over a period of time, and the large-cap oriented indices will do well to grow along with the macro-economic expansion of the country. Thus, it will be the micro, small and mid-caps spaces, which will drive alpha generation,” the fund house said.

Sandeep Tandon led Quant Mutual Fund further said that in its portfolio capital remains nearly fully allocated to capitalize on appealing valuations across diverse market sectors. Further its portfolio construction strategy is to focus on under-owned, under-researched, under-valued and neglected territory stocks.

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Over the last couple of years, the main concern of the fund house has been over-ownership by foreign institutions. Now, our concern is shifting towards over-ownership by domestic institutions.
As part of its sectoral positioning, Quant Mutual Fund remains underweight on manufacturing companies, citing uncertainty around input costs and supply-chain dynamics. The fund house continues to maintain a positive outlook on sectors such as energy, large-scale infrastructure, select non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), asset management companies (AMCs), select private sector banks, hotels, pharmaceuticals, telecom and data-centre-related businesses.

In its monthly report, the fund house said India will be a big beneficiary of improved trade terms with the US following the trade agreement, which is expected to be finalized soon, because India’s productivity is maximized (Export services) and financial costs are optimized (Forex reserves) better than with any other nation or region in the world.

However, the fund house cautioned that higher crude oil prices, rising input costs and logistics-related challenges could weigh on corporate earnings in the near term.

It further said that we believe that the era of easy money and seemingly perpetual operations of a nebulous ‘Plunge protection team’ is drawing to a close. The new Federal Reserve Chair is setting out to dismantle Wall Street’s expectation of this Fed Put on the markets.

On performance, Quant Mutual Fund said its investment framework has delivered consistent results across market cycles. As of May 31, 2026, the fund house said that nine of 10 equity and hybrid schemes with a 10-year track record outperformed their benchmarks, with all nine ranked in the first quartile.

Around 10 schemes of 12 schemes with a five-year track record outperformed their benchmarks, including eight ranked in first-quartile. Nearly 14 schemes of 16 schemes outperformed their benchmarks over three years, with 13 ranking in Quartile 1 and lastly, 15 schemes of 16 schemes with a one-year track record beat their benchmarks, while 12 ranked in Quartile 1.

It added that instead of relying on traditional buy-and-hold or quasi-passive strategies, investors should focus on adaptive asset allocation and active portfolio management to navigate changing market conditions.

Also Read |11 equity mutual funds multiply lumpsum investments by 4x in 7 years. Do you own any in your portfolio?

The fund house also highlighted the growth of its proprietary VLRT (Valuation, Liquidity, Risk Appetite and Timing) framework, which recently completed six years. During this period, Quant Mutual Fund’s assets under management have grown from around Rs 135 crore to over Rs 1 lakh crore, while its investor base has crossed one crore folios. It currently offers 34 mutual fund schemes and specialised investment products.

According to the fund house, its investment philosophy centres on generating superior risk-adjusted returns by maintaining a high active share and avoiding benchmark-hugging portfolios. It said the objective is to actively manage risk rather than simply replicate benchmark indices, with returns viewed as an outcome of effective risk management.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of NVO, ADP, ACN, FAST, ZTS, ROL, BMI, TJX, ODFL, INTU, V, MPWR, DRI, MA, LLY, AVGO, MSFT, RELX, WING, MSCI, MCO either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Retail investors placed their bets on small-cap stocks last March ’26 quarter—and the market rewarded many of them in a big way. Shareholding data shows that retail investors increased their stake in nearly 195 stocks in the Nifty Smallcap 500 Index compared with the previous December ’25 quarter. (Note: Retail investors refer to resident individuals holding nominal share capital of up to Rs 2 lakh.)

The move proved rewarding, with more than half of these companies delivering strong returns. Around 100 small-cap stocks rallied between 25% and 185% in just over three months, from the start of April to date. Among the biggest winners, 10 stocks skyrocketed 80% to 185%, while four emerged as multibaggers, more than doubling investors’ wealth in a little over three months. (Data Source: ACE Equity)