Beating the Odds: Eddie Brown's Investing and Life Strategies

by Eddie Brown, Blair S. Walker (Primary Contributor)

Beating the Odds is the improbable, inspiring autobiography of financial guru Eddie C. Brown, one of the nation's top stock pickers and money managers. It details how Brown skillfully kept Brown Capital Management afloat through the dot-com bust, 9/11 and the Great Recession. Born to a 13-year-old unwed mother in the rural South, this African-American investment whiz created a Baltimore-based financial firm that amassed more than $6 Billion under management. Brown delves into the profound heartbreak and disorientation upon the death of his beloved grandmother – who was his surrogate mother -- and recounts how Brown's moonshine-running Uncle Jake subsequently became the dominant adult figure in Brown's life. His unflinchingly honest, easy-to-read memoir details how intellectual curiosity, abiding self-belief, hard work and divine providence helped Brown earn an electrical engineering degree, become an Army officer, and later a civilian IBM engineer. Readers will learn of the strife that ensued when Brown quit IBM to earn an MBA, leading to investment jobs that prepared him to start his own money management company in 1983.

Genres: Business

248 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2011

Reviews

[Arun Narayanaswamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is one book in life you have a chance to read, then this is the one.
It’s an inspiration beyond words. Such a nice biography on how the world brings luck when you put hard work/effort to it.

This is a life’s take by the author - from being born to a single mom in a small town to how he works his way through life (Harvard, MBA, managing Multi billion in funds) ! There surely are many inspirational lives, but to know eddies is a privilege!

(I am a person from other part if the world and have no link to the author except for being a reader )

[Anthony Cerelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most fascinating biographies I have read

[Joel Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

INVESTING IS PART ART AS YOU CAN NEVER BE TOTALLY SURE WHAT TAKES PLACE WITHIN A COMPANY'S WALLS. ITS PART SCIENCE BECAUSE YOU HAVE HISTORICAL NUMBERS.

T Rowe Price started the revenue model as a % of FUM in 1937. Was the original growth investor.

Competence, preparation, and unbridled ambition and optimism all help with starting own firm. Having enough cash not to draw a salary for 3 years is also important.

We are willing to pay a much higher PE for a given growth rate in a low PE environment.

[Justarius · Rating 2 out of 5]

The tale itself is inspirational, but for me, the style detracts from it somewhat. It is written in an understated, matter-of-fact, "journalistic" manner, presumably to let the tale tell itself. I would have preferred it to be a bit more personal. This is an autobiography after all. It is also written in the present tense which makes me feel odd since it is all about the past.