Zebra In Lion Country: The Dean Of Small Cap Stocks Explains How To Invest In Small Rapidly Growin

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.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

On the ground intelligence serves to verify the fundemental analysis, 2008-04-29
This book is NOT even similar to Fundamental Analysis, by Graham ( Buffet's peer so to speak - value investing), it is not
Technical Analysis book. It is similar to Lynch's book - One up on Wall Street, but better - I am a bit biased possibly - I been in the Acorn Fund since about 1986 or so, and like him I have my BSEE, although I am not as heavily invested or concentrated in that fund anymore. Acorn Funds was bought by Liberty Funds, which was then bought by Columbia (BoA). I would give One up on Wall Street four stars, Wagner gets five, I do not rate it as a fundamental analysis book, nor technical analysis book. It's no longer a small cap fund with 200 million or so in assets when I opened my account in ACRNX - it's now a mid cap growth fund, with 11 billion dollars in assets. ACRNX has been a top rated five star fund, by Morningstar. for the vast majority of time since 1986, if not the entire time, with lower than average risk, low turnover, and superior returns. If you want something like an automated fundamental analysis that I believe you can modify to your taste and Wagner's approach - check out American Individual Investors ( [...] ) and order the stock screening program - it has a stock screening program that attempts to put Wagner's approach and about 30 other expert's selection method into a software program and database for screening stocks. Wagner does indeed attempt to discourage investors from investing perhaps their entire stock portfolio in individual stocks; since, most people do not have the resources or time to do it his way, visiting companies, plant inspections, listen in on corporate meetings/media events, going to the trade shows - classical intelligence work. A critical part of his method - one will never get the best intelligence by satellite alone - that probably will never happen. The additional piece of information that critical - he states that up to 50%of ones stock investments should be in overseas stocks and that was in 1997 - which makes the on the ground intelligence gathering for the vast majority of individual investors near impossible. Then there is the desk work - research of annual reports, SEC filing, etc - Fundamental Analysis. But, Wagner was starting to phase out and going into consulting/semi retirement for Liberty when the Internet was starting coming up to speed or mature a bit - which make it easier for the individual investor. I was slightly surprised that Wagner used options on the S&P index. I plan on at least loaning my copy of this book to my niece, for graduation she recieve a subsription to AAII. I doubt even Wagner would advise some one to buy ACRNX today if they had to pay a load. Nor advise anyone to pay front end or back end load on the purchase of the shares of any Mutual Fund. There just are too many good to excellent funds with good to excellent mutual fund managers that do not have front end or back end loads.




0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Insightful, educational and entertaining!, 2008-04-01
I have spent the last decade working in the investments industry and only wish I had discoverd Ralph Wanger's book sooner. He is right on target with is investment process and philosopy. In addition, his book is not some dry, droll, academic textbook, he is equally entertaining as he shares his words of wisdom!...


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

One to buy, keep and re-read..., 2007-10-31
I bought this book when it first came out. It is an easy read, but the insights are timeless. I probably read five or six investment books a year. Of those, I re-read very few. This one I re-read every two or three years because it just reinforces the basics and it is enjoyable. Books like this are very helpful in understanding market psychology and volatility. I am a basic fundamental investor, but not understanding fear and greed will impact your successes and losses when dealing with Mr. Market. Do yourself a favor, buy it and read it.


6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Easy read, broad concepts - for the mutual fund investor, 2005-06-05
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.'


0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Learn What the Big Boys Know, 2004-12-12
A must read if you plan on investing in this very competitive market. Mr. Wagner picks his brain for us for his knowledge of this special market.

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