A text that aims to be modern, simple to read and above all written in Italian
Apogeonline: You have already written about Excel and investing with your previous book, Trading with Excel. Is this new book a sort of version 2.0 of the trading idea or does it develop concepts that are also new?
Fabrizio Cesarini and Donata Petrelli: The new book, Value Investing with Excel, is the missing piece in the trading education puzzle. The two books together complete the cultural background necessary for any investor and trader.
The first book deals with topics specific to technical analysis, suitable for understanding the markets and the best times to operate in them, while the second deals with various topics, some of which relate to fundamental analysis, which help to understand the instruments in which to invest.
Even if the audience is often divided into two distinct factions, we think that having a basis of both serves to optimize the work of the trader and the investor.
Is value investing a technique that can be applied, always with due caution, even by a beginner?
Certainly. In some ways, Value Investing is an investment philosophy, a sort of mindset based on study, discernment, discretion, consistency and patience.
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All characteristics that are well suited to every type of conscious investor. Even more so if at the beginning of your trading activity.
Why did you choose this specific theme for the book? Does value investing have particularly interesting peculiarities compared to other techniques?
Yes, it’s particularly interesting. We ourselves use it for our work and operations.
Initially when we approached this technique we did a lot of research into sources and resources to study. We thus realized that there are many books that deal with this topic in depth but they are almost all in English. While in Italian we had a lot of difficulty finding material or, at least, books with a non-academic level and with a more discursive style, capable of explaining the topic in a simple but complete way.
From here the idea of writing a book on Value Investing was born, as we would have liked to find and read at the beginning of our journey. So a book in a modern style, easy to read and… in Italian!
To manage Value Investing do you need a particularly high command of Excel or is the subject within the reach of a good expert of the program?
Excel is an extremely flexible and powerful tool. Its knowledge and use allow you to carry out your job, whatever it may be, in the best possible way.
In Value investing in particular it allows you to carry out calculations and analyzes in a fast and personalized way. The level of knowledge you possess is what will then allow you to do it in an automated or non-automated way.
In this book we wanted to ensure that everyone could use Excel, regardless of how much they know it, thus opting for basic use without the use of code.
Value Investing with Excel has two prefaces. One is prestigious from a financial point of view and we can expect to read something like that at the beginning of a book like this; the other is signed by… a chef. How did this rather singular synergy arise?
Friendship and deep professional respect!
Value-based investments require a long and constant path of study, research and technical tests to invest successfully. Likewise, a true professional invests time and resources to grow and establish himself in his field.
Both prefaces, as well as friends, represent for us the personification of conscious choices made over time to reach levels of excellence. Whether it is the management of a fund… but also a starred cuisine.
An innovative approach to value investing that shows even non-experts how to exploit the power of Excel and define an effective method.
As compared to Trading with Excel, how did you find the creation of this new book? Did you find yourselves experienced authors put to the test once again, or did you learn something new from the new experience?
Each editorial project is a new experience and brings with it the lessons learned from previous works. For this we are very grateful to the readers who have followed us for a long time. Thanks to their indications, we try to improve our expository style with each new book, always creating new and original content.
Growing as authors means learning to communicate to an audience that changes over time by its very nature but also due to a now unstoppable process of globalization and technological development.
Today the attention span is increasingly shorter and the availability of usable information is increasingly greater. We must know how to deal with these variables every time and try to provide valuable content in the simplest and most immediate way possible.
What advantage do you think is fundamental for the reader of Value Investing with Excel?
The acquisition of a customized analysis methodology.
The theory of fundamental analysis and value investing provide us with the basic rules to draw on and the elementary tools at our disposal. Starting from these basic elements we can then build the analysis tools best suited to our needs.
In the financial sector, synthetic tools for analyzing markets already exist. They are called indexes. There are an infinite number of them, depending on the type of analysis you want to conduct, whether by sector, geographical area, etc. After clarifying their structure and logic, the book allows you to learn how to create a new one that fits perfectly to the reader’s financial needs.
In short, analyze the markets in an unconventional way IT CAN BE DONE!
Since artificial intelligence is the order of the day… have you happened to use it in some phase of production of the book?
We have not used AI to generate the contents of the book but, on the contrary, we have extensively explained an Artificial Intelligence method for the selection of financial instruments.
Professionally we were born and raised with AI when the topic was not yet in the public domain like it is now. We used neural networks to make our market forecasts when ChatGPT didn’t exist yet and it wasn’t on everyone’s lips.
We have also covered the topic in previous texts and always with specific applications for financial markets. However, the use we have always made of it, and which we also propose in Value Investing, is purely technical.
For us, AI is first of all an intense use of statistics. Thanks to these sophisticated algorithms it is possible to make very sophisticated probabilistic calculations. It is with this philosophy that an algorithm was used in the book which was created as a powerful marketing tool but which goes perfectly with the creation of market analysis tools… but we don’t want to spoil too much.
What is your greatest satisfaction in seeing Value Investing with Excel on sale?
The answer is certainly not unique. It is multifaceted and articulated… above all because there are two of us and each one tends to make their own personal assessments.
But if we have to give one that is valid for both then the answer is certainly this:
The greatest satisfaction is knowing that there are still people who strongly believe in training and invest their time to acquire knowledge for their financial well-being.
Any advice for those approaching your book for the first time and perhaps investing in general?
This answer is simple. Just follow the teachings of one of the greatest investors in history and a proponent of Value Investing, Warren Buffett:
- Rule 1: never lose money.
- Rule 2: never forget rule 1.
It seems trivial but it isn’t at all. It often happens that those who approach this sector do so with the intention of earning a lot and immediately, but this is unrealistic. Those who have been trading for a long time know well that the first thing you need to think about is reducing risks and protecting yourself from losses. Only then can you think about earning money and it takes time, consistency and method to be able to do so.
The financial market is unpredictable. The only certain variable is uncertainty. For this reason we must be aware that entire capital can also be lost. Protecting yourself from this scenario is the first step for a correct approach to investments and trading in general.
Original opening image by the Apogeonline editorial team.
