About the Author
Meet Robert Leppo
Born in Baltimore in 1943, Robert Leppo moved west at the age of four with his mother and older brother on the death of his father Arthur Deute. To his good fortune, when Bob was five, his mother married Harrison Leppo, who as a San Francisco investment counselor has much to teach Bob in his early years. An early obsession with reading allowed Bob to dive into history and geography and the biographies of great tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, great speculators like Jesse Livermore, and great empires like Byzantium. This book chronicles how Bob was able to combine a major dose of the gambling instinct, initially cultivated in poker, with an ability to learn from his many mistakes to fuel a successful, if volatile, career as a private investor focused at various times on three markets: the US stock market, the commodity futures market, and the start-up venture capital market. Bob lives in San Francisco.
The Occasional Speculator
Read My Blog
Don’t Guess on the Financial Markets, Get My Speculation Learn the tricks and strategies that have given me, Bob Leppo, an edge in stock market investing, commodity futures, and the wild world of venture capital. In today’s volatile markets, you need advice from someone who’s experienced the crucible of failure and the elation of successes - and finished with a fortune. Through The Speculator’s Mosaic you’ll get timely tips and musings that, when followed, will put you in a position to take maximum advantage from fluctuations in the market. Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter read by the most wired and powerful people.
Experience
Over 50 years experience in speculating and investing
Inside the Book
The Speculator's Mosaic is organized into five essential parts
Part I: The First Piece of the Mosaic
The most important reason I was able to beat the game was that I learned three things: one, to be patient; two, to know what hands to play; and three, to push the good hands hard with big bets.
Part II: The Second Piece of the Mosaic
I found a new strategy for speculating in the stock market. First, it had to work; and second (and just as important), it had to fit my personality. For the first time, I specifically included my emotions in analyzing how I would invest.
Part III: The Third Piece of the Mosaic
One can expect the effectiveness of all new speculative innovations has a limited half-life as their own cycle peaks. Only the early innovators will garner major success. Knowing where you are in the cycle matters.
Par IV: The Fourth Piece of the Mosaic
All illusions affecting the financial markets offer the opportunity to make money by speculating against them. The key is determining how long the illusion will hold, and how persistent it is.
Part V: The Mosaic Comes Together
The best chance of success comes to those who understand their own emotions and love what they do.
Testimonials
Bob experiences a minimal level of both "shame" and "blame." He's aware of his internal processes and accepts what he discovers. He's able to refine his strategies as a learner who is curious about his world. He continually challenges himself. He's transparent and honest with us. As a result, he's given us readers a gift.
Here is the genius of this book: because his stories are so revealing, you can follow his thought process and incorporate it into your own experience.
From the first words of this book you realize that Bob's approach to life, and investing, are different than any approach you've known. And while his process may not suit you, how he develops the process is illuminating, and fascinating. Serious investors will devour this book, in it finding a new look at evaluating risk and reward. Non-investors who are naturally curious will appreciate the author's sense of life.
A quick and easy read as the author writes as he speaks. Although I have known Bob for a long time, this gives me much better insight into the way he thinks. Anyone interested in speculating in any environment can learn from this master. My only disagreement is that Bob is not lazy. We should all be as “lazy“ as he is. I also have a much better appreciation for why he likes byzantine culture.
