Biggs on Finance, Economics, and the Stock Market: Barton's Market Chronicles from the Morgan Stanley Years

Insider insights from a Wall Street legend

Barton Biggs was one of the greats. He founded one of the first-ever hedge funds, created a top-ranked investment research department on Wall Street, predicted the dot-com bust, and guided readers of his weekly research notes to investment success. With their enduring wit, intelligence, and humanity, the investor letters Biggs wrote during his 38 years at Morgan Stanley were celebrated throughout the industry. Released from the archives in response to popular demand, the best of these letters are collected for the first time in Biggs on Finance, Economics, and the Stock Market.

Biggs had a reputation for being ahead of the forecasting game, and readers of this book will find out why. His predictions were often controversial, and more often than not, they were spot-on. But most important, Biggs had an investing philosophy that endured through his five-decade career. Based on self-awareness, historical knowledge, and taking the long view, this is a strategy that any investor would be wise to emulate.

Barton Biggs always had a way with words. The world is fortunate that he used his gift to drill into the core of finance and investing, and we are doubly fortunate to have access to his invaluable archives.

Praise for Biggs on Finance, Economics, and the Stock Market

“Barton Biggs’ reputation as an independent and visionary thinker left a lasting impression on Morgan Stanley and fundamentally defined the way the Firm approaches Research, the department that he in fact founded. These writings represent the best of Barton—a strategist ahead of his time who was able to look past the mechanics of the markets and traditional methods of analysis and take a more philosophical approach to investing.”
—JOHN MACK, Former Chairman and CEO, Morgan Stanley

“Barton Biggs was a true thought leader in the industry. One of the first to look at investing from a global perspective, he championed a culture of innovative analysis and research throughout his time at Morgan Stanley. His colorful prose provided readers with more than investing advice; it was a lens through which to evaluate and contemplate not only market behavior, but society on the whole. Barton’s approach was revolutionary in many ways, and for this reason, his perspective and insights on the markets still ring true today.”
—THOMAS NIDES, Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley

“Barton Biggs made many lasting contributions to Morgan Stanley during his time at the firm, including establishing our Research Department. His consistent ability to identify ideas and themes about markets enabled investors to think of things they otherwise wouldn’t have. To this day, Morgan Stanley has a culture where analysts, and in turn their clients, are in constant intellectual pursuit. Barton motivated his colleagues and readers to take an inquisitive perspective and his example continues to inform and inspire how Morgan Stanley develops its research offering today.”
—ADAM PARKER, Chief US Equities Strategist, Morgan Stanley

“Barton will always remain an inspiration for us because of his independent thinking, his curiosity, his prose, and his love of the debate culture that became the brand of Morgan Stanley’s macro research.”
— JOACHIM FELS, Chief Global Economist, Morgan Stanley