At the recent American Association of Individual Investors's 2011 Conference, author Joel Greenblatt (writer of The Little Book That Beats the Market) addressed attendees with a keynote presentation that emphasized what Warren Buffett learned from Benjamin Graham: that to be a successful investor, you should "buy good companies cheap." That's a message that certainly resonates with subscribers to our Investor Advisory Service newsletter.

Experienced investors will find Greenblatt's argument a little basic, but the author sneaks a lot of punch into this short, digestible book, updated in a revised edition in 2010 with the revised title The Little Book That Still Beats the Market.

In The Little Book That Still Beats the Market, Greenblatt advocates a value-oriented, buy-and-hold approach, focusing on companies demonstrating high returns on invested capital. There’s something here for everyone, but especially for those new to investing it’s hard to think of a better introduction.