Sorry for the long hiatus! Summer is a hard time of year to motivate myself to write as there is always something to do. I’ve had a great time with family and have enjoyed my summer reading as always. My writing sabbatical made me think a book list might be helpful for those wanting to increase their financial knowledge.
There are tons of finance books out there and this list is by no means exhaustive. I have personally read everything I mention here and each has played a part in shaping my financial mental models.
I have linked to Amazon for easy access to reviews etc, but most of these can be found at locally libraries for free. Remember to save first wherever you can!
Intro to Personal Finance
Straight forward easy read that drives home the point of pay yourself first and using a long term investment horizon. Was a great intro book for me when I was a teenager.
Nice comparison of the traditional play it safe professional “poor Dad” vs the asset building “Rich Dad”
I read this in my early 20’s and felt it really struck a chord for understanding early asset accumulation.
Similar to the others discussing the behaviors of the average millionaires, how they view money and what financial independence means to them.
Considered a classic from the 80’s on core personal finance tenets
I have a post discussing this one, but nothing beats reading the book to really absorb the concept into your mental models
Intro to Index Investing
This is from a US perspective but covers the majority of core investing concepts well in an accessible format.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
I love the Little Book series as great intro material. John Bogle is a legend and makes a solid case for the right way for individual investors to invest
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Slightly more advanced detailed analysis on the research behind index investing outperformance compared to expensive mutual funds. I felt this helped build my “foundational” belief in indexing for the average investor
Solid all around book for asset allocation and advocate for indexing
Intro to Behavioral Investing
The Little Book of Behavior Investing
Great basic info on all the classic mistakes investors make and the psychology around it
Nobel prize winning work done here. Solid read but only for more advanced finance enthusiasts
Nassim Taleb is a great thinker who talks about how often we attribute skill to luck and massively underestimate risk.
Intro to Value Investing
The Little Book of Value Investing
Great intro to basic fundamental analysis from the Little Book Series
The Little Book That Still Beats the Market
Same as above with a formulaic approach to having an index style with a “value” tint
Well respected Value Investor with market beating returns/Contrarian Style
*The Intelligent Investor – get the Jason Zweig version
This book gets a special mention since it had a huge influence on me (I have read it 3 times!) Prior to this I planned on a pure indexation portfolio. I read it on Spring Break in 2009 at the absolute bottom of the financial markets from The Great Financial Crises. I don’t think there could have been better timing to read this book.
It made me believe that (you will need to read it to get the ideas):
- The hypomanic Mr Market is your servant
- In the short term, the market is a voting machine. In the long term, it is a weighing machine.
- The Defensive Investor should be an indexer – this is 95-99% of readers for this blog
- The Enterprising Investor with the right temperament CAN beat the market
This book is a must read for anyone who gets excited about finance. If it strikes a chord and you have a love for learning, becoming a value investor could be right for you. My guess is about 1-2% of people have the right temperament and true enjoyment for finance to use value investing principles to their advantage.
I have been a value investor for the last 9 years with superior risk adjusted market returns after fees. More on this in an individual post on Path to Financial Independence. Indexing is a fantastic option for everyone else and is what I tell everyone to do. This is my backup option if I ever get tired of managing my own money.
Advanced Value Investing
Most don’t need to bother reading these but if anyone is keen to consider becoming a value investor these are all fantastic. You can PM me for more details as I won’t talk about value investing much in the blog.
Buffett: The Making Of an American Capitalist
Berkshire Hathaway/Warren Buffet Letters to Shareholders
Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
There is Always Something To Do
Hope you all enjoyed the summer and I promise I will get back to writing soon!
FFMD