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The Intelligent Asset Allocator by William J. Bernstein
The Intelligent Asset Allocator
4/5. Investment books generally have a short shelf life, and this one does show its age (he recommends at one point buying a calculator. You know . . . a calculator. An actual calculator. Like a freestanding device for the crunching of numbers. I reacted like he had suggested an abacus, for the record). But this book is at its heart addressing a subject so fundamental that it also endures and is still entirely applicable.
The subject being asset allocation which, for those who don't know, means quantifying risk and reward in concrete ways so one can build a portfolio of assets that is efficient and that also meets one's psychological needs (the sleep-well-at-night test).
Anyway, it's a very good book. Extremely erudite and interesting. Unfortunately, I can't imagine who it really benefits. The subject is so basic, it ought to be addressed before a person becomes an investor at all. But I have a really hard time imagining anyone tackling this book as a newbie, before investing and getting interested. Though I guess plenty of people just throw money at the wall first, plan later, so maybe this book helps them.
This book did reaffirm that I have my asset allocation pretty much right – it's set on 'crazy motherfucker, if you're wondering' – and I sleep fine. Good to know.
4/5. Investment books generally have a short shelf life, and this one does show its age (he recommends at one point buying a calculator. You know . . . a calculator. An actual calculator. Like a freestanding device for the crunching of numbers. I reacted like he had suggested an abacus, for the record). But this book is at its heart addressing a subject so fundamental that it also endures and is still entirely applicable.
The subject being asset allocation which, for those who don't know, means quantifying risk and reward in concrete ways so one can build a portfolio of assets that is efficient and that also meets one's psychological needs (the sleep-well-at-night test).
Anyway, it's a very good book. Extremely erudite and interesting. Unfortunately, I can't imagine who it really benefits. The subject is so basic, it ought to be addressed before a person becomes an investor at all. But I have a really hard time imagining anyone tackling this book as a newbie, before investing and getting interested. Though I guess plenty of people just throw money at the wall first, plan later, so maybe this book helps them.
This book did reaffirm that I have my asset allocation pretty much right – it's set on 'crazy motherfucker, if you're wondering' – and I sleep fine. Good to know.