In 2006, I wrote The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read. Prior to that time, many investment books were long and mind-numbing, filled with charts, and intended to make investing so complex that readers would be incentivized to consult with the author or other financial experts.
Smartest Investment broke the mold. It was short and pithy. It told investors exactly how they could invest, using three index funds from Vanguard and other low-cost fund families. It cautioned investors to avoid “market beating” brokers. It described them as emperors with no clothes, rife with conflicts of interest, and selling an expertise (stock picking, market timing and fund manager picking) that doesn’t exist.
As you can imagine, the reception to this message from brokers and financial authors was akin to the response to a talk by a vegan at a cattleman’s convention. With one exception.
Bill Bernstein is a neurologist who taught himself finance. His books on investing (which include The Intelligent Asset Allocator and The Four Pillars of Investing) are widely acclaimed and established him as one of the leading financial theorists of our time. He is also an investment adviser for high net-worth individuals and institutions.
Read the rest of the article on The Huffington Post.