What are the best books on investing for beginners?’ Whether you are new to investing in the stock market or you are a seasoned pro, education is vital because you want to make sound and educated decisions while watching your nest egg grow. If you are looking to expand your investing knowledge, here is a list of great books on investing to start reading. This list is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but it gives you a sampling of top picks on investing. Pick up one or two and start reading today.
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Book 1: The Intelligent Investor
The Intelligent Investor was written by Benjamin Graham back in 1934, but much of his thoughts on investing still hold true today. This classic was updated in 1973. Graham teaches you to minimize losses and find the real value of a company. Essentially, he argues how to limit risk in the light of long-term investing. Graham was a mentor for famed investor Warren Buffett.
Book 2: A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Princeton professor Burton Malkiel first published this book in 1973. Professor Malkiel’s basically holds to a buy and hold approach to investing, noting that most investors are going to be better served by a long-term approach that is focused on passively managed index funds that will track the market. That alone makes ‘Random Walk’ one of the best investing books for beginners. Currently in its Eleventh Edition, the book still touts the virtues of efficient market and index funds. ‘Random Walk’ features a great life-cycle guide that walks fund investors through a life of investing.
Book 3: One Up On Wall Street
One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch is a classic. Lynch is probably best known for having led Fidelity’s popular Magellan Fund. Lynch discusses how to analyze the merit of a company and investing for the long term. Lynch says “normal” investors can do quite well for themselves when it comes to investing. He encourages investors to invest in what’s right in front of them or what they know as opposed to following the hot trends. This is all taken with the long-term approach that is meant to build wealth.
Book 4: The Essays of Warren Buffett
The Essays of Warren Buffett was written by one of the greatest investors of our time – Warren Buffett. That pretty much sums it up! Anyone who follows Buffett or his company, Berkshire Hathaway, probably is aware of his annual shareholder letters. The editor, Lawrence Cunningham, has taken much of Buffett’s writing and collated it, by topic, so it’s easy to read and follow. ‘Essays’ give you insights into what Buffett looks for in a company. Buffett has said that his holding period is forever – pretty good wisdom for long-term investing.
Book 5: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing was written by John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard Funds. ‘Common Sense’ is a clear and straightforward book on investing. Bogle says that investing is all about common sense – very powerful advice in any market condition. Bogle maintains a long-term view to investing fueled largely by a complement of index funds. Keeping with his ‘common sense’ theme to investing, Bogle has also written a series on “Common Sense on Mutual Funds.”
Investing can be fun, exciting and profitable. Hopefully these books will be a handy resource for you – whether you are just starting to invest or an experienced investor looking additional material to complement your learning experience. If you have a favorite book you would like to add to the list, leave a comment with the name and author.
