While we encourage clients and prospective clients to be well-read investors, no amount of reading should be considered a substitute for establishing a long-term relationship with a fee-only advisor. Many of the following sources contain their own reading lists, so this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Books

The following books are a great place to start (or restart) your investing education.

The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio

by William J. Bernstein

1. A thoughtful and compelling examination of the theory of investing, the history of investing, the psychology of investing, and the business of investing. Highly recommended.
   

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing

by Burton G. Malkiel

1. A classic treatise on investing, now in its 9th edition.
   

Articles

10 Lessons You Should Learn From Recent Market History

by William Reichenstein

AAII Journal, February 2003

1. “A review of returns from 1987 through 2002, encompassing both strong bull and fierce bear markets, shows that a fixed-weight portfolio that includes both bonds and stocks and is rebalanced annually is One Good Strategy.”  Excellent article.
   

How Many Stocks Do You Need to be Diversified?

by Daniel J. Burnside, Donald R. Chambers, and John S. Zdanowicz

AAII Journal, July 2004

1. A good 4-page overview of the benefits of broad diversification.
   

International Equity: Considerations and Recommendations

by Christopher B. Philips

Vanguard Investment Counseling & Research, November 24 2006

1. A good overview of the benefits of international diversification.
   

Index and Enhanced Index Funds

by David G. Booth

April 2001

1. Presents an excellent overview of the case for passive management, as well as the value and small-cap effects. A favorite excerpt: “Before fees, the track records of traditional managers are similar to what would be expected from a room full of orangutans throwing darts at stock and bond listings. After fees, the expected distribution of results is better for the orangutans because they are assumed to work for bananas.”
   

The New Indexing

by Eugene Fama Jr.

July 2000

1. A very brief discussion regarding maintaining value and small-cap tilts versus owning the market portfolio.
   

Audio

The Global Pool of Money Got Too Hungry (13 minutes)

National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, May 9, 2008

1. NPR's Adam Davidson and This American Life's Alex Blumberg jointly report on how rising defaults on subprime mortgages in the U.S. became a global financial crisis. This American Life host Ira Glass talks with Michele Norris about this first ever collaboration.