The Four Pillars of Investing
Sound, sensible advice from a
hero to frustrated investors everywhere
William Bernsteins The
Four Pillars of Investing gives investors the tools they need to construct top -
returning portfolios - without the help of a financial adviser. In a relaxed,
nonthreatening style, Dr. Bernstein provides a distinctive blend of market history,
investing theory, and behavioral finance, one designed to help every investor become more
self-sufficient and make betterinformed investment decisions. The 4 Pillars of
Investing explains how any investor can build a solid foundation for investing by
focusing on four essential lessons, each building upon the other. Containing all of the
tools needed to achieve investing success, without the help of a financial advisor, it
presents:
- Practical investing advice
based on fascinating history lessons from the market,
- Exercises to determine risk
tolerance as an investor,
- An easy-to-understand
explanation of risk and reward in the capital markets.
A TRIUMPH! Bill
Bernsteins new book offers sound principles, unvarnished history, and unmatched
understanding of the process of successful investing. It is my candidate for the
best investment book of 2002.
John C. Bogle, Founder and
Former Chairman, The Vanguard Group, Author, John Bogle on Investing
William Bernstein has carved
out a reputation as one of the most brutally honest, yet consistently accurate, voices in
todays financial wilderness. In The Four Pillars of Investing, Dr. Bernstein
explains how any independent investor can construct a superior investment portfolio by
learning these four essentials:
- The Theory of Investing
Do not expect high returns without risks.
- The History of Investing
About once every generation, the markets go barking mad. If you are unprepared, you are
sure to fail.
- The Psychology of
Investing Identify the eras conventional wisdom and assume that it is wrong. More
often than not, it is.
- The Business of
Investing The stockbroker services his clients in the same way that Bonnie and
Clyde serviced banks.
From the essential soundness
of classic portfolio theory through the inherent wisdom of investing in multiple asset
classes, The Four Pillars of Investing focuses on the four fundamental topics that
every investor must understand - and presents an easy-to-follow, step-by-step program for
achieving long-term investing success.
Bernstein is little known.
But thats changing, and the sooner you get to know him, the better off your retirement
portfolio is likely to be.
Robert Barker, Columnist, BusinessWeek
William Bernsteins first book
- The Intelligent Asset Allocator - remains one of the most honored investment
books of recent times. Hailed by national publications, including BusinessWeek, and
by independent investment icons, including Vanguard founder John Bogle, it has become an
instant classic for its well-researched analyses and rules for successful investing.
Now, in the commonsense
investors guide The Four Pillars of Investing, Bernstein returns with the knowledge
and tools investors need to assemble low-risk, winning portfolios without
professional advice. This down-to-earth book lays out in easy-to-understand prose the four
essential topics that every investor must master - the relationship of risk and reward,
the history of the market, the psychology of the investor and the market, and the folly of
taking financial advice from investment salespeople. It pulls back the curtain to reveal
what really goes on in todays financial industry as it outlines a simple program for
building wealth while controlling risk.
Straightforward in its
presentation and generous in its real-life examples, The Four Pillars of Investing presents
a no-nonsense discussion of:
- The art and science of
mixing different asset classes into an effective blend,
- The dangers of actively
picking stocks, as opposed to investing in the whole market,
- Behavioral finance and how
state of mind can adversely affect decision making,
- Why the mutual fund and
brokerage industries, instead of your partners, are often your most direct competitors,
- Strategies for managing all
of your assets - savings, 401(k)s, home equity - as one portfolio.
Investing is not a
destination. It is a journey, lined with stockbrokers, journalists, and mutual fund
companies whose interests are diametrically opposed to yours. The Four Pillars of
Investing shows you how, with relatively little effort, you can determine your own
financial direction and assemble an investment program with the sole goal of building
long-term wealth for yourself and your family.
William Bernstein, Ph.D.,
M.D., has become a grassroots hero to independent investors everywhere. He has made a
name for himself by questioning the value of Wall Street wisdom, skewering the
recommendations of self-serving stockbrokers, and showing legions of investors how to
successfully manage their own investments with intelligence and long-term vision.
Bernstein is the author of The Intelligent Asset Allocator, editor of the quarterly
asset allocation journal Efficient Frontier, founder of the popular website
EfficientFrontier.com, and a principal in Efficient Frontier Advisors. He is often quoted
in national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Money,
and Forbes.
316 pages