One of the best ways to take your investing skills to the next level quickly is to learn from the masters. The insights and wisdom gleaned from the experts — all for the cost of a book — can help you fine-tune your stock-picking skills and venture beyond your usual hunting grounds.

The best investing books are those that have stood the test of time. That’s why the list below is dominated by some classic deep dives from the investing world’s titans, rounded out with a few breezier (but still meaty) reads.

These recommendations are primarily aimed at those who already have a good handle on the basics. If you need a refresher, check out our list of best investing books for beginners.

Best books for intermediate investors

Book Icon ‘The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing’ by Benjamin Graham Amazon rating: 4.7 stars

Goodreads rating: 4.24 stars

Notable quote: “To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks.”

1. ‘The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing’

Benjamin Graham is considered the father of value investing, an investing style where practitioners look to buy out-of-favor stocks trading at a discount compared to their current valuation.

Does the strategy sound familiar? It should: Graham was a key mentor for legendary investor Warren Buffett.

“The Intelligent Investor” is regularly featured on lists of the best investing books for good reason: In it, Graham shows you how to think sensibly about investing and avoid the mistakes that hurt your returns. It is considered a shorter, more readable version of Graham’s other famous book co-authored with David Dodd, “Security Analysis.”

Although “The Intelligent Investor” was first published in 1949, more recent editions with editor Jason Zweig include modern commentary that provides perspective on more contemporary events.

Book Icon ‘You Can Be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits’ by Joel Greenblatt Amazon rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads rating: 4.22 stars

Notable quote: “By focusing on the motives of management and other insiders, you can turn this advantage for insiders into an advantage for yourself.”

2. ‘You Can Be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits’

“You Can Be a Stock Market Genius” by Joel Greenblatt is a more modern classic, and it showcases how to find stocks that are hidden by superficial events, such as spin-offs.

First published in 1997, it continues to be a favorite of current investors due to its easy-to-read style, practical examples and humor. Yes, humor!

In his inimitable prose, Greenblatt gives you all the details on how to uncover hidden gems. For example, using the book’s approach, readers would have been able to track PayPal, before it spun off from parent eBay in 2015, and then proceeded to return 400 percent to investors over the next five years.

Book Icon ‘Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings’ by Philip A. Fisher Amazon rating: 4.6 stars

Goodreads rating: 4.14 stars

Notable quote: “Even in those earlier times, finding the really outstanding companies and staying with them through all the fluctuations of a gyrating market proved far more profitable to far more people than did the more colorful practice of trying to buy them cheap and sell them dear.”

3. ‘Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings’

This classic investing book is another focused on practical examples that show readers how to find attractive stocks with the potential to deliver seriously huge returns. Author Philip Fisher is a giant in the investing world, and he reveals many of his secrets in this book, including the qualities to look for in an attractive business.

First published in 1958, “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits” still offers so much wisdom that contemporary readers continue to cite Fisher’s work today. One of Fisher’s classic techniques is called the scuttlebutt method, in which he advises investors to see what a company’s rivals say about it, in order to assess the company’s competitive position.

Also worth noting, Warren Buffett says that his own investing approach is a combination of Benjamin Graham’s and Fisher’s — it’s hard to receive higher praise than that!

Book Icon ‘Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor’ by Seth Klarman Amazon rating: 4.4 stars

Goodreads rating: 4.33 stars

Notable quote: “Successful investors tend to be unemotional, allowing the greed and fear of others to play into their hands.”

4. ‘Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor’

“Margin of Safety” is somewhat of a holy grail in the world of investing books. Author Seth Klarman, now a billionaire, published the book in 1991 and it has never been reprinted. The book is so scarce that sellers regularly ask more than $1,000 a copy.

Despite the eye-watering price tag, we included this oft-cited tome here because you can find excerpts from its pages online, often on academic websites. In it you’ll find a blueprint for Klarman’s conservative, value-based approach to investing, using the principle of margin of safety. That is, he advises you to buy an asset at such a sufficiently low price relative to its probable worth that it would be hard to lose money.

Book Icon ‘Investing in REITs’ by Ralph Block Amazon rating: 4.4 stars

Goodreads rating: 3.67 stars

Notable quote: “REITs give you the steady and predictable cash flow that comes from owning and leasing real estate, but with the benefit of a common stock’s liquidity.”

5. ‘Investing in REITs’

If you’re interested in investing in real estate in the public stock market, Ralph Block’s “Investing in REITs” (real estate investment trusts) is considered by some as the definitive reference guide.

REITs are among the most popular kinds of stocks because of their typically large dividends and attractive long-term record of returns. This book is quite popular among both seasoned REIT investors and those learning the field, and it’s already on its fourth edition, after first being published in 1998. Block distills his decades of investing in REITs into the key qualities you need to look for in the sector.

Book Icon ‘The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns’ by John Bogle Amazon rating: 4.7 stars

Goodreads rating: 4.15 stars

Notable quote: “Index funds make up for their lack of short-term excitement by their truly exciting long-term productivity. The TIF (traditional index fund) is designed to be held for a lifetime.”

6. ‘The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns’

You don’t have to allocate a huge chunk of your portfolio to individual stocks to earn impressive returns. In “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing,” mutual fund trailblazer and Vanguard founder John Bogle makes the case for why index funds are the simplest, most effective way to build wealth.

First published in 2007, Bogle uses real-world examples to discuss returns and investor sentiment over time and builds the argument for investing in index funds, which offer instant diversification with low costs.

Bogle updated the book in 2017 to include new chapters on retirement investing and asset allocation.

Bottom line

Reading about investing is one of the highest-return activities you can do. Not only can you learn about how to approach investing smartly from some of the world’s best investors, you can avoid some of the pitfalls that can sink even the most seasoned investors. As Warren Buffett famously said, “Rule No. 1 is never lose money. Rule No. 2 is never forget Rule No. 1.”

Every investor should make the effort to read – some books can help improve your investing and could also save you making costly mistakes.

Benjamin Graham is regarded as the father of value investing. Warren Buffett was once a student of his and Graham’s book, “The Intelligent Investor” has been described by Buffett as “by far the best book on investing ever written”.

Although a little dour for a modern audience, it acts as a doorway into a world of logical and intelligent investing and clearly explains how conservative investing differs from gambling.

Even the best investors make mistakes, that’s why it’s vital to build in a margin of safety, ensuring that you buy cheaply so that if a stock does fall you don’t get wiped out. Ben Graham pretty much invented this concept and his book explains how to put it into effect.

Here are six more books that you might consider adding to your bookshelf. Together they’ll cost around £100, but you could even see it as an investment if they help you improve your style and put your money to work more effectively.

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Philip Fisher (1907 – 2004)

Fisher was another huge influence on Warren Buffett’s investment philosophy; his focus on how to assess the qualitative aspects of an investment are timeless. It’s an engaging but profound read, providing advice on a wide range of investing concerns, from how to gauge the potential of a company, to when to sell a share. Fisher’s guidance on how to use the business grapevine to obtain valuable details about the management and strengths of a company, otherwise known as “Scuttlebutt”, is particularly novel and useful.

The Little Book of Value Investing by Christopher H. Browne (1946 -2009)

Former managing director of the US-based Tweedy Browne investment house, this is very accessible and a great introduction to some of the central tenants of value investing. You don’t need to have much financial background, just common sense to get a lot from this book, which succinctly explains the key investment rules in a witty manner. A pocket sized and practical guide to be read and re-read.

Investing Against the Tide by Anthony Bolton

Written by one of the UK’s most successful stock market investors (former manager of the Fidelity Special Situations fund), reveals some of the secrets of his success as he explains his investing methodology, successes and failures. Not all of it can be easily replicated by the private investor, who naturally lacks the resources and access to company management, but it provides a benchmark and insight into the risks of investing.

The Zulu Principle by Jim Slater (1929 -2015)

This legendary self-made financier and investor first explained in this book the idea of investing in small caps that are undervalued yet are growing fast with earnings rising. As he famously wrote: “Most leading brokers cannot spare the time and money to research smaller stocks. You are therefore more likely to find a bargain in this relatively under-exploited area of the stock market.” It’s a useful guide and his originality is always stimulating. The beauty of this book is that he explains in simple terms how to apply screens to find cheap yet good companies. The chapters on price earnings growth (PEGs) and technology stocks are particularly useful.

The Future is Small by Gervais Williams

Fund manager and founder of investment house Miton. A small cap specialist, Williams makes a very persuasive case for why in the years ahead small caps will outperform large companies and why the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) in particular will be a happy hunting ground for investors. He explains complex macroeconomic drivers in a very accessible way. Indeed, the book is highly readable and he even provides sources to back-up his arguments – just in case you wish to delve deeper into the economics that underpin his arguments. Perhaps better used as a motivator rather than as an aid to actual stock selection.

The Little Book of Behavioural Investing by James Montier

Investment strategist at US asset manager GMO. In this humorous, engaging and highly enjoyable little book, Montier outlines some of the most common behavioural challenges and mental pitfalls that most investors are prone to. More importantly, he provides strategies to help you avoid these in-built weaknesses. For example, he explains the importance of preparing plans while in a cold, rational state, as in the heat of the moment emotions can produce investing mistakes. Helpfully, he also provides examples of how the world’s best investors have beaten the behavioural biases that reduce investment returns.

Armed with the knowledge contained in the above books you’ll be in a strong position to make better investments, which should in good time bring the rewards that only sound investing can.

Information is probably the most valuable asset of an investor, as markets are driven by fundamental factors as well as short-term news. This is why high-quality analysis and data are the fuel of future investing success.

In this article, we present seven financial magazines that every savvy investor should know about. Most of them have built a global network of quality sources consisting of experienced journalists, business executives, government representatives, and expert analysts who have first-hand knowledge of current affairs.

According to The Economist, which we are about to review below, “the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.”

It is however important to understand that every news and data source has its own biases, specialties, and blind spots. So the astute investors will read enough, and from sufficiently different sources, to see the whole forest and not just the tree.

Here are our picks for the best financial magazines:

The New York-based newspaper has been around for over 130 years and is still a respected institution. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) provides some of the most solid insights into financial and economic topics, mostly focused on the US markets.

As its name indicates, it tends to have a close proximity to Wall Street and will be a good source of information about the financial industry (banks, insurance, funds, private equity, etc.) and the tech industry.

This focus on finance also translates into high-quality analysis of macroeconomics, as well as good insider’s takes on the highest level of US politics and international news.

In terms of political affiliation, the WSJ editorial is often right-leaning, while its articles are more left-leaning , leading to it being mostly classified as a relatively neutral publication .

A few free articles per month are available, but more require a paid subscription. Subscribing to the WSJ can be done in physical form in some countries, but the digital subscription is today the most commonly used, costing only $9.99/month (when the discount first 12 months offer expires) and including the WSJ tablet app, full WSJ.com access, and the WSJ Smartphone app..

It can also be bought as a bundle to get access to Barron’s and MarketWatch at the same time, as WSJ is part of Dow Jones & Company, also behind Barron’s and MarketWatch. A cheaper rate for corporate subscriptions (10 employees or more) is also available, saving up to 35%.

Bloomberg is an independent media business founded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, a businessman and former mayor of New York.

The magazine part is made up of the news site, the weekly BusinessWeek magazine, podcasts, and Bloomberg TV, supported by the work of 2,700 journalists and analysts.

The company was built upon its Bloomberg Termin al service, which includes a dedicated keyboard for trading and advanced analytical software tools that help investors monitor financial markets.

Besides financial news, Bloomberg publications also cover international trade, deal-making, geopolitics, and US politics. It has also embraced coverage of crypto news with a dedicated section .

Bloomberg publications are overall considered as left-leaning, a shift from a more centrist position that has been happening since 2019-2020. Michael Bloomberg was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president of the United States.

Only a few stories per month can be accessed for free. A subscription is required for more, and costs $329/year ($210 the first year), and more if paid monthly. There is a student subscription option at only $9.99/month until graduation.

Bloomberg terminals are mostly the domain of institutional traders and professional investors, as they cost around $25,000/year per user.

The Financial Times (FT) can be regarded as the London version of the WSJ, as the FT has been around for over 130 years.

The paper is now run by Japanese media giant Nikkei, which purchased it in 2015 for over $1.3 billion, and also owns the Nikkei Asia weekly news magazine (which has its own separate subscription at $10/month ).

Thanks to its UK location, this is a good publication for keeping track of news out of the USA, with a strong coverage of the UK and offering more news and analysis about Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

FT provides many subsections of special interests for investors interested in deeper specialization, organized by geography , industries/sectors , tech sub-segments , investing style , etc.

It also includes editorial sections on non-financial topics like climate change , opinion columns , life & arts , HTSI (“How to Spend It”) lifestyle guide, law , and career advice .

FT is considered a non-biased publication , trying to strike a balance between both sides of the political spectrum.

A Financial Times subscription costs $75 per month for Premium Digital access.

The digital version of the Financial Times is one of the most reliable business intelligence resources on the web. FT publishes news and analysis on multiple markets and assets. It also provides data and tools to monitor financial markets in real-time.

Another major economic newspaper based in London, The Economist, is an even more venerable publication, founded in 1843.

The company behind the paper is owned by a group of shareholders that includes the powerful Italian family Agnelli, as well as Rothschild and Cadbury.

The news and analysis resource is more focused on business, general economics, and politics than purely on finances, with a strong emphasis on expert opinion and data journalism.

The magazine is renowned for its creative cover and high-quality infographics, synthesizing complex datasets in one image complex datasets.

These creative covers can however cast a shade of doubt about the publication’s reliability for investors, at least on its weekly main story, colloquially known as “The Economist cover curse”.

While often overblown, it seems to be a real phenomenon indicating that in the short term, The Economist top covers might be more reactive and trend following than predictive of future market moves. This is overall less true for the other analysis inside the magazine.

Readers of The Economist are usually familiar with the fundamental concepts of economics and already understand terms like macroeconomics or the invisible hand. The writing style may include a lot of metaphors and allusions, and most articles usually don’t display the author or the editor.

The magazine is generally considered leaning to the center-left , although it considers itself to be in the “radical centre.”

Subscription for the digital version costs $249/year and auto-renews annually. Regular promotions and student offers can bring this price down. It is also possible to order a subscription for the digital + print version, or a cheaper subscription for the Espresso app , focused on economic news.

The MIT Sloan Management Review presents itself as a research-based magazine aimed at business executives. It is published at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by the university’s business school, known as the MIT Sloan School of Management.

By providing long-form analysis and reflection on tech, business models, management, and strategy, it can provide investors with an edge when it comes to deep thinking and trend identification.

It also offers the podcast Me, Myself, and AI , with experts’ take on the intersection of AI and business.

This can make it an important source for investors favoring a long-term approach, growth investing, or a focus on fundamental analysis. The review is overall considered unbiased, with a centrist position .

Readers can either buy articles separately in PDF format or subscribe for a discount price of $69 per year (regular discount from the “normal” $90/year price). These include unlimited access to the magazine’s 30-year archive and the mobile app.

MorningStar is a Chicago-based research and analysis platform that provides regular news as well as analysis tools and ratings to help investors make informed decisions. The platform focuses on stocks, funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and bonds, among others.

Investors can select from a wide range of tools to analyze the best and worst-performing assets, create a custom portfolio, monitor prices, and conduct in-depth analysis.

Some of the professional tools include Morningstar Direct, ESG Investing Solutions, Morningstar Reporting Solutions, Morningstar Research, Pitchbook, Morningstar Data, and Morningstar indexes, among others.

MorningStar also provides personal finance resources to help investors become financially independent. A large array of free newsletters is available and can be a good resource for beginner investors.

MorningStar can be a great source for generating investment ideas and giving a quick overview of a stock. It is also possible to consult the site’s “ Best Investment Ideas ” section to get suggestions of possible stock or fund picks matching a specific strategy (moat-focused, high dividends, aggressive allocation, etc. )

The service is aimed mostly at retail traders across the US and globally. Access to MorningStar news and tools costs about $249/year, with a seven-day free trial available to newcomers and a higher price for monthly subscriptions.

Forbes is a magazine dedicated to wealth as a whole, known for creating rankings of the world’s wealthiest people and most valuable companies.

It also covers topics such as business trends, investing, health care, and lifestyle topics. So overall, this is more of a magazine to understand the world as a whole, and even be entertained, than a pure financial news source.

The magazine has multiple versions of the magazine for many countries and regions, containing a mix of local articles and translated one from the US, making it a true international publication.

Forbes is considered mostly as a centrist publication, with maybe a slight leaning to the left.

In addition to the magazine, book publishing , and podcasts from the magazine’s authors , the Forbes group offers a recruiting service ( Global Talent ), a global real estate properties service, and “vetted” high-end goods .

These books cover everything a beginner needs, from the basics of personal finance and investing to how the markets influence our money decisions.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article appeared in December 2024.

Learning about financial topics can feel intimidating, complicated, and challenging, but you’re not alone.

Taking the first step toward financial literacy is the hardest. And unfortunately, the internet may not exactly be our friend here. Simply searching for an investment term can land you in an alphabet soup of complex financial terms or, worse, leave you doomscrolling headlines around whether you’ll have enough to retire or buy a home.

There’s another, less intimidating way to break into the realm of financial topics: Pick up a book. And not just any book, but one of the best investing books for beginners. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking for a niche read on an investment topic, there’s something for every investor in our book list.

7 Best Investing Books for Beginners

Time and time again, these are the go-to recommendations from investing enthusiasts and Morningstar specialists.

1) The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns, by John Bogle

Investing icon John Bogle left behind an impressive legacy: He revolutionized the mutual fund industry and was a tireless advocate for investors. He pioneered the index fund, which allowed investors to gain diversified exposure to the stock market at a very low cost, helping them keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. His book explains why low fees significantly affect returns. It also addresses topics like mean reversion and tax costs.

The text is accessible and shorter than many other investing books, and it includes quotes from many prominent financial figures who support Bogle’s claims.

2) The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing, by Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, and Michael LeBoeuf

The advice of The Vanguard Group founder John Bogle is echoed in this comprehensive guide for investors of all experience levels. Packaged into 23 short, lighthearted chapters, this book contains practical advice and explores many aspects of investing, from how to choose the financial lifestyle that fits you to how to balance your emotions to truly master your investments. This guide also provides external resources and other information for readers who want to dive deeper into any of the topics that the longtime Bogleheads cover.

The Bogleheads are investing enthusiasts who honor Bogle and his advice, living by a philosophy to “emphasize starting early, living below one’s means, regular saving, broad diversification, simplicity, and sticking to one’s investment plan regardless of market conditions.” Members actively discuss financial news and theory in a forum.

3) Morningstar’s 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances, by Christine Benz

Even if you understand investing basics, you might struggle to incorporate them into your personal finances. Executing them in manageable steps can prove even more challenging.

That’s the beauty of this book. Christine Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning, breaks financial planning down into bite-size chunks that anyone can handle. You start with basics like assessing your net worth and creating an organization system, and you progressively conquer more advanced topics including retirement investing, college savings, and estate planning.

If you want to meld investment basics with tangible advice, this book is a great option.

4. I Will Teach You to Be Rich, by Ramit Sethi

Advisor and The New York Times bestselling author Ramit Sethi outlines a six-week program for 20- to 35-year-olds to learn the four pillars of personal finance: banking, saving, budgeting, and investing. Sethi shares his strategies for eliminating student loans and debt; finding a balance with saving and spending every month; and preparing to purchase a house or car. In the newest edition, he includes stories from readers and insights on the psychology of investing. Sethi strives to demonstrate to investors how to make investments that grow with them and their goals, and how they can spend their money on the things they want without feeling guilty.

5. The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing, by Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham is known as the father of value investing. He taught Warren Buffett, a modern investing icon. His book lays a framework for evaluating a business’ worth based on financial value, not short-term trading techniques. In his book, Graham defined many important investing concepts such as “margin of safety,” which is an important input in the Morningstar Rating for stocks.

The revised edition includes commentary from The Wall Street Journal’s personal-finance columnist Jason Zweig that contextualizes and modernizes the text. With Zweig’s commentary on every chapter, the book is north of 500 pages, which is a lot; however, it’s a thorough introduction to investing. If getting through means skimming a few chapters, no judgment here.

6. A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, by Burton Malkiel

If Graham teaches you how to evaluate a business, Burton Malkiel explains why that might not help you. The Princeton economist argues that markets demonstrate efficiency because people are analyzing a company’s value. (Efficiency means a company’s share price reflects its current worth, and its price will change when new information alters a business’ worth.) Malkiel recommends earning the market’s return instead of beating it, which he compellingly argues is good enough.

The book was first published in 1973, but updated editions have added contemporary topics. These include exchange-traded funds and investment techniques like smart beta (which Morningstar prefers to call strategic beta, but I digress).

7. The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, by Warren Buffett

Many consider Warren Buffett to be the best modern investor. He has risen to fame as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO, a position he’s held for over 50 years. Berkshire Hathaway invests in high-quality businesses with strong growth potential. But Buffett buys such companies only when they’re selling at an attractive margin of safety (hat tip to his mentor, Benjamin Graham). This makes Buffett an extreme stock-picker. Under his reign, Berkshire Hathaway’s BRK.B growth has far surpassed that of the S&P 500, a testament to the success of his approach.

Each year, Buffett writes an annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, and all of them are published on the company’s website, so anyone can read them. Buffett writes in a straightforward style that is accessible to investors of all skill levels, and he’s often very funny to boot. The Essays of Warren Buffett weaves Buffett’s essays into a sequential, cohesive book.

Best Finance and Investing Books Morningstar Specialists Are Reading

Morningstar employees and investing specialists recently shared their latest book picks. Here’s what they’re recommending:

1. Soul of Wealth, by Daniel Crosby.

“It’s a collection of essays that helps the reader dig into the psychology of wealth and their financial behaviors.” Samantha Lamas, Senior Behavioral Insights Researcher

2. How to Think About Money, by Jonathan Clements

“Jonathan Clements is an honest-to-goodness legend in investment writing, someone who manages to combine extreme clarity of thought with wisdom and wit. I’ve read practically every word that Jonathan has written since discovering him in the 1990s, and his work very much influenced my own career trajectory. Like all of Jonathan’s books, this one recognizes that successful financial plans are invariably rooted in thrift, knowing your values, and good old-fashioned common sense.” Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning

3. Your Best Financial Life: Save Smart Now for the Future You Want, by Ann Lester

“I thought this was a great introduction for younger investors.” Amy Arnott, Portfolio Strategist

4. Just Keep Buying, by Nick Maggiulli

“Just Keep Buying focuses squarely on something that should be obvious but that seems to get criminally underplayed in the financial media: the importance of growing your income as an avenue to greater savings and investing opportunities. It also emphasizes the virtue of staying disciplined about investing by using a dollar-cost averaging program. It’s beautifully written.” Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning

5. Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, by Richard H. Thaler

“This is actually a core book for behavioral economics, so I’m a little late to the game, but it’s a good refresher of some core behavioral principles. It’s also interesting to get the ‘economics perspective’ versus the ‘psychology perspective’ of some of these principles. Both groups thought about these inconsistencies in human behavior differently, so it’s fascinating to get an insider’s view on how both lines of thought became intermingled.” Samantha Lamas, Senior Behavioral Insights Researcher

More of Our Favorite Investing Books

Still have room on your shelf? Check out these titles.

How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement, by Christine Benz

How to Retire is the latest book from Christine Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning.

This new book explores retirement not just from the angle of dollars and cents, but also with a more holistic approach. Over the course of interviews with 20 retirement experts, Benz asks, What do you want to do, and who do you want to be in retirement? How will you develop a sense of purpose if you’re not clocking in to a job every day? There is still plenty for the numbers-focused reader, including sections on your retirement income style, organizing your portfolio, and how to manage fixed-income spending.

Why Moats Matter: The Morningstar Approach to Stock Investing, by Heather Brilliant and Elizabeth Collins

If you’re looking for a breakdown of the legendary Warren Buffett’s economic moat concept, this is the book for you. With this guide, you will learn how to find great companies at equally great prices, gain a better understanding of Morningstar’s approach, and more.

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman

This book looks at financial planning and decision-making from a psychological standpoint. How do our biases and faults influence our financial plans and judgment of the stock market? To find the answer, psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman explores how two systems work together. “System 1″ is fast, instinctive, and emotional, while “System 2″ is slow, deliberative, and logical.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This is another book that addresses how our emotions and past experiences affect how we make decisions, specifically financial ones, in our lives. Nassim Nicholas Taleb also focuses on randomness. He believes that humans look for or come up with explanations when there aren’t any, emphasizing that sometimes things just simply happen. Seeking these explanations then affects our financial decisions and can form certain habits.

The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, by Howard Marks

Chair and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management Howard Marks shares his journey in investment management and uses his experiences to shine a light on what is going on in the stock market today. Marks challenges readers to resist following the crowd and instead invest with a more critical, contrarian approach.

If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly, by William Bernstein

In this particularly short, 50-page read, financial theorist and neurologist William Bernstein keeps finance simple. He teaches the very basics to help get young individuals off on the right foot with their investments and retirement plans.

Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, by Beth Kobliner

If your financial to-dos include paying down debt, boosting your credit score, steering clear of financial missteps, and figuring out the world of personal finance in general, then this is the book for you. Beth Kobliner’s goal is to help investors in their 20s and 30s get their financial lives in order. In her words, “It’s time to get a financial life.”

The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness, by Morgan Housel

Money defines a lot in our financial lives, including what you can invest in and when you can retire. It also defines our behavior. In this collection of stories, Morgan Housel explores how money affects the way we make financial decisions from a psychological perspective.

Investing Success, by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox

The best thing about this former The Long View podcast guest’s book? Her advice is simple, straightforward, and works in any financial environment. No matter how familiar—or unfamiliar—you are with investing, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox will help you take the right steps to building a solid financial life.

1. “A Matter of Time: Principles, Myths & Methods for the Hourly Financial Advisor”

Deciding how to assess fees is central to the way you operate your advisory business. While the hourly fee model is arguably a less popular option, “A Matter of Time” presents a strong argument in its favor.

Authors Mark Berg and Matthew Jackson establish a framework for building and scaling an hourly advisor business successfully. This book could be a must-read if you’re considering an hourly model, setting rates, marketing effectively or scaling your business.

And if you’re looking for other ways to improve your marketing or get more leads, consider SmartAsset AMP. This subscription-based lead generation service delivers fiduciary financial advisors with up to 540 validated referrals per year, as well as automated marketing tools designed to help advisors nurture those leads into long-term clients.