My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
The Four Pillars of Investing
Sound, sensible advice from a hero to frustrated investors everywhere
William Bernstein's "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 behav
...moreHardcover, 240 pages
Published
April 26th 2002
by McGraw-Hill Companies
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
488)
Re-reading this in light of the money meltdown.
----
One of the best books about investing I've read. By no means the first one you should read, but once you've got some of the basics under control, this helps takes it to a very sensible level. Asset allocation and the history of booms and busts are key here.
Though I just finished it a couple of weeks ago, I'd like to start re-reading it again soon. Very readable and interesting, though I can do without ever hearin...more
----
One of the best books about investing I've read. By no means the first one you should read, but once you've got some of the basics under control, this helps takes it to a very sensible level. Asset allocation and the history of booms and busts are key here.
Though I just finished it a couple of weeks ago, I'd like to start re-reading it again soon. Very readable and interesting, though I can do without ever hearin...more
Chad Warner
rated it
Recommends it for:
Investors
Recommended to Chad by:
Kurt Kamminga
Shelves:
finance,
non-fiction
An investment adviser and I were talking about the financial books we had read, and he highly recommended this book as the next on my list. I can see why! Instead of immediately offering advice on how to invest, Bernstein takes a step back and makes sure you understand market theory, the history of the markets, the role of psychology in choosing investments, and the very real impact of expenses and the media's influence.
The book contains statistics, tables, graphs, analogies, exampl...more
The book contains statistics, tables, graphs, analogies, exampl...more
Best book I've read on taking the long view on investing. Most personal finance books are sell-side anecdotes about investing $100 at the market bottom in 1932 or getting a 15% annualized return over 30 years. Bernstein gives your more conservative instincts plenty of ammunition on how to invest. The mantra is in hindsight there will always have been a perfect investment strategy. In the present you have no idea what that will be. He breaks up success into four pillers: theory, psychology,...more
This is an extremely practical book on saving and investing. It gives a brief history of investing, going back around 400 years to give a good feel for how risk and return work. It covers the basics of calculating returns, and how to think about money over time. It teaches the simple mechanics of creating an investment plan with several good real life scenarios. Most importantly, it gives insight to how the financial industry and financial media work. The motivations and methods of both are laid...more
a very good book with lots of good advice about investing with enough technical data to have relevance but written well enough that a novice can understand. He breaks up the fundamentals of investing into four main parts with the last part giving an overall view about how to set up your portfolio. The first part acknowledges that riskier investments will have higher returns over the long haul and safer investments will have lower returns. He scans history for examples and notes that the US is a ...more
In the introduction to his book, "The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio," Dr. William Bernstein states that the "competent investor never stops learning." Yet, because the world of investing can be such a confusing place, it sometimes seems that the more you learn, the more confused you get. As a participant on the Bogleheads message board, I feel I am an educated investor but still I often get lost after reading all the different debates:...more
An excellent one-book summary of how to invest for the long term. But Bernstein's great insight was how to use portfolio theory. Unfortunately, nobody understood his book on that. They didn't have enough background. Here, he provides the background, but little portfolio theory. And I already had the background by the time I got to his book. But if you don't, you can learn much here: risk is rewarded, history has patterns, you and your broker are your own worst enemies, etc.
Probably one of the best books on investing ever written. Easy to comprehend, follow and apply. I’m in the investment industry and this is a must read for anyone that actively participates in the equities market with any regularity. I particularly like the chapter on “bubbles” and you’ll recognize why after having gone through the recent financial meltdowns. This book is also one that a person can revisit over and over due to its timelessness.
Trevor
rated it
Recommends it for:
people planning to invest
Recommended to Trevor by:
Chris Colburn
I strongly recommend this book! It's great for anyone who wants to really understand how markets works and how to best approach the world of investing. However, to really get the most out of this book I would recommend having at least some knowledge of basic investment options before reading. It would probably be a good idea to read a book like "The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing" first because it introduces investment concepts such as what are stocks, mutual funds, bonds, CD's, index ...more
An excellent basic read which goes through the most fundamental principles of portfolio management, as advertised. Non-technical. Doesn't do a lot to discuss assessment or valuation techniques -- it mostly prescribes a passive strategy.
Great common-sense guidelines for investing. Here is a summary: 1) What goes up must come down. 2) There is no reward without risk. 3) You are your own worst enemy. 4) No, actually your broker is your worst enemy.
Cheesy title, great book. I'm in the middle of his Intelligent Asset Allocator, which has a lot more math.
Here are the four pillars to save you some time:
1. Theory (how to price, why you should index)
2. History (Did you know the interest rate in ancient rome was 4%? You should.)
3. Psychology (ignore your instincts and what people say at dinner parties)
4. Business (stock brokers and business press -- not your friends)
Mr. Bernstein trained as a physi...more
Here are the four pillars to save you some time:
1. Theory (how to price, why you should index)
2. History (Did you know the interest rate in ancient rome was 4%? You should.)
3. Psychology (ignore your instincts and what people say at dinner parties)
4. Business (stock brokers and business press -- not your friends)
Mr. Bernstein trained as a physi...more
Definitely recommended if you want to become rich. Joking aside, very sound investment advice delivered in a very readable form.
Very good book for the average person/investor. Bernstein will convince you not to pick stock on your own.
After years of studying technical and fundamental analysis, I can finally rest. Dr. Bernstein William J. Bernstein, a buy-and-hold, dollar cost averaging, index investing, portfolio rebalancer has made me a believer. I would have created a synopsis of the book for quick reviews down the road, but Bernstein conveniently included one at the end of each chapter, and one in the last chapter covering the whole book. The book is well-written, intelligent, and extraordinarily practical.
A great overview of smart investing and avoiding sheep-like behavior.
A masterpiece. Worth every cent in gold. Go and buy this book!
Great content, but pretty verbose and repetitive.
For anyone who follows the advice on the "Sound Investing" podcast, or Clark Howard's investment guides, the main points of this book re-affirm those beliefs (value over growth, small-cap over large-cap, keeping a well diversified portfolio, etc). The details however, can be overwhelming at first. I can see myself with this book, after having read it for the first time, wanting to research more on my own, and then re-reading it in the future to appreciate the finer details.
This was a great book. The first section was tough to get through but it was necessary to make it through to understand the whole premise. Recommend it and I plan to use it for investment advice.
Another excellent addition to the library of the long-term index investor, this work present a fascinating history of financial markets, both worldwide and in the U.S. in particular. Bernstein then moves on to provide practical but general investing advice, making insightful suggestions and encouraging the reader to adopt an indexing approach. A bit academic in places, this is not a good starter work for someone interested in investing.
Bernstein is a former medical doctor who decided that it was somehow easier to bring common sense and intellectual flair to personal finance than perform neurosurgery. Fortunately for him, most of the readers will probably already be adherents to the Vanguard/Boglehead philosophy of investing: keep costs low, favor a passive strategy employing index funds where possible, and live well within your means.
This has definitely earned a place on my bookshelf for a long time to come.
Definitely not for the faint of heart - some chapters are a bit technical. But very educational and worth reading.
view 2 comments
I really enjoyed this book, but think I would have been a bit lost if I hadn't read some other basic investing books beforehand, not tons, just a couple like a Dummies Guide, or Bogle's Little Book...,etc. Wonderfully full of academic research and examples of index investing.
Excellent book on investing! I think this book is one that everyone who manages their own finances should read and all financial advisers should read as well! Highly recommend! I think this will be an excellent reference book to keep on my shelf.
A bit dense, but not overwhelmingly so. Definitely written for those without a finance background, but helps to read in small chunks. A great overall picture of investing that dips pretty seriously into the easily digested technical/historical stuff.
The mutual fund industry is screwing us big time. Read this book, and his earlier one, The Intelligent Asset Allocator, to get the real story and what you can do to become a smarter investor.
Joseph Moskie
added it
Only read about a quarter of this book. Might go back to it for references on specific things as the chapters are clearly delineated.
This is the first book investors should read. Read Bernstein's first book, "The Intelligent Asset Allocator" second.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
