A Review of The Investor's Manifesto by William J. Bernstein

Title: The Investor?s Manifesto
Author: William J. Bernstein
Publisher: Wiley (2010)
My Rating: 5/5

I must warn you at the outset that The Investor?s Manifesto is not a book on personal finance. If you want advice on paying down debt, saving for college, or navigating your mortgage payments, you should look elsewhere. But that fact and one slow chapter in the book?s middle are my only hesitations in recommending William Bernstein?s book.

The Investor?s Manifesto is written for a specific reader ? a person desirous of learning more about investing in the stock market ? so my recommendation is only to persons who fit that description. But in today?s society, where nearly all retirement accounts are self-managed, it behooves all of us to know at least the basics of investing. If you want to learn more, start here.

This book focuses on long-term investing rather than day-trading, and Bernstein has this key belief: ?The goal [of investing] is not to maximize the chances of getting rich, but rather to simultaneously allow for a comfortable retirement and to minimize the odds of dying poor? (p. 48). This book is a particularly well-written and insightful primer on that type of investing.

Bernstein himself jokes that friends and family found his previous books tedious and overly technical, so he wrote this one with the common reader in mind. No matter your level of familiarity with the topic, investing will come alive in this short book.

One chapter on neuroscience slows the book down, but Bernstein included it in order to discuss common pitfalls for the average investor. I understand his intent and appreciated the information, but that chapter bogged down an otherwise fast and intriguing read.

This is one of my few recent 5-star ratings, and the book deserves your attention if you would like to learn more about investing for your future. This book won?t teach you to get rich quick, but it will educate you on how to build toward a secure financial future.

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