When it comes to starting something new, it’s important to do your research. Especially when it comes to parting with your money.
Luckily, there are a lot of books out there to get you started on your investing journey.
Even if you’re looking for the best investing books for college students, this should cover everything.
In this article, we will look at the best investing books for beginners and also some which are more advanced. Some are the best personal finance books of all time!
Best Investing Books For Beginners
When you are brand new to investing, it’s a good idea to take a look at the best investing books for beginners.
Let’s check out the investment books for beginners and the best finance books:
1. Winning the Loser’s Game
This investing book is written by Charles D. Ellis who is an American investment consultant.
He is known for his philosophy of passive investing through index funds, which he details in this book.
This book will help you to create an overall approach to investing, especially as there are lower rates of return right now.
He talks through the important changes that have happened in the market over the last 50 years, which is really helpful to see what happens over time.
He also goes into why active investing has become more difficult and how you can outperform markets for steady long-term gain.
In this book, he suggests a sound investment policy with a defined plan to reassure us. It’s one of the best finance books for beginners.
2. The Laws of Wealth
The Laws of Wealth is a book written by the author Dr. Daniel Crosby. He is a psychologist and behavioral finance expert.
The Laws of Wealth is a helpful book if you are interested in the psychology behind how to invest well.
After all, the biggest hindrance to the investor is how they feel about the investments.
The book is divided into 2 parts. The first part is about his ten rules of behavioral self-management to compound wealth.
The second part of the book is focused on his rules-based approach to behavioral asset management.
As the main focus of the book is on your own behavior, which is something that you can control, this is a book for everyone.
3. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing book was written by the founder of Vanguard Group – John Bogle.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing talks about how investing is common sense and how trying to beat the market is how you lose.
The common sense thing to do for investing success is to buy and hold all of the nation’s publicly held businesses at very low cost.
This book will show you how to use this investment strategy into your portfolio and will also change the way you think about investing.
The whole focus of this book is on index investing which John Bogle is famous for.
Bogle also advises on the investment fads and fashions, including exchange-traded funds. In a list of the best investing books of all time, this would be included.
4. A Random Walk Down Wall Street
This is the best selling book on investing which is gimmick-free. The author is Burton G. Malkiel.
There is a new edition of this book which covers behavioral finance and how to rearrange your portfolio for retirement.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street looks at the types of investments that you can make such as stocks, bonds, money markets, real estate investment trusts, insurance, homeownership. And then assets such as gold or collectibles.
The author also talks about other useful matters, such as in the chapter “A life-cycle guide to investing”, he discusses the importance of “distinguishing between your attitude toward, and your capacity for risk”.
5. The Simple Path to Wealth
This book refers to itself as “Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life”.
The author J L Collins wrote this book because of letters that he sent to his daughter.
She said to him that she knew that she had to care about money, but she said that she didn’t want to spend her whole life thinking about it. This was his lightbulb moment!
There are some interesting points that he mentions in this book such as the discussion around debt and why you should have F-you money.
You will enjoy the parts where he talks about the Wealth Building and Wealth Preservation phases of your investing life and why they are not always tied to how old you are.
This book will guide you through how to start investing in an approachable and easy to understand format.
Best 401K Investing Books
You can’t learn about investing and not look into how your 401(k) works!
Your 401(k) is an essential component in building your wealth, and we will take a look at the best 401(k) investing books:
1. 401(k) Take Charge of Your Future
This is a comprehensive guide in how to get the most out of your retirement plans – it’s one of the best how to investing books.
This book, written by Erica Schurenberg, will start off with helping you figure out how much you need to save.
It will then guide you through how to pick your mix of investments to suit you.
Also how to evaluate your choice of funds, manage your portfolio for the highest return, how to cash out at the right time, and more.
2. The Smartest 401(k) Book You’ll Ever Read: Maximize Your Retirement
This book claims to change the way you think about and invest in your retirement savings plan forever!
The international bestseller Dan Solin challenges some common misconceptions about 401(k)’s and how you can make changes to your retirement savings.
Solin shows you exactly what you should do and what you should avoid.
It will help you look into the hidden fees and costs because of the poor management of companies 401(k) plans for their employees.
3. Protect Your 401(k)
There are 2 authors of this book – Larry Chambers and Ken Ziesenheim.
Larry Chambers is a business and financial writer who has written a series of investing books.
Ken Ziesenheim is managing director of Thornburg Investment Company and is an attorney with more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Protect Your 401(k) is a book that provides facts for people who want to look after one of their most valuable assets.
It covers what a 401(k) is, how to take advantage of matching programs, assert control over investment policy, and much more.
4. 401(k)’s For Dummies
Did you know that 78% of Americans invest in their 401(k) plan? It’s time to make sure that we know how to use it to our best advantage.
However, after the Enron collapse, a lot of people have started thinking a bit differently about their investments, and this book covers that.
It will show you the basics of investing in your 401(k), including how to manage your account and how to minimize risk and returns.
A good feature in this book is that it shows you example 401(k) portfolios for each stage of life. Very helpful!
5. Smart Guide to Maximizing Your 401(k) Plan
If you are new to investing in a 401(k) – perhaps you are just starting your first job – this book is a great introduction to it.
It will advise you on how much to contribute and what you need to know about your investment options. This includes advice on stocks, mutual funds, and bonds.
Best Books For Investing In Real Estate
Investing covers many different areas, and one that you may be interested in is real estate. Let’s see the best books for investing in real estate:
1. The Book on Rental Property Investing
Have you heard of Brandon Turner? He is the host of the Worlds Number 1 real estate podcast.
This book is very thorough and covers a lot of information on real estate investing.
He talks about the 5 keys to rental property success:
- Think the right thoughts
- Study the right source
- Pick the right plan
- Acquire the right asset
- Manage the right metrics
The book guides you through the beginning process of how to find rental properties, all the way through to managing your rentals and sorting out an exit strategy.
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad
This is another book that is often recommended in personal finance circles. This is because it’s a fantastic book that is well worth reading.
The author Robert Kiyosaki talks about his story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad — and the ways in which they shaped his money perspective.
This is the number one best selling personal finance book of all time!
Rich Dad Poor Dad will teach you about finance and also the key things that you can pass on to your own kids.
This book discusses what is an asset and what is a liability (including whether your house is actually one), whether you need to earn a high income to be rich, and more.
3. How to Invest in Real Estate With Your IRA & 401(k)
The author Hubert Bromma is an experienced investment professional in real estate and retirement funds.
This book will show you the basics of investing with retirement accounts which includes buying real estate.
The book also includes information about the various retirement options, such as IRAs, Roth IRAs, and 401(k)s.
4. Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing
Douglas Marshall, the author of Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing, guides us through his principles for real estate investing.
Doug shares how to supplement or replace your income with commercial real estate investing.
He has over 35 years of experience of commercial real estate experience along with his personal rental property investments.
In this book he covers optimizing the property cash flow, how to manage the property, and when to buy (and not buy!) your next rental.
5. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor is a book packed full of information from interviews with over 100 millionaire investors.
It covers the mindset side of things – the things that hold people back and what you can do to become a millionaire investor.
The book also covers how to find good real estate opportunities and how to get the best deals.
If you are interested in hearing how other successful people have done it before you, this is a great book to read.
Best Books For Investing In Stocks
When you think of investing, it’s usually stocks that come to mind. With that in mind, we will look at the best books for investing in stocks.
1. The Intelligent Investor
The author of The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham, has been known as the greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century.
This is less for people who are new to investing and more for the more seasoned investor.
It’s not a book that will get you to the aim of getting rich quickly, but rather teach you a lot about what to do overtime.
2. Balanced Asset Allocation
Alex Shahidl, the author of this book, writes about how to construct a truly balanced portfolio.
His advice differs from the traditional balanced portfolio of 60% stock and 40% bond.
The author puts together a step by step investment strategy which is easy to use, with the emphasis on understanding what drives asset class returns.
The aim is to have a portfolio that is not affected by the economic climate and avoids risk.
The analysis is unconventional but this is a great read that you will enjoy.
3. Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
Philip Fisher is one of the most influential investors of all time. This book was first published in 1958 and his investment philosophies are referred to as gospel.
This book will help you to get reasonable results whilst minimizing the risk. It’s helpful to both a beginner and a more experienced investor.
4. The Essays of Warren Buffett
Warren Buffet is widely known as the most successful investor ever. This book shows the annual letters from Buffett to Berkshire Hathaway.
There has been the third edition of this book which features updates including the financial crisis and the implications.
He talks about things in a way that is easy to understand and also talks about some of the mistakes he has made which is helpful if you want to avoid them.
5. Invest Like a Guru
The strategy that made Warren Buffett the rich man he is today is yours for the taking in this book.
The high-quality value investing, which is where you buy good companies at fair prices, is discussed in Invest Like a Guru.
Charlie Tian has put together this step by step guide to help you determine if a company is a good investment and assessing a reasonable market price.
Whether you are new to investing or want to improve your strategy, this book can help you get continued success. It’s one of the best books for investing in stocks.
Best Investing Books For Inspiration
We’ve looked at the books which give great insight into investing tactics, but perhaps you’d like to now look at some to inspire you! It’s also great to see the best books on money management.
1. Thinking Fast and Slow
The author of this book, Daniel Kahneman, won a Nobel Peace Prize for economics and puts his thoughts into this book.
The main focus of this book is to look at why we do certain things.
He looks at why investors snatch small profits from winning investments whilst allowing large losses to build up in bad investments and more.
Thinking Fast and Slow summarises the foundation of behavioral economics and discusses the key parts in great detail.
2. Principles: Life and Work
Ray Dalio is one of the world’s most successful investors and in this book, shares his principles that any person can use to help achieve their goals.
In 1975, he founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates. 40 years later, Bridgewater has made more money for its clients than any other hedge fund in history!
In Principles: Life and Work, Ray shares everything that he has learned over his career.
There are lots of practical lessons throughout the book to help with decision making in both life and business.
3. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
Against the Gods is a book that presents the topic of risk from a historical and economist perspective.
It is quite heavy reading so not something that you’d want to read on the beach, but very interesting to see the history of risk.
Don’t be put off by the title as the reason behind it was that people used to think that predictions should only be made by God.
Bonus: Best Investing Books For Kids
Looking for the best investing books for young adults? These are some of the best investing books for absolute beginners:
Growing Money: A Complete Investing Guide for Kids
This book uses kid-friendly terminology to talk about money and investing.
It starts with how money is made, how it is circulated etc – the basics of money.
Then it talks about more practical things such as savings, bonds, and then the stock market.
The Young Investor
This book was written by Katherine R. Bateman as a way of writing down all of the things that she wanted her grandchildren to know about investing.
There are activities throughout the book that kids can do which makes things more interactive, to get them to look at the world around them.
Final Thoughts On Best Investing Books
When you are learning something new, it can be hard to think of where to even start.
The best thing to do is to do your research, and look at what personal finance experts have to say about investing.
Within the books that they have written are decades of knowledge and experience that you can use now.