Table of Contents
The best investing books
Cha-ching!
Are you living paycheck to paycheck despite a well-paid job ? Maybe your monthly income isn’t the problem. People off all ages struggle to manage their finances, and to increase income, investments may be the best way possible. Earn, save and invest. This principle may be the difference between being well-off and rich. But not everyone knows how to invest sensibly.
The best way to tap into all the markets, whether it be cryptocurrencies, real-estate or stock exchanges is to listen to industry professionals. These books comprise of some golden investment related information that can help you double your finances by using a few neat principles and changing your mindset. From how to counter the stock market to becoming financially independent, these investment books are full of rich information.
So, for you to learn some valuable lessons in the world of investing, we at OwlRatings have summarized the best 10 books in the investment genre. Hopefully, a brief analysis of these 10 books will entice you to pick up the books and gain some knowledge.
Best overall
The Simple Path to Wealth
The Simple Path to Wealth
Read this book if you want to get your personal finances in order. Collins shares the fundamental wisdom you need to make your money work for you, not against you, in a simple, engaging way. You’ll walk away with a practical toolkit to achieving financial freedom with minimal effort.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
Most people realize money is essential for getting what you want out of life—but they don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about it. The Simple Path to Wealth grew from a blog series Collins subsequently wrote simplifying money and investing for his young adult daughter. He argues that to get along in the world, you need to understand money. Your options are to take charge of your money—put it to work for you as your “servant”—or be mastered by it. The Simple Path to Wealth argues that investing isn’t complicated—you can do it yourself. Collins’s “simple path” is: Spend less than you make, stay out of debt, and invest in index funds. If you follow this prescription, you’ll end up wealthy and live a more fulfilling life. This book is perfect for anyone interested in starting their investment journey or simplifying their investment approach.
Best for risk adverse investors
The Intelligent Investor
The Intelligent Investor
The Intelligent Investor is an excellent book for everyone, especially because it’s been constantly updated and revised since its original publication in 1949. It’s considered a must-have for new investors trying to figure out the basics of how the market works. The book is written with long-term and evidence-based investments in mind.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
Benjamin Graham’s last line in The Intelligent Investor sums up the entire book in his trade-mark common-sense way: “To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks”. This book will not teach you how to beat the market. However, it will teach you how to reduce risk, protect your capital from loss and reliably generate sustainable returns over the long run. Warren Buffett calls the Intelligent Investor “by far the best book on investing ever written.” Benjamin’s proven value investing approach replaces risky attempts to project future share prices with sound investments based on the underlying value of the company’s tangible assets. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham gives you everything you need to equip yourself with the investor’s mindset necessary to avoid the panic of market fluctuations that plague the ordinary investor. It teaches you to not be ordinary but to be intelligent.
Best for young adults
The Psychology of Money
The Psychology of Money
A short but a good read, especially for folks who are daunted to take that first step into managing finances. Lays the fundamentals in an elementary, easy to understand manner and makes you think at the same time.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
In this book, Morgan Housel lists lessons and pieces of advice so well written that you never get bored of it. In fact, you look forward to new lessons and newer examples that second those lessons. Another exciting thing about this book is that all those money lessons have fundamental life lessons. You will find it very relatable and necessary to think about and act accordingly. For example, the author writes -” happiness is a complicated subject because everyone’s different. But if there’s a common denominator in happiness—a universal fuel of joy—it’s that people want to control their lives.” Or about failure, he writes -” failure can be a lousy teacher because it seduces smart people into thinking their decisions were terrible when sometimes they just reflect the unforgiving realities of risk. The book is full of easily ignored but incredibly factual statements about simple things in life. Everyone new in finance must read this book at least once and would love to read it, again and again, to remind yourself of all those valuable lessons on life and money.
Best for diversifying investments
The Book on Rental Property Investing
The Book on Rental Property Investing
This book is very beginner-friendly and breaks down a lot of real estate terms and concepts. This book also takes you all the way, not just in terms of property acquisition and management, but also in terms of mentality, team selection, financial analysis, and what to do at the end of your real estate career, making it perfect for everyone.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
Turner opens his guide to accumulating wealth through real estate investment with images of relaxing and enjoying incredible success on a beach, only to quickly burst that bubble for readers, saying, “That is not going to happen, at least not anytime soon.” However, he immediately dispels the myth that real estate investments are exclusively beneficial to individuals with a lot of money. Rather than the frequently astonishing costs of properties in costly places, the author invites readers to think about long-term financial planning in terms of percentages. He quickly pulls readers into his own experiences with this plain, yet highly personal tone, making even the most technical explanation feel like it came from a trusted friend. He also comes up with innovative ways to package more challenging advice, always putting a human factor at the forefront of all the business-speak. “Money is far from the most important thing in life,” he adds while simultaneously gently urging readers to be aware of how their social connections may affect their professional image. This is the kind of helpful but particular counsel he sprinkles throughout each chapter. It is definitely a thorough and accessible introduction to the complex world of real estate investments.
Best for low-time and effort
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
This is a simple short book for beginners who want to invest in stocks and don’t know how/where to start. The main message is clear, logical, and simple:
Invest ONLY in index funds. They are the most cost-effective. And do NOT invest in actively managed mutual funds because they are not efficient in the long run.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is the classic guide to getting savvy about the market. Legendary mutual fund pioneer John C. Bogle reveals his key to getting more out of investing: low-cost index funds. Bogle describes the simplest and most effective investment strategy for building wealth over the long term: buy and hold at meagre cost, a mutual fund that tracks a broad stock market Index such as the S&P 500. Bogle shows you how to make index investing work for you and help you achieve your financial goals, and finds support from some of the world’s best financial minds: not only Warren Buffett, but Benjamin Graham, Paul Samuelson, Burton Malkiel, Yale’s David Swensen, Cliff Asness of AQR, and many others. While index investing allows you to sit back and let the market do the work for you, too many investors trade frantically, turning a winner’s game into a loser’s game. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is a solid guidebook to your financial future.
Best for advanced investors
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, repeat book by David Greene is filled with valuable content that is easy to understand for any upcoming investor to learn.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
David Greene makes it simple and allows newer investors to participate in financial freedom through real estate using the BRRRR method. The BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) Method is a real estate investment strategy that involves flipping distressed property, renting it out and then cash-out refinancing it to further fund rental property investment. Unlike standard real estate acquisitions, where investors acquire a loan, purchase the property, and renovate it, Greene’s strategy reverses the process. Instead, he recommends that investors buy a home with cash on hand, fix it up, and then refinance. The author devotes chapters to each of the five BRRRR phases, illustrating his points with real-world examples and demonstrating how to maximise efficiency at each stage. He says that investors must acquire a “black belt” level of devotion to achieve significant returns. He also smartly advocates for building a network of talented contacts who are also investors and have specialized knowledge in areas critical to the BRRR cycle, like lenders, property managers, contractors and real estate agents. Additionally, Greene is an authoritative guide, laying out his plan in well-organized, easy-to-read prose filled with specifics that readers will appreciate.
Best for dummies
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
If you are curious about how men and women have invested their money over the past 500 years, or how everyday investment strategies work (and don’t work in the long run), or how to make the most of your investments over decades, Malkiel’s Random Walk … will prove to be engaging, even entertaining read that like most classics can hold up too many re-readings.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
Malkiel’s been writing and rewriting this classic tome on investing for the last thirty-five years. This newly rewritten version of Malkiel’s classic Random Walk … (first published in 1973 but essentially rewritten at least four or five times since) argues that the best way to make money on Wall Street is to build a diversified portfolio of index funds and hold on to them for a long, long time in a tax-advantaged account. He advises you on how to adjust your asset allocation according to your age or point in life. He even allows you to pick a few stocks for minor investments just for fun and to help you stay interested in the market. Preliminary chapters recount bubbles past; the middle sections debunk dubious investment strategies and stresses the importance of sheer, random luck in choosing profitable stocks. Part Three looks at modern investment theories. The final section details Malkiel’s guide to personal finance and investing.
Best for beginners
How to Day Trade for a Living
How to Day Trade for a Living
If you are a beginner trader, this book will equip you with an understanding of where to start, how to start, what to expect from day trading, and how you can develop your own strategy.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
This book explains the fundamentals of day trading and how day trading is different from other trading and investing styles. In the process, Andrew Aziz describes essential trading strategies that many traders use each day. This book is deliberately short so readers will finish reading it and not get bored halfway through and put it to one side. This book won’t make you a successful day-trader. But this book will prepare you for your journey towards learning more about day-trading. If day-trading is a universe you are looking to explore, this book is definitely one of the places you won’t regret visiting. Once you are here, you’ll realize the divergence in the mindset of a trader and an investor. Novices to technical analysis will find themselves a bit lost. However, this book won’t explain what is MACD? or what is ATR? or what is RSI? Andrew would leave you on your own to figure that out. I would recommend that you make yourself aware of the nuances of technical analysis before you begin reading this book.
Best for financial freedom
Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant
Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant
А book dedicated to people willing to pay the price for reaching financial freedom. The Cashflow Quadrant is a follow-up guide to Robert Kiyosaki’s famous book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Again, he emphasizes the importance of becoming financially secure and extends on the philosophy shared in his first book.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
This book expands on the concepts presented in Rich Dad Poor Dad. Don’t expect a detailed guide to getting rich; Kiyosaki explains that he doesn’t write how-to books but rather provides the mental framework necessary for gaining great wealth. He calls it the BE-DO-HAVE approach: “strengthen your thoughts (being) so that you can take action that will enable you to become financially free.” Kiyosaki promotes himself as living proof that you can get rich quickly; he went from homeless to millionaire in 4 years and financially independent in another 5. Understandably, he doesn’t believe in the “get rich slowly” movement and thinks you’re wasting your time if you do. He also rejects such common wisdom as seeking job security, relying on mutual funds, and considering a house an asset.
Best for stock market investing
A Beginner’s Guide to the Stock Market
A Beginner’s Guide to the Stock Market
This is an excellent book for someone interested in the stock market but does not have a lot of time. The author breaks down the terminology, goes through the basics, and talks about the psychology behind the stock market. The book is 77 pages long; hence it will be a quick read and will help you understand the market better.
- Entertainment:
- Usefulness:
- Writing:
- Ease of use:
This book will teach you everything you need to know to start making money in today’s stock market. Don’t gamble with your hard-earned money. If you are going to make a lot of money, you need to know how the stock market really works. You need to avoid the pitfalls and costly mistakes that beginners make. You need time-tested trading and investing strategies that actually work. This book gives you everything you will need because it has a simple road map that anyone can follow. The author believes in psychology influencing the stock market rather than fundamental analysis or the actual stock value. The alternative theory of fundamental analysis or security analysis is mentioned only once in the last chapter. Pick up the book and get it over with to learn some basic concepts and practical applications.
What to look for in a good investment book
Investment books can be life-changing if written properly. Many future investors pick up inspiration by getting good ideas and life lessons from these books, but the question has to be asked, what makes an investment book good ? Well, to make sure our readers at ‘OwlRatings’ are getting the best value out of the above suggested books, we have picked four different criterias’ to rate the books on.
Investment techniques
The first criteria are the different investment techniques. Investing isn’t exactly black and white. You can be a long-term investor, short-term investor, or a day trader. So depending on what kind of investing path you are looking to go on, the books highly vary. For example, ‘A beginners guide to the stock market’, obviously teaches young investors on how to successfully enter the market. The techniques are focused on not losing money and the sensible decisions to make. But other books such as ‘How to Day Trade for a living’ focuses on people looking to invest on a daily basis. Dependent on your investing niche, choose the book catered to your demographic.
Writing
As is the case with any good book, the writing is always at the forefront. The author can have some of the best ideas and investment strategies in the world, but it means nothing if it has not been properly structured and delivered on paper. For example, Robert Kiyasaki, the author of ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ brilliantly brings forth the narrative of having a strong mental mindset for investing successfully. The writing should be crisp and clear, because it makes it much easier for the reader in the process.
Discipline
The next criteria is investing discipline. This is arguably one of the most important investing lessons that an investment book can talk about. More than what to put your money on, investing is about having the right kind of discipline. You can spend hours deciding on what to put your money on, but if you do not have the discipline, one bad day will make you forget all you have learnt and make you commit a very rash decision. ‘The Intelligent Investor’ teaches readers to focus on how not to lose money, which has to do with disciplinary measures. This helps investors to avoid falling in a state of anxiety whenever a trade may not go according to plan.
Ease of use
Is the book full of complex jargon which fails to convince the reader on what to do ? Or is the book easy to follow and adapt to ? This is a very important question that a reader may want to concentrate on. For example, ‘The Little Book of Common Sense’ by John C. Bogle is straight forward and easy to apply. Bogle advises his readers to invest in index funds and the S&P 500, which is something many readers are looking to hear. The easier the suggestions are, the more impact it will have on budding investors.
FAQ
What is the best investment book ?
‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ written by Robert Kiyoski is widely regarded as one of the best investment books in the world. The book has sold over 32 million copies to date and has been published in more than 40 languages.
What is the best investing book for long-term gains ?
If you are not looking to spend much time on your investments and simply want your money to grow slowly, read ‘The Little Book of Common Sense Investing’. The author, John C. Bogle, advises investors to put money in index funds like the S&P 500, which have been giving investors steady returns for number of years now.
What are the most bought investing books ?
Apart from ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyoski, The Intelligent Investor is one of the most popular investing books. It has sold millions of copies and is also a favorite of billionaire investor, ‘Warren Buffet’.
Final verdict
Hopefully, this article will allow you to pick the right investment books to help you in your personal finance journey. From books from some of the most influential investors in the world, we at OwlRatings hope that you can take advantage and start your investing dream on a high note.
