Fans pick 100 books like The Behavioral Investor

By Daniel Crosby,

Here are 100 books that The Behavioral Investor fans have personally recommended if you like The Behavioral Investor. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

Jeff Bernier Author Of The Money and Meaning Journey: A Guide to Clarity, Financial Confidence, and Joy

From my list on financial peace in retirement.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a wealth advisor for over 37 years, I find many people reach retirement lacking clarity and confidence. Traditional financial advice often focuses on things that are unknowable, uncontrollable, and frankly don’t matter that much. While sound technical investment, estate, and tax planning are critical, the soul’s need for meaning and purpose are as important as sound financial plans. The path to true financial peace may be simpler than you think. These books can help you focus on the fewer, more critical things so that you can thrive in retirement and free yourself from financial media which is not in business to support your vision of a meaningful life.

Jeff's book list on financial peace in retirement

Jeff Bernier Why did Jeff love this book?

Bob Buford introduced me to this book at the Halftime Institute in 2013.

I found this book when I was going through a difficult season - a “falling". This book has helped me understand that much of what we judge as challenges or “falling” is the raw material for personal and spiritual growth. 

And that through the wisdom and insights of these challenges, the second half can be a time of great joy and excitement. I re-read it annually.

By Richard Rohr,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Falling Upward as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fresh way of thinking about spirituality that grows throughout life In Falling Upward , Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up." Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as "falling upward."…


Book cover of Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement

Jeff Bernier Author Of The Money and Meaning Journey: A Guide to Clarity, Financial Confidence, and Joy

From my list on financial peace in retirement.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a wealth advisor for over 37 years, I find many people reach retirement lacking clarity and confidence. Traditional financial advice often focuses on things that are unknowable, uncontrollable, and frankly don’t matter that much. While sound technical investment, estate, and tax planning are critical, the soul’s need for meaning and purpose are as important as sound financial plans. The path to true financial peace may be simpler than you think. These books can help you focus on the fewer, more critical things so that you can thrive in retirement and free yourself from financial media which is not in business to support your vision of a meaningful life.

Jeff's book list on financial peace in retirement

Jeff Bernier Why did Jeff love this book?

If you could only read one book on retirement planning (other than mine of course!), this is the one I’d recommend. 

It covers a wide range of financial planning and investment topics: life-planning, goal-setting, investment strategy, financial stress-testing, spend-down strategies, tax-management, social security, Medicare, annuities, insurance, reverse mortgages, estate planning, elder abuse, and more

However, while comprehensive, it also does not get too “deep” in the weeds and is filled with wise counsel.  

By Larry Swedroe, Kevin Grogan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fully revised and updated second edition.

This is your one-stop, definitive resource as you prepare for a secure and comfortable retirement.

Investment and personal finance experts Larry Swedroe and Kevin Grogan present uniquely comprehensive coverage of every important aspect you need to think about as you approach retirement, including:

Social Security, Medicare, investment planning strategy, portfolio maintenance, preparing your heirs, retirement issues faced by women, the threat of elder financial abuse, going beyond financials to think about your happiness, and much more.

These topics are explained with the help of specialists in each subject. And everything is based on the…


Book cover of Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth: How You and Your Financial Advisor Can Grow Your Fortune in Stock Mutual Funds

Jeff Bernier Author Of The Money and Meaning Journey: A Guide to Clarity, Financial Confidence, and Joy

From my list on financial peace in retirement.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a wealth advisor for over 37 years, I find many people reach retirement lacking clarity and confidence. Traditional financial advice often focuses on things that are unknowable, uncontrollable, and frankly don’t matter that much. While sound technical investment, estate, and tax planning are critical, the soul’s need for meaning and purpose are as important as sound financial plans. The path to true financial peace may be simpler than you think. These books can help you focus on the fewer, more critical things so that you can thrive in retirement and free yourself from financial media which is not in business to support your vision of a meaningful life.

Jeff's book list on financial peace in retirement

Jeff Bernier Why did Jeff love this book?

An easy read for the retirement investor. 

It helps you understand what the real risks are and how to own equities (the world’s great businesses) to create a rising income stream in retirement.

I am usually jealous when I read anything from Nick Murray – wishing I had his gift of communicating with great conviction and humor.

I believe in the message of this book so much that I send it to clients on the one-year anniversary of our relationship!

By Nick Murray,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Preface: Over the course of the last three decades, I've been an advisor to individual investors, and now - for want of a better description - an advisor to other financial advisors. This book will tell you absolutely everything of critical importance that learned about investing during that time. That's the good news. It may also be the bad news. It's potentially good news because if one labors diligently and lovingly at this profession for over thirty years, as I've tried to do, one learns an awful lot about how markets and investments really work. I need hardly add that,…


Book cover of Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance

Jeff Bernier Author Of The Money and Meaning Journey: A Guide to Clarity, Financial Confidence, and Joy

From my list on financial peace in retirement.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a wealth advisor for over 37 years, I find many people reach retirement lacking clarity and confidence. Traditional financial advice often focuses on things that are unknowable, uncontrollable, and frankly don’t matter that much. While sound technical investment, estate, and tax planning are critical, the soul’s need for meaning and purpose are as important as sound financial plans. The path to true financial peace may be simpler than you think. These books can help you focus on the fewer, more critical things so that you can thrive in retirement and free yourself from financial media which is not in business to support your vision of a meaningful life.

Jeff's book list on financial peace in retirement

Jeff Bernier Why did Jeff love this book?

I read this book (a second time) as I was approaching my 50th birthday.

It totally changed the way I viewed the “second half” of my life. While this book is geared to a Christian audience, it offers great encouragement on ways you can “go to the locker room” at halftime and strategically plan the second half so that it is the best half!

By Bob P. Buford,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Halftime as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Your midlife doesn't have to be a crisis. In fact, the second half of your life can be better than the first. Let bestselling author Bob Buford show you how.

What do you want to do with the rest of your life?

In Halftime, Buford provides encouragement and insight to propel your life on a new course to true significance--and the best years of your life. Buford focuses on this important time of transition to the second half of your life, giving you the tools you need to:

Take stock of your successes and accomplishments thus far Redefine significance and…


Book cover of Conserving Client Portfolios During Retirement

Wade Pfau Author Of Retirement Planning Guidebook: Navigating the Important Decisions for Retirement Success

From my list on preparing you for retirement.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am economist who first started exploring retirement planning for my own personal situation. I became so captivated by the topic that I changed fields and was selected as the Professor of Retirement Income at the American College of Financial Services. I am a past curriculum director for the Retirement Management Analyst designation and past program director for the Retirement Income Certified Professional designation. More recently, I am the co-creator of the Retirement Income Style Awareness and co-host of the Retire with Style podcast. I enjoy learning and teaching about all topics related to retirement.

Wade's book list on preparing you for retirement

Wade Pfau Why did Wade love this book?

When looking for the birth of retirement income planning, many arrows will point to William Bengen, a financial planner who looked to the historical data to better understand about what the sustainable spending rate from an investment portfolio is.

His pioneering research led to what is known today as the 4% guideline for retirement spending. In this book, he combines all his previous research into an easy-to-digest format. He explores what can be learned from historical data when it comes to retirement spending.

By William P Bengen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Conserving Client Portfolios During Retirement as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The leading edge of the baby boomer wave will pass through age 68 this year. Retirement looms large for them and the 20-year generation that follows. Although many in the generation have saved to supplement their retirement, they will probably live longer in retirement than any previous generation, so they must grapple with questions about how to manage that money and make it last. The purpose of this book is to present the author's groundbreaking research into this topic, presenting new material as well as an update of the original research in a comprehensive, authoritative form.


Book cover of The Zulu Principle: Making Extraordinary Profits from Ordinary Shares

Ian Pagdin and Michelle Hardy Author Of Investment and Portfolio Management: A Practical Introduction

From my list on making finance interesting and engaging (especially if you’re not an academic).

Why am I passionate about this?

We first met about 10 years ago at Sheffield Hallam University, bonding as work colleagues over a love of enabling students to understand wealth management and finance in a way that we hoped they would find interesting and accessible. The books we chose mix our love of storytelling and making finance accessible by using real-world experiences. They do this in a unique way, challenging the reader to think about their understanding and perspective, something we try to do every day. It has been lovely to reread these books before writing the reviews, reminding us of what makes us tick. We hope they help you to find your tick too. 

Ian and Michelle's book list on making finance interesting and engaging (especially if you’re not an academic)

Ian Pagdin and Michelle Hardy Why did Ian and Michelle love this book?

We enjoyed this book for its innovative approach, which involves a very specific and defined focus, and its appropriateness for a broad spectrum of investors. The method empowers investors to utilise selected criteria in their investment choices to create a successful investment strategy. It provides “tried and tested” principles for “stock pickers,” focusing on the author’s growth investing specialism.

The book is written in a style that is easy to digest but makes some complex investment methods seem obvious, just what I like in books. It is concise but each chapter allows the reader to reflect on their understanding. This represents a good investment for an investor looking to broaden their knowledge and develop their own investment approach.

By Jim Slater,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Zulu Principle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jim Slater's classic text brought back into print Jim Slater makes available to the investor - whether the owner of only a few shares or an experienced investment manager with a large portfolio - the secrets of his success. Central to his strategy is "The Zulu Principle", the benefits of homing in on a relatively narrow area. Deftly blending anecdote and analysis, Jim Slater gives valuable selective criteria for buying dynamic growth shares, turnarounds, cyclicals, shells and leading shares. He also covers many other vitally relevant aspects of investment such as creative accounting, portfolio management, overseas markets and the investor's…


Book cover of The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money

Russell Wild Author Of Bond Investing For Dummies

From my list on investing so that you profit, not your broker.

Why am I passionate about this?

I collected coins a kid. I went to college and studied econ. I worked in a bank. I later became a financial journalist. And later, a professional money manager. I’ve always been fascinated by money…the way it moves around the world, the enormous role it plays in peoples’ lives, the power it gives a select few, the good it can do, and the way it grows. As a fee-only financial planner running my own shop, I'm only peripherally involved with Wall Street. That frees me to step back and look at the key players, the shenanigans, the sometimes awful greed. The books I’ve selected were instrumental in helping others make their money work for them.

Russell's book list on investing so that you profit, not your broker

Russell Wild Why did Russell love this book?

Finance doesn’t easily lend itself to humor, but Richards will make you laugh. His insights into the human mind, and human frailties are pure gold. In The Behavior Gap he examines the bad decisions that nearly all investors seem to make before they become good investors. You will recognize yourself in Richards’ words and in his whimsical and thought-provoking illustrations. This book is not so much about the optimal strategies of investing, but rather it focuses on the mindset needed to carry out those strategies. Yes, even we professionals can sometimes fall prey to portfolio-destroying greed, fears, and pie-in-the-sky thinking. I have read Richards's book a number of times to help keep my head screwed on straight, and it works its magic every time!

By Carl Richards,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Behavior Gap as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"It's not that we're dumb. We're wired to avoid pain and pursue pleasure and security. It feels right to sell when everyone around us is scared and buy when everyone feels great. It may feel right-but it's not rational."
-From The Behavior Gap

 


Why do we lose money? It's easy to blame the economy or the financial markets-but the real trouble lies in the decisions we make.

As a financial planner, Carl Richards grew frustrated watching people he cared about make the same mistakes over and over. They were letting emotion get in the way of smart financial decisions. He…


Book cover of The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor

Mark Varder Author Of It's Not about How Smart You Can Be. It's about How Wealthy You Can Be.: Make the Most of the Market

From my list on for first-time investors in the stock market.

Why am I passionate about this?

Investing in the share market appears to be a bewildering, constantly shifting, extremely noisy, and busy world – one best left to the experts. Fortunes can be made but, equally, fortunes can be lost – with devastating results for those on the receiving end. And yet there are a few, simple, timeless principles to investing in the market successfully – and, ironically, those principles – known collectively as index or passive investing – will be more successful than all the noisy, busy stuff put out by the industry. In writing our book, this is what we would like as many people as possible to know. It’s not about being smart.  

Mark's book list on for first-time investors in the stock market

Mark Varder Why did Mark love this book?

This is a slim, to-the-point, easily understood book based on the same principles as the well-known book on writing, The Elements of Style. With its five chapters, it is the opposite of the highly complex, bewildering, we-know-more-than-you communication put out on a daily basis by the investment industry. Its wisdom is timeless. It’s all that a first-time investor needs to know.

By Burton G. Malkiel, Charles D. Ellis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Elements of Investing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Seize control of your financial future with rock-solid advice from two of the world's leading investment experts

Investors today are bombarded with conflicting advice about how to handle the increasingly volatile stock market. From pronouncements of the "death of diversification" to the supposed virtues of crypto, investors can be forgiven for being thoroughly confused.

It's time to return to the basics. In the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor, investment legends Burton G. Malkiel and Charles D. Ellis deliver straightforward, digestible lessons in the investment rules and principles you need to follow to…


Book cover of The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor

Martin S. Fridson Author Of Investment Illusions: A Savvy Wall Street Pro Explores Popular Misconceptions About the Markets

From my list on investing from a money manager.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a money manager for high-net-worth individuals. During my Wall Street years, I was ranked number one in my category in the Institutional Investor All America Research Survey for nine consecutive years. The CFA Society New York presented me its Ben Graham Award in 2017. I’ve served as a governor of the CFA Institute and consultant to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. My writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, the Financial Times, and various scholarly journals. I live in New York City with my wife, musicologist Elaine Sisman. We have two children and five grandchildren.

Martin's book list on investing from a money manager

Martin S. Fridson Why did Martin love this book?

Forget bromides such as buying a stock because your experience with the company’s product has been good. The hugely successful money manager Howard Marks makes the essential point that the goal is not to find good companies but to make good purchases. “It’s not what you buy,” he says, “it’s what you pay for it.”  Investors who are interested in good outcomes rather than thrills will find many more sound principles in this book.

By Howard Marks,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Most Important Thing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"This is that rarity, a useful book."--Warren Buffett Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. After four decades spent ascending to the top of the investment management profession, he is today sought out by the world's leading value investors, and his client memos brim with insightful commentary and a time-tested, fundamental philosophy. Now for the first time, all readers can benefit from Marks's wisdom, concentrated into a single volume that speaks to both the amateur and seasoned investor. Informed by a lifetime of experience and study,…


Book cover of Asset Dedication: How to Grow Wealthy with the Next Generation of Asset Allocation

Wade Pfau Author Of Retirement Planning Guidebook: Navigating the Important Decisions for Retirement Success

From my list on preparing you for retirement.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am economist who first started exploring retirement planning for my own personal situation. I became so captivated by the topic that I changed fields and was selected as the Professor of Retirement Income at the American College of Financial Services. I am a past curriculum director for the Retirement Management Analyst designation and past program director for the Retirement Income Certified Professional designation. More recently, I am the co-creator of the Retirement Income Style Awareness and co-host of the Retire with Style podcast. I enjoy learning and teaching about all topics related to retirement.

Wade's book list on preparing you for retirement

Wade Pfau Why did Wade love this book?

Stephen Huxley and J. Brent Burns bring the topics of dedicated portfolio theory and asset-liability management to life by discussing how to think about retirement investments in a new manner.

They discuss how bonds can be used to meet upcoming expenses, while stocks and other growth investments are earmarked for longer term expenses. This allows each asset class to perform as it was meant. Bonds provide fixed income rather than being used in an asset allocation model that treats them as less risky versions of stocks.

In 2022, we were all reminded how both stocks and bonds can lose value. But when individual bonds are held to maturity, investors know what they will receive. 

By Stephen Huxley, J Burns,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Asset Dedication as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book presents the breakthrough technique that outperforms asset allocation - and takes your portfolio to the next level. Over the past two decades, asset allocation has become the holy grail of investment techniques. Experts championed it, brokers and financial planners sold it, clients bought it, and few questioned the wisdom of trying to squeeze widely varying investors and their financial goals into prefabricated "one size fits all" allocation formulas. Problem is, asset allocation has significant flaws in the way it is used today, especially for personal investors."Asset Dedication" exposes these flaws, corrects them, and propels investors and advisors into…


Book cover of Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
Book cover of Your Complete Guide to a Successful and Secure Retirement
Book cover of Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth: How You and Your Financial Advisor Can Grow Your Fortune in Stock Mutual Funds

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