51 books like The Power of Passive Investing

By Richard A. Ferri,

Here are 51 books that The Power of Passive Investing fans have personally recommended if you like The Power of Passive Investing. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing

Eric Tyson Author Of Investing For Dummies

From my list on getting smarter about investing and money.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was growing up, I saw family members and friends, who were otherwise smart people who could master other aspects of their lives, have difficulty with personal finance decisions and investing. When my dad was laid off during a recession, he had some retirement money distributed to him, and I got interested in investing as he researched and tried with difficulty to handle this money himself. In my young adult years, I was a sponge to learn as much as I could about personal finance. 

Eric's book list on getting smarter about investing and money

Eric Tyson Why did Eric love this book?

I first read this book as required reading for a college course, and it greatly changed how I thought about investing.

Over the years, I’ve read updated editions, and it never gets stale and always includes new information and insights. But the foundational issues have stood the test of time and remain in the newest edition.

I also love this book because it introduced me at a young age to mutual funds and Vanguard.

By Burton G. Malkiel,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked A Random Walk Down Wall Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Today's stock market is not for the faint hearted. At a time of frightening volatility, the answer is to turn to Burton G. Malkiel's advice in his reassuring, authoritative, gimmick-free and perennially best-selling guide to investing. Long established as the first book to purchase before starting a portfolio, A Random Walk Down Wall Street now features new material on "tax-loss harvesting"; the current bitcoin bubble and automated investment advisers; as well as a brand-new chapter on factor investing and risk parity. And as always, Malkiel's core insights-on stocks and bonds, as well as investment trusts, home ownership and tangible assets…


Book cover of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns

Victor Haghani Author Of The Missing Billionaires: A Guide to Better Financial Decisions

From my list on intelligent financial decision-making in less than 200 pages.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have over four decades of experience working and innovating in the financial markets and have been a prolific contributor to academic and practitioner finance literature. I started my career at Salomon Brothers in 1984, where I became a managing director in the bond-arbitrage group, and in 1993 I was a co-founding partner of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management. I founded Elm Wealth in 2011 to help clients, including my own family, manage and preserve their wealth with a thoughtful, research-based, and cost-effective approach that covers not just investment management but also broader decisions about wealth and finances.

Victor's book list on intelligent financial decision-making in less than 200 pages

Victor Haghani Why did Victor love this book?

I loved how this “Little Book" gets right to the point and explains why every investor should include low-cost index ETFs in their portfolios. This is a great guide for beginners and old hands alike. It is a book devoted to simplicity.

I loved Bogle’s “Cost Matters Hypothesis” which is simpler and more relevant than the also important “Efficient Markets Hypothesis” that is taught in Finance 101 classes. 

I felt this book empowered me to take control of my financial life. It’s a book I always recommend to people who are looking to improve their financial lives. I learned a lot from Vanguard founder John Bogle's 80+ years of experience and wisdom. Invest just 60 minutes in this book and reap a lifetime of informed, confident investing decisions.

By John C. Bogle,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Little Book of Common Sense Investing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The best-selling index investing "bible" offers new information and is updated to reflect the latest market data The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is the classic guide to getting smart about the market. Legendary mutual fund veteran 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 very low cost, a mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500 Stock Index. Such an index portfolio is the only investment that guarantees your fair share of…


Book cover of Winning the Loser's Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing

Stephen R. Foerster Author Of In Pursuit of the Perfect Portfolio: The Stories, Voices, and Key Insights of the Pioneers Who Shaped the Way We Invest

From my list on developing your investment philosophy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been interested in investing for over four decades since I started as a finance PhD student at Wharton. Since then my research has focused on understanding the stock market. Early on, I tried applying my research to my investing. For example, I was convinced that a recently listed stock called Google was way overvalued—was I ever wrong! That got me to reflect on my investment philosophy—what did I truly believe about how markets really behaved? That brought me back to understanding and appreciating the contributors to Modern Portfolio Theory, which led to a fun decade-long book project. Currently I enjoy writing about investing through my blog.

Stephen's book list on developing your investment philosophy

Stephen R. Foerster Why did Stephen love this book?

I had the pleasure of interviewing Charley for our book.

He’s a great storyteller. He was probably the first practitioner to advocate for passive index investing. He’s a tennis enthusiast, and his book was inspired by a book he read aimed at amateur tennis players. Ellis learned that to win at tennis, the best strategy is to simply try to not lose, and to not try to act like professional players.

He realized that the same strategy worked for investors as well. That means that investors shouldn’t try to beat the market.

By Charles Ellis,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Winning the Loser's Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The definitive guide to long-term investing success-fully updated to address the realities of today's markets

Technology, information overload, and increasing market dominance by expert investors and computers make it harder than ever to produce investing results that overcome operating costs and fees. Winning the Loser's Game reveals everything you need to know to reduce costs, fees, and taxes, and focus on long-term policies that are right for you.

Candid, short, and super easy to read, Winning the Loser's Game walks you through the process of developing and implementing a powerful investing strategy that generates solid profits year after year. In…


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 Whatever Happened to Thrift? Why Americans Don't Save and What to Do about It

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?

We all know we should save – and yet we don’t. Even the people living in the world’s richest nation – the USA – don’t save enough. Why? Plenty of research, plenty of anecdotes, and then some solid insights and recommendations by Ronal Wilcox make this book useful for individuals, employees, employers, and policymakers.  

By Ronald T. Wilcox,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Whatever Happened to Thrift? Why Americans Don't Save and What to Do about It as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Not saving is more than just a problem that affects individual Americans and their families--it's a national problem

It is no secret that Americans save very little: every economic index confirms as much. But to solve the real myster


Book cover of The Investor's Manifesto: Preparing for Prosperity, Armageddon, and Everything in Between

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?

Bernstein presents a compact (200-page) but stunningly accurate overview of the financial markets and what makes them tick. He provides solid tips – lots of them – for the little guy trying to navigate the swift and often dangerous waters of Wall Street. I’ve shared this book with a number of clients over the years to help them understand what I do and why I do it. Investing success, explains Bernstein, and I couldn’t agree more, isn’t about market timing or cherry-picking securities. It is about diversification, low costs, patience, and taking on just the right amount of risk. Bernstein is not only an expert in finance but is also a student of economic history who brings a fresh perspective to everything he covers. 

By William J. Bernstein,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Investor's Manifesto as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A timeless approach to investing wisely over an investment lifetime With the current market maelstrom as a background, this timely guide describes just how to plan a lifetime of investing, in good times and bad, discussing stocks and bonds as well as the relationship between risk and return. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Investor's Manifesto will help you understand the nuts and bolts of executing a lifetime investment plan, including: how to survive dealing with the investment industry, the practical meaning of market efficiency, how much to save, how to maintain discipline in the face of panics…


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 12% Solution: Earn a 12% Average Annual Return on your Money

Jason Kelly Author Of The 3% Signal: The Investing Technique That Will Change Your Life

From my list on to learn systematic stock market investing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing and The 3% Signal, among other financial books, and editor of The Kelly Letter. Despite having been ranked by CXO Advisory as one of the best stock-market forecasters, I gave up the practice in favor of price reaction. I realized that nobody knows where stocks are headed, myself included, and set out to find ways to beat the market without forecasting—and succeeded. My readers and I are now much happier and wealthier.

Jason's book list on to learn systematic stock market investing

Jason Kelly Why did Jason love this book?

This monthly approach uses three-month momentum to select two funds from a pool of four stock funds and two bond funds. The stock indexes are the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, Russell 2000, and Nasdaq, i.e. US large caps, mid caps, small caps, and tech. It’s not a revolutionary idea but provides a good introduction to major asset class switching, which runs circles around pundit guessing games. If you do nothing but swear off gut-guessing in favor of price reaction, you’ll beat almost everybody—including the supposed pros.

By David Alan Carter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The 12% Solution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How to make money in stocks?

First step: don't trade stocks. In a radical departure from most investment books, a former day trader demonstrates how a simple asset allocation strategy that 'adapts' to changing market conditions has delivered a 12% average annual return over the past 10 years. What does 12% mean?

If you're familiar with investing basics, you'll know that figure comes close to doubling the average return of the benchmark S&P 500. It also outperforms 99% of all mutual funds.

But what's outperformance without protection? When the S&P 500 crashed in 2008 and lost 37% of its value,…


Book cover of First to a Million: A Teenager's Guide to Achieving Early Financial Independence

Clifton Corbin Author Of Your Kids, Their Money: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Financially Literate Children

From my list on personal finance to help you master your money.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been curious about how money, the economy, and businesses work since I was a kid. That’s why it was so infuriating when I became a young adult and made a total mess of my finances. After getting back on solid financial ground, I’ve devoted myself to learning everything I can about building wealth sustainably. But more importantly, I dedicated myself to helping others, especially young people, become financially literate. Through my books, events, and products, I want to ensure the next generation learns how to manage their money before they need to, so that they can avoid my mistakes and embark on a path to financial success.

Clifton's book list on personal finance to help you master your money

Clifton Corbin Why did Clifton love this book?

First to a Million flips the script for teens and young adults. It lets young people know the “go to school, get a job, and work for 40+ years, then enjoy your retirement” isn’t for everyone.

This is the book I wish I had when I was a teen. Packed full of real-life examples of people who have reached financial independence at remarkably early ages, it is both inspiring and motivational.

I love how Dan Sheeks, the author and a high school teacher, gives teens and young adults a blueprint to shed the playbook that so many of us were given and learn to live life on their terms and maybe even retire before they are 30. 

Seeing there are many ways to build wealth and reach financial independence at an early age in a sustainable way is a gift we need to give to more young people. 

By Dan Sheeks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked First to a Million as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Change the way you look at money before you turn 20―and become a FI Freak!

Most teenagers are told about only one financial path: Work until you’re old and then retire. But what if you want to spend your adult life traveling, creating, or bettering the world instead of working all day, every day?

Financial independence (FI) is the only way to win the resource you can’t rewind: time. Time for yourself, time for your family and friends, and time for your dreams. Build the freedom to define your own future by building a strong financial base―which means saving more,…


Book cover of Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management: An Active Approach to Portfolio Construction and Management

Jason Kelly Author Of The 3% Signal: The Investing Technique That Will Change Your Life

From my list on to learn systematic stock market investing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing and The 3% Signal, among other financial books, and editor of The Kelly Letter. Despite having been ranked by CXO Advisory as one of the best stock-market forecasters, I gave up the practice in favor of price reaction. I realized that nobody knows where stocks are headed, myself included, and set out to find ways to beat the market without forecasting—and succeeded. My readers and I are now much happier and wealthier.

Jason's book list on to learn systematic stock market investing

Jason Kelly Why did Jason love this book?

Ready to roll up your sleeves? This book takes work but is worth the mental energy. It’s a departure from most rules-based material in that it advocates applying objective odds when making subjective judgments. I prefer an all-algorithmic approach, but tip my hat to this hybrid strategy—far preferable to mainstream financial-media dart-tossing. Established patterns exist and are exploitable. Big-picture tactics trump lucky breaks. How much better the world would be if more people understood that bonds are less volatile than stocks. This book confirms that tweaking essential portfolio management factors to eke out a slight advantage runs circles around the casino mindset.

By Ludwig B. Chincarini, Daehwan Kim,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Praise for Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management

"A must-have reference for any equity portfolio manager or MBA student, this book is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of equity portfolio management, from factor models to tax management."ERIC ROSENFELD, Principal & Co-founder of JWM Partners

"This is an ambitious book that both develops the broad range of artillery employed in quantitative equity investment management and provides the reader with a host of relevant practical examples. The book excels in melding theory with practice."STEPHEN A. ROSS, Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"The book is very comprehensive in its…


Book cover of A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing
Book cover of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns
Book cover of Winning the Loser's Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,188

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in stock market, investment, and personal finance?

Stock Market 40 books
Investment 66 books
Personal Finance 90 books