The most recommended finance books

Who picked these books? Meet our 186 experts.

186 authors created a book list connected to finance, and here are their favorite finance books.
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Book cover of Goals-Based Wealth Management: An Integrated and Practical Approach to Changing the Structure of Wealth Advisory Practices

Tony Davidow Author Of Goals-Based Investing: A Visionary Framework for Wealth Management

From my list on wealth advisors who want to embrace change.

Why am I passionate about this?

Tony Davidow has more than 35 years of experience in working with advisors, institutions, and ultra-high-net-worth investors regarding advanced asset allocation strategies, and the use of alternative investments. He's currently Senior Alternatives Strategist at the Franklin Templeton Institute. Previously, Davidow held senior leadership roles with Morgan Stanley, Guggenheim, and Schwab among other firms. He's a frequent writer and speaker with deep expertise in the use of alternative investments, asset allocation and portfolio construction, and goals-based investing. In 2020, he received the prestigious Investments & Wealth Institute Wealth Management Impact Award for his contributions to the wealth management industry; and in 2017, he was awarded the Stephen L. Kessler Writing Award for excellence in editorial contributions.

Tony's book list on wealth advisors who want to embrace change

Tony Davidow Why did Tony love this book?

Jean Brunel was one of the early adopters of goals-based investing.

Brunel shares insights from his decades working with high-net-worth investors. This book serves as a foundation for all those that followed, and provided credence to aligning investments to specific goals, rather than merely outperforming some arbitrary benchmark.

By Jean L. P. Brunel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Goals-Based Wealth Management as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Take a more active role in strategic asset allocation

Goals-Based Wealth Management is a manual for protecting and growing client wealth in a way that changes both the services and profitability of the firm. Written by a 35-year veteran of international wealth education and analysis, this informative guide explains a new approach to wealth management that allows individuals to take on a more active role in the allocation of their assets. Coverage includes a detailed examination of the goals-based approach, including what works and what needs to be revisited, and a clear, understandable model that allows advisors to help individuals…


Book cover of Clever Girl Finance: Ditch Debt, Save Money and Build Real Wealth

Cindy Zuniga-Sanchez Author Of Overcoming Debt, Achieving Financial Freedom: 8 Pillars to Build Wealth

From my list on starting your journey to financial freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

I graduated law school in 2015 with over $200,000 of debt. As the daughter of immigrants, born and raised in a low-income community in the Bronx, I was overwhelmed by how little I knew about money. I turned to books to build healthy money management habits, improve my credit, and, importantly, pay down my debt. I have since read dozens of personal finance books, built a community of over 60,000 on social media, and spoken to audiences nationwide about personal finance. Given the impact that books have had on my journey, I wrote my own from the perspective of a first-generation Latina that went from six figures of debt to a six-figure net worth. 

Cindy's book list on starting your journey to financial freedom

Cindy Zuniga-Sanchez Why did Cindy love this book?

When I started my financial freedom journey, I discovered the Clever Girl Finance platform and gained great value from their blog posts and resources. When their book was released, I immediately picked it up because I needed guidance and encouragement in my journey to pay off over $200,000 of debt. This book provides actionable tips on how to create a debt freedom plan and, importantly, how to stick to the plan. I appreciated its balanced approach, which emphasized rewarding yourself (even in small ways) during the journey and managing your debt-free goals alongside your other financial goals. 

By Bola Sokunbi,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Take charge of your finances and achieve financial independence - the Clever Girl way

Join the ranks of thousands of smart and savvy women who have turned to money expert and author Bola Sokunbi for guidance on ditching debt, saving money, and building real wealth. Sokunbi, the force behind the hugely popular Clever Girl Finance website, draws on her personal money mistakes and financial redemption to educate and empower a new generation of women on their journey to financial freedom. Lighthearted and accessible, Clever Girl Finance encourages women to talk about money and financial wellness and shows them how to…


Book cover of The Logical Trader

Perry J. Kaufman Author Of Kaufman Constructs Trading Systems

From my list on trading the markets.

Why am I passionate about this?

Perry has spent his career developing trading systems for both investors and institutions. His well-known Trading Systems and Methods includes hundreds of strategies, but Kaufman Constructs Trading Systems shows how to select and use the most practical of those trading methods. He develops a range of strategies from the bottom us, including rules, testing, and implementation. He explains why these features are important and how they work together. If you have any interest in developing your own trading system, or a desire to understand what goes into a successful system, you will want to read this.

Perry's book list on trading the markets

Perry J. Kaufman Why did Perry love this book?

Mark Fisher was a landmark on NYMEX, the owner of its largest clearing operation. A veteran intraday trader, he explains his own trading method. It is a valuable look at how a floor trading and professional extracts short-term profits from the market. There are few professionals that share their methods.

By Mark B. Fisher,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An in-depth look at the trading system that anyone can use The Logical Trader presents a highly effective, yet simple trading methodology that any trader anywhere can use to trade almost anything. The "ACD Method" developed and refined by Mark Fisher after many years of successful trading, provides price points at which to buy and sell as determined by the opening range of virtually any stock or commodity. This comprehensive guide details a widely used system that is profitably implemented by many computer and floor traders at major New York exchanges. The author's highly accessible teaching style provides readers of…


Book cover of Best Practices for Equity Research Analysts: Essentials for Buy-Side and Sell-Side Analysts

Guy Thomas Author Of Free Capital: How 12 private investors made millions in the stock market

From my list on making a fortune in the stock market.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been an independent investor for nearly 25 years. In my previous life as an employee, I was a research actuary for a firm of pension consultants, and then a university lecturer. I left my last academic job at the age of 35 because I had made enough money to survive, and freedom was worth more to me than a salary. FIRE (Financial Independence – Retire Early) is what it’s called these days, but with two differences. First, I’m not retired: I spend most of my time on investing, but entirely on my own terms. Second, and relatedly, I’m an active investor, albeit a cheap one, nearly as cheap as an index fund.

Guy's book list on making a fortune in the stock market

Guy Thomas Why did Guy love this book?

This is the best book I know on the nitty-gritty detail of investment research. Some of the techniques and resources mentioned may not be accessible to the typical private investor, but I would pick out three general points.

First, the importance of managing your own time (see the whole of chapter 3). Second, the need to pick out, for each company the handful of variables that have the biggest influence on the stock price, and concentrate on researching those. Third, the need for any investment view to be backed by non-consensus data or insights – because without these, you only have only a hunch, and a hunch is not worth very much.

By James Valentine,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Best Practices for Equity Research Analysts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A real-world guide to becoming a top-performing equity analyst

Praise for Best Practices for Equity Research Analysts:

"Jim Valentine has taken his decades of experience as a highly successful security analyst and written an effective and comprehensive guide to doing the job right. Ionly wish I had this book by my side throughout my career." -- Byron R. Wien, Vice Chairman, Blackstone Advisory Partners LP

"Given the fast pace and high-pressure nature of the markets, analysts don't have the luxury to make mistakes. James J. Valentine's Best Practices for Equity ResearchAnalysts should be required reading for all new and experienced…


Book cover of Financial Risk Management: Applications in Market, Credit, Asset and Liability Management and Firmwide Risk

Alain Ruttiens Author Of Mathematics of the Financial Markets: Financial Instruments and Derivatives Modelling, Valuation and Risk Issues

From my list on quantitative finance applied to financial markets.

Why am I passionate about this?

Having a master's degree in chemical engineering, I wasn't destined to work in the area of quantitative finance… the reason why I professionally moved to this discipline aren't worth exposing, but as a matter of fact, I've been quickly fascinated by this science, and encountered some of my favorites, such as maths and statistics, as used in the traditional activity of an engineer. And I had many opportunities of combining the knowledge and practice of financial markets with pragmatism, typically of the engineer’s education, i.e. oriented toward problem solving. In addition, I've always loved teaching, and writing books on financial markets & instruments, hence the importance I'm giving to pedagogy in professional books.

Alain's book list on quantitative finance applied to financial markets

Alain Ruttiens Why did Alain love this book?

For financial market practitioners, it would be unwise not to deeply care about the various financial risks associated with their uses.

This book thoroughly covers the whole set of such financial risks, i.e. market risk, credit/counterparty risk, liquidity risk (both on the asset and liability sides), broadening the subject up to the firmwide level risk. It goes both into theoretical and practical considerations (risk management of a portfolio of financial instruments), illustrated by useful examples, with a great pedagogical sense. 

By Jimmy Skoglund, Wei Chen,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A global banking risk management guide geared toward the practitioner

Financial Risk Management presents an in-depth look at banking risk on a global scale, including comprehensive examination of the U.S. Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, and the European Banking Authority stress tests. Written by the leaders of global banking risk products and management at SAS, this book provides the most up-to-date information and expert insight into real risk management. The discussion begins with an overview of methods for computing and managing a variety of risk, then moves into a review of the economic foundation of modern risk management and the…


Book cover of Freaks of Fortune: The Emerging World of Capitalism and Risk in America

Timothy Alborn Author Of Misers: British Responses to Extreme Saving, 1700-1860

From my list on the strangeness of money.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by money since I was a graduate student when I had even less of it than I do today (as a British historian in the CUNY system). We all carry it in our wallets and have more or less of it in the bank, but it’s also in the air we breathe, suffusing the books we read and the decisions we make. So when I started researching and writing about the British past, money and its associated institutions seemed like an obvious place to start looking. It has yet to let me down, enabling me to discover new things to say about politics, literature, and society.

Timothy's book list on the strangeness of money

Timothy Alborn Why did Timothy love this book?

Although this book is ostensibly about risk, none of Levy’s fascinating case studies stray far from money. Indeed, one of his central claims is that modern capitalism transforms risk into a financial calculation, whereby money’s fluid nature can be employed to divert uncertainty in different directions. Although the goal in such transactions is always to contain risk, the reality (as brilliantly recounted by Levy) is far less certain.

I read this book immediately after writing about the history of British life insurance, and most of these cases (about insuring slave ships, African-American savings, farm mortgages, and the stock market, among others) reinforced the lessons I had learned about the Quixotic and hubristic nature of risk management. The upshot of the book is that, over the course of America’s long nineteenth century, the rich got richer, and the poor got empty promises. Its brilliance lies in the relish with which Levy…

By Jonathan Levy,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Until the early nineteenth century, "risk" was a specialized term: it was the commodity exchanged in a marine insurance contract. Freaks of Fortune tells the story of how the modern concept of risk emerged in the United States. Born on the high seas, risk migrated inland and became essential to the financial management of an inherently uncertain capitalist future.

Focusing on the hopes and anxieties of ordinary people, Jonathan Levy shows how risk developed through the extraordinary growth of new financial institutions-insurance corporations, savings banks, mortgage-backed securities markets, commodities futures markets, and securities markets-while posing inescapable moral questions. For at…


Book cover of Raving Fans

Bruno Hilgart Author Of French Fry Leadership: How to Attain Profits Through Serving People

From my list on creating highly motivated, self-sufficient teams.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been blessed in my career, beginning as a 16-year-old, being an assistant manager at 17, a general manager at 20, and the face of the franchise at the age of 30 for over 16 years. This has led to me learning how to get people more motivated to perform their work than they ever thought possible when they accepted the position. I spent over 30 years literally “growing up” with this company and in this business, having been exposed to some of the best companies within their respective industries, learning how they source, on-board, train, and retain their team members, as well as some of the most influential motivational speakers throughout the world.

Bruno's book list on creating highly motivated, self-sufficient teams

Bruno Hilgart Why did Bruno love this book?

This book took our customer service performance in our company to levels we had never seen before. All of our leaders read this book and then the magic began.

The premise is that satisfied customers just are not good enough. They need to be “raving fans’ of us meaning, they actually become advocates of your business! This led to sales and traffic that exceeded our peers in all measurable ways while truly making our work more fun than we ever thought.

By Sheldon Bowles, Ken Blanchard,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Raving Fans as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With a new foreword by Ken Blanchard

A straightforward and snappy guide to successful customer service from the author of the bestselling The One Minute Manager.

Raving Fans, in a nutshell, is the advice given to a new Area Manager on his first day - in an extraordinary business book that will help everyone, in every kind of organisation or business, deliver stunning customer service and achieve miraculous bottom-line results.

Raving Fans is written in the parable style of The One Minute Manager and uses a brilliantly simple and charming story to teach how to define a vision, learn what…


Book cover of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Monroe Mann Author Of The Theatrical Juggernaut: The Psyche of the Star

From my list on marketing books for aspiring professional actors, artists, and performers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have done some pretty cool things in the arts. To share a few, I’ve given TEDx talks, I have produced and co-starred in a film that made it to Cannes, I have written 11+ books (one of which was a Barnes & Noble # 1 best seller), I have spoken at SAG/AFTRA and Writer’s Guild, I am an entertainment attorney, and I have an album up on iTunes/Apple Music/Spotify, etc. I really love inspiring people, and helping them to achieve life dreams. I hope this list will help inspire some of you to go after your dreams, too, and with a passion!

Monroe's book list on marketing books for aspiring professional actors, artists, and performers

Monroe Mann Why did Monroe love this book?

All the books I recommend have to do with business and finance. Why? Because that’s how you succeed as an artist.

It didn’t take me long to realize this key fact: talent alone gets you nowhere. It’s about marketing, business, strategy, and, yes, finance. This book helped me to realize two things: my wealth is measured in time, and to never say, “I can’t afford it” (Always ask: “How can I afford it?”).

It’s only because I was able to manage my money (eventually) that I was able to end up co-starring in a film that was sold at Cannes!

By Robert T. Kiyosaki,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Rich Dad, Poor Dad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Personal finance author and lecturer Robert T. Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective from two very different influences - his two fathers. One father (Robert's real father) was a highly educated man but fiscally poor. The other father was the father of Robert's best friend - that Dad was an eighth-grade drop-out who became a self-made multi-millionaire. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by his 'poor dad' pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his 'rich dad'. Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retire at 47. RICH DAD, POOR DAD, written with consultant and CPA Sharon L. Lechter, lays…


Book cover of Travellers' Money

Timothy Alborn Author Of Misers: British Responses to Extreme Saving, 1700-1860

From my list on the strangeness of money.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by money since I was a graduate student when I had even less of it than I do today (as a British historian in the CUNY system). We all carry it in our wallets and have more or less of it in the bank, but it’s also in the air we breathe, suffusing the books we read and the decisions we make. So when I started researching and writing about the British past, money and its associated institutions seemed like an obvious place to start looking. It has yet to let me down, enabling me to discover new things to say about politics, literature, and society.

Timothy's book list on the strangeness of money

Timothy Alborn Why did Timothy love this book?

I remember traveling in Europe as a teenager in the early 1980s, before ATMs and euros, when American Express traveler’s checks allowed me to pay for room and board across a succession of sovereign states.

Booker ends his book where I started my personal monetary journey, telling the fascinating history of how (mostly British) tourists paid their way across Europe and North America, using such strange devices as circular notes and early incarnations of the traveler’s check. The book includes numerous color plates of these pieces of paper, issued by Thomas Cook, Lloyds Bank, and even American Express! I also learned about how far the pound sterling counted as a coin of the world and not just a coin of the realm (answer: not as far as I thought!).

By John Booker,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Booker, John


Book cover of Goals-Based Wealth Management: An Integrated and Practical Approach to Changing the Structure of Wealth Advisory Practices
Book cover of Clever Girl Finance: Ditch Debt, Save Money and Build Real Wealth
Book cover of The Logical Trader

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