Best Investing Books, According To The Pros: Top 6 Must-Have Guides For Making Money

Good financial advice can be difficult to come by, which is why many would-be investors turn to books for advice on how to best handle their money. There’s certainly a market for good investing advice: only 1 in 3 Americans admit they feel confident in their investing skills. Yet when it comes to money, there’s always the issue of who to trust or how much can you really afford to put aside comfortably. That’s why having the best investing books to guide you down a safe and smart path can lead to financial satisfaction in the short and long term.

Another problem many struggle with is knowing whether what’s popular today—like trendy specialized ETF investing—is still going to be a sound investment a year from now, or five, or ten. More than half of investors who took part in a survey admit they made financial decisions in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 chaos — and now regret the choices they made.

Investors who win often use timeless wisdom and not tactics or short-term fixes tend to come out ahead. That wisdom can come from the many bestselling books and primers used by investing experts near and far. We wanted to know which were considered the best investing books to add to any investor’s shelf by surveying 10 expert websites. Here are six titles we found frequently recommended across these reviews — if you have your own to suggest, please tell us in the comments below!

The List: Best Investing Books, According to Money Pros

1. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

There’s one book on the tip of most investing experts’ tongues when you first get started. Benjamin Graham’s timeless classic, The Intelligent Investor.

“Benjamin Graham, author of “The Intelligent Investor” is considered the father of value investing, a style that focuses on analyzing the fundamental value of a company before buying stocks at a discounted price,” says The Penny Hoarder.

The book, written almost a hundred years ago, is still packed with advice and strategies you can implement today.

“Here Graham shows you how to think sensibly about investing and how to avoid the mistakes of so many inexperienced investors,” writes Bankrate.”

2. Beating the Street by Peter Lynch

Former manager of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity, Peter Lynch is about as well known as one gets in the world of investing. He made headlines a couple decades ago when his strategies, which defied the experts of that day’s guidelines, started beating out everybody.

He’s also famous for teaching investors to really get to know the companies they invest with.

Here’s how Expensivity breaks it down: “Lynch points out that behind every stock is an actual company. That seems obvious, but we tend not to think of it that way. In this guide, Lynch explains how to become a company expert.  If you become an expert on a company, Lynch argues that you’ll understand why their stock behaves the way it does. Armed with that knowledge, you can build your own investment portfolio.“

3. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Housel’s book was only written three years ago, but quickly has found a home on the shelf of classic investment books. 

“This breezy book takes the reader on a journey across 19 short chapters, which spell out the sometimes odd ways that people think about money and the behavioral psychology surrounding it, then suggest ways to become more financially secure,” writes Investopedia.

Understanding how the brain works can help you understand how money works—and give you ideas on how you should take care of your own.

“Money defines a lot in our financial lives, including what you can invest in and when you can retire. It also defines our behavior. In this collection of stories, Morgan Housel explores how money affects the way we make financial decisions from a psychological perspective,” writes USNews.

4. The Richest Man In Bablyon by George S. Clason

Short, brilliant, and to the point. This book was written in 1926, but is still considered a must-read. If you struggle to understand spreadsheets and numbers, this is the investing book for you.

“The book uses parables set in ancient Babylon to explain basic principles for saving and investing money. Some are about making your savings work for you while others focus on the value of hard work. It’s divided into short chapters, each with a story and lesson, and the entire book can be finished in a few hours. The lessons are stated in a practical way too,” writes The Penny Hoarder.

5. Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham, who Warren Buffett considers his mentor on investing, actually wrote two gems on investing. Security Analysis goes more in-depth than The Intelligent Investor, but the two books together will set you up to get started as an investor or to refine or enhance your strategy.

“First published in 1934, Security Analysis is one of the most influential financial books ever written. Selling more than one million copies through five editions, it has provided generations of investors with the timeless value investing philosophy and techniques of Benjamin Graham and David L. Dodd,” writes Ruleoneinvesting.com.

6. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle

Ever heard of Vanguard? It’s only one of the most successful brokerages that’s ever existed. Go back fifty years, and Vanguard sits among the most successful investing companies in the world.

The man who founded Vanguard, John Bogle, wrote this final investing book that rounds out our list.

“If you like to break up the monotony of words with easy-to-understand charts, graphs and tables, you’ll like this book,” writes The Penny Hoarder. Bogle uses historical evidence from the stock market and experts in the financial planning industry who corroborate — even if they don’t necessarily agree with — his ideas.”

Sources:

• Investopedia.com
• Morningstar
• Bankrate
• U.S. News
• Rocket Mortgage
• The Ways To Wealth
• The Balance Money.com
• The Penny Hoarder.com
• Expensivity.com
• Rule One Investing

Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and received no compensation for making these recommendations.