The classic guide to constructing a solid portfolio— with out a financial advisor!“With relatively little effort, you can design and assemble an investment portfolio that, because of its wide diversification and minimal expenses, will prove superior to the most professionally managed accounts. Great intelligence and good luck are not required.”William Bernstein’s commonsense approach to portfolio construction has served investors well during the pa...

“Bernstein has become a guru to a peculiarly ’90s group: well-educated, Internet-powered people intent on investing well—and with minimal ‘help’ from professional Wall Street.”--Robert Barker, BusinessWeekWilliam Bernstein is one of today’s most unlikely financial heroes. A practicing neurologist, he used his self-taught investment knowledge and research to build a popular investor’s website. Now, in the plain-spoken The Intelligent Asset Allocator, he shows...

From the author of A Splendid Exchange comes a remarkable history of media - from the alphabet to the internet - that examines how it has shaped human society over millennia.In Masters of the Word, Bernstein chronicles the development of the technology of human communication, or media, starting with the birth of writing thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia. In Sumer, and then Egypt, this revolutionary tool allowed rulers to extend their control f...

A timeless approach to investing wisely over an investment lifetimeWith 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,...

Inspired by Charles Mackay's 19th-century classic Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Bernstein engages with mass delusion with the same curiosity and passion, but armed with the latest scientific research that explains the biological, evolutionary, and psychosocial roots of human irrationality. Bernstein tells the stories of dramatic religious and financial mania in western society over the last 500 years—from the Anabaptist Madness that afflicte...

The Ages of the Investor: A Critical Look at Lifecycle Investing is intended to be the first installment in the Investing for Adults series.Just as grownups do not believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus, "Investing adults" know that there is no such creature as the Stock-picking Fairy or the Market-timing Fairy. Further, there is no Risk Fairy who will write you cheap options that will protect your stock holdings against loss. Investi...

The classic guide to constructing a solid portfolio—without a financial advisor!Retired neurologist and master investor William J. Bernstein has seen it all throughout his career. Buying investments with borrowed money. Chasing past performance. Overestimating one's own risk tolerance. Listening to cable news. These are just a few of the many mistakes he has witnessed smart, serious investors make, to the peril of their portfolios. Add to these behavioral errors su...

Adam Smith wrote that man has an intrinsic "propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another." But how did trade evolve to the point where we don't think twice about biting into an apple from the other side of the world?In A Splendid Exchange, William J. Bernstein tells the extraordinary story of global commerce from its prehistoric origins to the myriad controversies surrounding it today. He transports readers from ancient sailing ships that brought the sil...

"A gem from one of the most brilliant minds in personal finance."- Ben Stein, author, actor, TV personality, and New York Times columnistIn a financial world gone mad, you still need to manage your money, put your kids through college, and save for retirement. To the rescue comes Jonathan Clements with 21 easy-to-follow rules to help you secure your financial future. Clements has spent a quarter century demystifying Wall Street for ...

John C. Bogle and William Bernstein define “enough” and suggest another golden rule: never confuse your self-worth with your net worth.Knowing Enough combines the penetrating insights into investing and life of John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard and the pioneer of index investing, and the priceless practical advice of William J. Bernstein, bestselling author of The Four Pillars of Investing and market historian. Their conversations were the ce...

“Compact and immensely readable . . . a tour de force. Prepare to be amazed.” — John C. Bogle, Founder and Former CEO, The Vanguard Group“Vital—a cogent, timely journey through the economic history of the modern world.” — Publishers WeeklyIn The Birth of Plenty, William Bernstein, the bestselling author of The Four Pillars of Investing, presents his provocative, highly acclaimed theory of why prosperity has been the engine...

As recently as a generation or two ago, the lack of financial ability wasn't a handicap for the average person. But in today's world—where most of us have been forced to manage our own investment and retirement portfolios—it has become essential to understand the finer points of our financial life.While the meltdown of 2008–2009 has compounded the complexity of the investment landscape, timeless investment principles can help you navigate even the toughest investment terrain. That's...