The Elements of Investing

I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of this groundbreaking, new, investment book from two of most respected marketwatchers around today! Princeton economics professor, Burton G. Malkiel, and influential non-profit chairman, Charles D. Ellis, have put their brains together to come up with one of the most surefire investment strategies out there. The Elements of Investing is intelligently written in a pared-down-to-the-absolute-basics sort of way. It's one of the rare books written in this vein that actually takes the reader's ambitions seriously. It's a pleasure to read, because it is peppered with real life examples of people exhibiting good and bad investment behavior and the twists and turns their lives take as a result.

Right off the bat, Malkiel and Ellis admonish readers to start saving as early as possible and continue saving regularly throughout their lives. Granted, in a runaway consumerist culture like ours, characterized by its easy credit and debt-addicted millions, this task is so often easier said than done. But a prudent, evenhanded approach to spending and saving is possible--and Malkiel and Ellis show you how with smart suggestions that range from the banal, to the downright devious. The real plus to becoming a habitual saver, the authors explain, is that it helps you keep your real priorities in perspective. According to Malkiel and Ellis, your number-one priority, along with that of every other, gainfully employed, taxpaying American, should be to gradually grow your net worth so that your safety net's intact when your finally reach retirement age. Think of saving, they say, as investing in your future self!

Next, Malkiel and Ellis explore some innovative ways to grow your asset pool, focusing specifically on index funds because they are affordable, intelligently managed and because their unique formulations allow for risk to parsed out over a wide, representative swatch of the market. The authors inform readers about various other index products they may not have considered before, including index bonds and international index funds.

Malkiel and Ellis use statistics and compelling anecdotal evidence to reiterate the time-honored benefits of diversification for a new generation of investors. The authors emphasize the singular importance of diversifying across asset classes (stocks, bonds, money market instruments, commodities, etc.), across markets and over time. They explain how having a diversified portfolio gives the savvy investor a leg up as the market undergoes the upsetting process of rebalancing in the wake of a serious stumble like the one which followed the housing bubble burst of last spring.

In a final, bonus section, Malkiel and Ellis offer an insightfully rendered and detailed menu of IRA's and other tax-deferred, savings options available to investors.

The Elements of Investing is a veritable goldmine of investing wisdom backed by two of the most trusted names in the investment industry. Malkiel and Ellis' clear goal is to inspire readers to believe in their basic competency as investors and to chase their dream of financial independence and security!

For those interested in further, reliable reading on the subjects of developing good money habits, investing and personal finance, check out Thomas C. Scott's Fasten Your Financial Seatbelt: What A Fatal Plane Crash Taught Me About Retirement Planning and John E. Girouard's The Ten Truths of Wealth Creation.

I was looking forward to the authors coming out with a new book to give their investment advice after the 2008 and early 2009 stock market crash. Their fundamentals appears to be the same with the use of broad based index funds, but their stock allocations have shifted to having more money invested globally outside of the United States. You'll have to purchase the book to read their recommendations. Also, they have given their opinion about Vanguard's new Total World index fund and both have given their individual asset allocations based on a person's age with Burton Malkiel's being more conservative and Charles Ellis' being more aggressive. They both also give a list of recommended index funds along with a surprise for us regarding their individual stock picking. It's not what your thinking like day trading. Trust me.

The authors' do say that the book will help 90% of all investors, with the remaining 10% of investors seeking professional help with complicated situations.

All around very good book and a quick read. Its good for those relatively new to investing because they give personal finance advice also, and the book is also good for experienced investors for their expert advice regarding investing after the 2008/early 2009 stock market crash.

I highly recommend the book.

Nutshell review - In this little book that will take just an hour or two to read the authors have indeed achieved exactly what they wanted to, namely, distil into just five key points the essential elements of creating and looking after your money and investment nest egg. This is not an in-depth book about investment theory or random walk models or efficient portfolios but it is a good, common sense, short guide to what you really should know if you intend to put money into the markets. If you are new to the world of investing then make this your first investment in yourself!

See also (1) A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel, (2) Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, and (3) The (MIS)Behaviour of Markets by Benoit B. Mandelbrot. And for some fun see Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis.

If you are a Burton Malkiel and/or Charles Ellis fan, do NOT buy this book. You presumably have already read some of their other works and this book adds nothing new. It is a very brief (small, short, large font, lots of white space) book that summarizes the basic investment lessons that you would already know. If I didn't have more respect for Malkiel/Ellis I would suggest that they created this book just to capitalize on their names. On the other hand, if you haven't read their works (or anything by John Bogle) then the lessons in this book will prove valuable. You will still feel like you overpaid for the book (it would make a good feature article in a magazine), but at least it may simplify the investment arena for you and provide you with some clear (albeit very succinct)direction.

I have read previous books by each author, and had really expected more---MUCH MORE.

The salient investing advice in this book could be expressed in a single paragraph. I felt like I was reading Money Magazine..