Canadian Capitalist Logo Dark
No Result
View All Result
Sunday, May 11, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Real Estate
  • Retirement
  • Tax Savings
  • Trivia
  • Resources
Subscribe
Canadian Capitalist Logo Light
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Real Estate
  • Retirement
  • Tax Savings
  • Trivia
  • Resources
No Result
View All Result
Canadian Capitalist Logo Mobile
No Result
View All Result
Home Uncategorised

Book Review: The Four Pillars of Investing

by Ram Balakrishnan
May 6, 2007
Reading Time: 2 mins read
124 9
0
153
SHARES
1.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin
[Front cover of The Four Pillars of Investing]

William Bernstein, a practising physician, has written an excellent guide to investing (affiliate link) that contains important (as the sub-title says) “lessons for building a winning portfolio”. The four pillars that the title refers to are theory, history, psychology and business of investing.

Often, books on investing are dry and reading them is a bit like working through a dense textbook, but fortunately, this scholarly book is not one of them. Even the driest theoretical concepts are illustrated with historical examples.

In the section on history, Dr. Bernstein tells the tales of bubbles and busts past and present and points out that lack of historical knowledge hurts investors the most. I realized that this is an area I need to learn more about and helpfully, the author provides a list of useful books in Chapter 11 (no pun intended). The book concludes with practical ideas for assembling your portfolio.

I can’t hope to do a better job of summing up the contents of this book than the author himself:

The overarching message of this book is at once powerful and simple: With relatively little effort, you can design and assemble an investment portfolio that, because of its wide diversification and minimal expense, will prove superior to most professionally managed accounts. Great intelligence and good luck are not required. The essential characteristics of the successful investor are the discipline and stamina to, in the words of John Bogle, “stay the course”.

I think this book is worth reading and would also make a nice addition to your bookshelf (I am adding it to my list of recommended books). The Table of Contents, Introduction and Chapter 1 are available on the Efficient Frontier website.

Related posts:

  1. This and That: Investing ain’t Rocket Science and more…
  2. Publicly-Traded Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs)
  3. Transferring the Family Cottage: There is No Panacea
  4. This and That: OSC Proposals, Larry Swedroe in Ottawa and more…
Share61Tweet38Share11

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Previous Post

This and That

Next Post

Top Five Reasons to Index Your Portfolio

Ram Balakrishnan

Ram Balakrishnan

Related Posts

Why you cant afford a house in Canada

Why You Can’t Afford A Home In Canada?

January 24, 2022
558
investing benefits
Investing

Finding a Financial Advisor, Part 1

June 19, 2021
2.2k
investing in bitcoin

Is it time to invest in Bitcoins again?

May 13, 2019
2k
when do reits liquidate
Uncategorised

Performance of Currency-Neutral S&P 500 Index Funds

January 19, 2014
2k
is mortgage interest tax deductible
Uncategorised

The 2013 Sleepy Portfolio Report Card

January 12, 2014
2k
how to buy individual stocks in canada
Uncategorised

Asset Class Returns for 2013

January 5, 2014
1.9k
Next Post
top brokerage in toronto

Top Five Reasons to Index Your Portfolio

Please login to join discussion
Canadian Capitalist

© 2022 Canadian Capitalist

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertisement
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Real Estate
  • Retirement
  • Tax Savings
  • Trivia
  • Resources

© 2022 Canadian Capitalist

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
Sign Up with Linked In
OR

Fill the forms below to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
two man and woman standing on doorway
The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read - Mark Twain