Neuroscientists will tell you that the best time to absorb important information is when you're relaxed. Our summer reading list may be work-related, but reading these gems away from the office makes all the difference.
We've talked with advisors to compile a list of the top books advisors should be sure to read this summer. The return on your investment will be intangible, but substantial -- enjoy your vacation!
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1. How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins
"I recommend this book to every one of my new hires and anyone who is trying to sharpen their skills." --Britt Alan Woods, vice president Kentucky, Tennessee & Georgia - area sales manager; Fifth Third Securities.
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2. The Financial Professionals Guide to Communication: How to Strengthen Client Relationships and Build New Ones by Robert Finder Jr.
"This book taught me to articulate my value proposition in a clear concise manner to set the stage for the conversations I am having with my clients and with prospects." -- William Murphy, senior financial advisor and senior vice president, Wells Fargo.
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3. The Nature of Investing by Katherine Collins
If Warren Buffett and Mother Nature had a love child, this book would be it. By connecting real-world finance with a deeply rooted, scientifically valid framework (biomimicry) Katherine Collins shows us how investing can be returned to its core purpose of mutual exchange and mutual purpose. This deeply researched book goes beyond the typical discussion on SRI investing, it serves as a classic primer for mindful, conscious behavior in our financial decisions. -- Manisha Thakor, RIA, founder/CEO at Money Zen Wealth Management.
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4. Reducing the Risk of Black Swans Larry Swedroe & Kevin Grogan
"If someone told you that you could significantly reduce the percentage of your portfolio that is allocated to stocks and yet still earn a return comparable to a typical stock-heavy portfolio would you be interested? If so, you want to read this book. It's a guide to using an "evidence-based" investment philosophy to create effective, efficient, globally diversified, low cost portfolios. The secret sauce involves harvesting the power of key return factors on the equity side (small, value, profitability, and emerging markets) with a focus on paring down credit and interest rate risk on the fixed income side so that bonds provide a true volatility buffer to equities enabling an investor to stay the course." - Manisha Thakor, RIA, founder/CEO at Money Zen Wealth Management.
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5. The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William N. Thorndike, Jr.
High on Warren Buffett's reading list, the book examines eight CEOs and how they created huge shareholder returns. It is recommended by Gino Stumpo, a financial advisor with UBS.
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6. Pioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment by David Swenson
"By the man who masterminded the Yale Endowment Model." -Richard Alt, principal, chief investment officer, Carnegie Investment Counsel.
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7. Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan & Eldar Shafir
"A wonderful application of behavioural insight to practical problems that matter. Shows emphatically why lack of bandwidth, whether in time or resources, matters for our decisions and lives, and why this is a particular concern when addressing poverty and savings behaviour. Full of ideas for how to use these insights to make a difference." -- Greg Davies, managing director and head of behavioural finance and investment philosophy at Barclays.
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8. The Oxford Book of Money by Kevin Jackson
This is a must have for your office and/or coffee table - a great read for advisors and clients alike. Its all about money and the role it plays in the pursuit of independence, happiness, love or even food. The book is a playful compilation of quotes and reflections from philosophers, humorists, politicians, literary icons and economists. Some are keenly insightful and others are witty and comical. Woody Allens perspectives are my favorite. -- Richard Wright, senior vice president, investments at Wedbush Securities.
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9. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
"Good introduction to behavioral finance." -- Harold Evensky, president of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management.
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10. Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street by Peter Bernstein
"A wonderful and readable history of financial theory." -- Harold Evensky, president of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management.
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11. Winning the Loser's Game Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing by Charles Ellis
"A book for both clients and practitioners that explains in clear and concise terms why chasing performance is not generally wise." -- Harold Evensky, president of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management.
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12. Asset Allocation by Roger C. Gibson
"The seminal work on the subject." -- Harold Evensky, president of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management.
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13. Implementing The Wealth Management Index by Ross Levin
"A largely unappreciated classic that introduces the concept of success in a holistic manner well beyond portfolio performance." -- Harold Evensky, president of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management.
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14. Irrational Exuberance by Professor Robert J. Shiller
"This is your desert island book about the nexus of human psychology and investing. If you only read one behavioral finance book, make it this one." Joshua Brown, financial advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management, writes on his
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15. Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth by Nick Murray
"This is my bible. Its the foundation of my entire approach to portfolio management and my long-term investing philosophy it probably changed the course of my life and career." -- Joshua Brown, financial advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management, writes on his
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