Selected Books of Interest to Independent Investors
Online Books on Investing
Here's a list of Bylo's favourite online books and general articles on investing. They're listed roughly in order of increasing difficulty, so it's best to start at the top and work your way down.[
indicates a Canadian resource.]
Introductory
Fact and Fantasy in Index Investing 
[Eric Kirzner]
The Bogle Financial Markets Research Center and Bogle eBlog
Serious Money: Straight Talk about Investing for Retirement [Rick Ferri]
Intermediate
A Primer for Canadian Do-It-Yourself Investors ["Shakespeare"]
Investment Strategies for the 21st Century [Frank Armstrong]
A Better Way To Invest: An Unbiased Guide for Individual Investors [David Jackson]
12-Step Program to Index Funds [Index Funds Advisors]
The Intelligent Asset Allocator [Bill Bernstein] (Now available only in print.)
Advanced
An Introduction to Investment Theory [Will Goetzmann]Macro-Investment Analysis [William Sharpe]
Miscellaneous
History of Finance Theory [Center for Economic Policy Analysis (CEPA)]Archive for the History of Economic Thought [McMaster University]
Library of Economics and Liberty
Study Finance [Online tutorials from University of Arizona]
Books on Investing
Here's a list of Bylo's favourite books on investing. They're listed roughly in order of increasing difficulty, so it's best to start at the top and work your way down.[
indicates the Canadian edition of a book that may also be available in other editions, e.g. The Wealthy Barber.]
Introductory
David Chilton, The Wealthy Barber. Stoddart, 1989.
John C. Bogle, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns. ISBN: 978-0470102107, Wiley, 2007.
Bill Schultheis, The Coffeehouse Investor. ISBN: 156352600X, Longstreet, 1998 and Bylo's review.
Bill Bernstein, The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio. ISBN 0071385290, McGraw Hill, 2002 and Jon Chevreau's review.
Practical investing advice with emphasis on theory, history, psychology and the business side of investing.
Bruce Cohen, The Money Adviser. 2nd ed. Stoddart, 1998.
Ted Cadsby, The Power of Index Funds: Canada's Best-Kept Investment Secret. Stoddart, 1999 [out of print] and Bylo's review.
Intermediate
Howard Atkinson and Donna Green, The New Investment Frontier: A Guide to Exchange Traded Funds for Canadians. ISBN: 1894663144, Insomniac Press, 2001 and Bylo's review.Explains what ETFs are and how to use them to create a low-cost indexed portfolio. Describes the structural and tax differences between Canadian and US ETFs.
Ted Cadsby, The Ten Biggest Investment Mistakes Canadians Make: And How to Avoid Them. Stoddart, 2000 [out of print] and Morningstar review.
Burton G. Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street. 7th Ed. W W Norton, 1999.
Peter L. Bernstein, Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street. Free Press, 1993.
William Bernstein, The Intelligent Asset Allocator. ISBN: 0071362363, McGraw-Hill, 2000.
John C. Bogle, Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor. Dell, 1994.
John C. Bogle, Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor. Wiley, 1999.
John C. Bogle, John Bogle on Investing: The First 50 Years. ISBN: 0071364382, McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Jonathan Chevreau, et al, The Wealthy Boomer. Key Porter, 1998 and Bylo's review.
Jeremy J. Siegel, Stocks for the Long Run: The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns and Long-Term Investment Strategies. 2nd Ed. McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Larry E. Swedroe, The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need. Penguin, 1998.
Larry E. Swedroe, What Wall Street Doesn't Want You to Know: How You Can Build Real Wealth Investing in Index Funds. ISBN: 031227260X, St. Martin's Press, 2000.
Larry E. Swedroe, Rational Investing in Irrational Times. ISBN: 0312291302, Truman Talley Books, 2002.
The psychological aspects of investing, highlights 52 common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Larry E. Swedroe, The Successful Investor Today. ISBN: 0312309791, Truman Talley Books, 2003.
Fourteen simple truths you must know when you invest.
Advanced
Bylo doesn't read advanced material. It makes his head hurt.
Books on Related Subjects
Demographics
David K. Foot, Boom, Bust & Echo: How to Profit From the Coming Demographic Shift. Macfarlaine, Walter & Ross, 1996.
Frugality and Simplicity
Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life. Penguin, 1993.
Mutual Fund Industry
John Lawrence Reynolds, The Naked Investor. ISBN: 0143016237, Penguin, 2005.
"Sounds a dramatic wake-up call for Canadians hoping to retire in comfort and security. Revealing the investment industry’s darker side in dramatic fashion, The Naked Investor is certain to disturb participants in a system more focused on generating wealth for itself than its clients."
Robert Slater, The Vanguard Experiment. ISBN: 0786305592, Irwin, 1996.
A biography of Vanguard founder John Bogle. Provides a fascinating look at how Vanguard started and how, by giving the ordinary investor "a fair shake," it grew to become the second largest mutual fund company in the world.
Daniel Stoffman, The Money Machine: How the Mutual Fund Industry Works & How to Make It Work for You. ISBN: 1551990520, Macfarlaine, Walter & Ross, 2000.
Explores the conflicts-of-interest in the Canadian mutual fund industry. Explains why owning mutual fund companies is more profitable than owning mutual funds. Advises how to avoid getting caught in the money machine's gears. Jon Chevreau's review.
Pensions
Bruce Cohen and Brian Fitzgerald, The Pension Puzzle :Your Complete Guide to Government Benefits, RRSPs, and Employer Plans, 3rd ed. ISBN: 978-0470839539. John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
Essential reading for any Canadian who wants to learn about pension plans, including CPP/OAS, RRSPs and private DB/DC plans. See also companion calculator What should you be saving for retirement?
Retirement and Estate Planning
Zvi Bodie and Michael Clowes, Worry-Free Investing: A Safe Approach to Achieving Your Lifetime Financial Goals. ISBN 0130499277, Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2003
A practical explanation of how to use inflation-indexed bonds and annuities to assure a financially secure retirement.
Jim C. Otar, High Expectations & False Dreams: One Hundred Years of Stock Market History Applied to Retirement Planning. ISBN: 0968963404. Otar, 2001.
Analyses retirement portfolios and withdrawal strategies using one hundred years of US stock market history. Order from the author.
Sandra E. Foster, You Can't Take It With You: The Common-Sense Guide to Estate Planning for Canadians. Wiley, 1997.
Risk
Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich, Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes-And How to Correct Them: Lessons from the New Science of Behavioral Economics. Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Peter L. Bernstein, Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk. John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Moshe Milevsky with Michael Posner, Money Logic: Financial Strategies for the Smart Investor. ISBN: 0773731711, Stoddart, 1999.
Moshe Milevsky and Aron Gottesman, Insurance Logic: Risk Management Strategies for Canadians. ISBN: 0773733264, Stoddart, 2002.
Speculation
Edward L. Chancellor, Devil Take The Hindmost: A History Financial Speculation. ISBN: 0374138583, Douglas & McIntyre, 1999. [A modern-day version of MacKay's classic.]
Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness Of Crowds. 1841 [Click to read online (see External links), or you can buy a copy at any bookstore.]
Unabashed Solicitation for Free Books
If you're the author or promoter of a book you believe belongs on this list, then send Bylo a copy for review. If it passes Bylo's taste test, then it will be added to the list. If your book is free, then Bylo's listing will be free. Fair enough?For information on submitting your book just e-mail Bylo.