A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Library · Investing
- Author: Burton G. Malkiel
- FinSimLab rating: 5/5
- Reading: Moderate
- Finance level: Intermediate
- Published: 1973
Why beating the market consistently is so hard, and what index investing offers instead.
What it covers
Malkiel reviews historical bubbles, technical and fundamental analysis, and concludes that for most investors the sensible choice is a diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds. The book is updated regularly and includes an asset allocation guide by age.
What you will learn
- What the efficient market hypothesis says and where it falls short.
- How bubbles form and why they keep happening.
- How to split your portfolio by age and time horizon.
Who it is for
People torn between picking stocks and buying funds who want arguments backed by data.
Concepts
Index investing, Market efficiency, Asset allocation
What you will not learn
How to analyse individual companies: it argues precisely against picking stocks.
Already read a book on this?
- It shares index investing and the weight of fees with The Little Book of Common Sense Investing. If you have read The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, this one mainly adds the history of bubbles, efficient market theory and how to split a portfolio by age. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
We suggest you continue with
Related Academy guides
- What is an ETF and how to invest in one
- ETF vs Index Fund: What's the Difference and Which Should You Buy?
- How to build an investment portfolio from scratch
- Asset allocation and rebalancing: how to maintain your portfolio
Put it into practice
More investing books
- The Intelligent Investor
- The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
- The Simple Path to Wealth
- One Up On Wall Street
- Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
- The Little Book That Beats the Market
- The Most Important Thing
- The Little Book of Valuation
Descriptions written by FinSimLab for educational purposes. They do not summarise the books and are not investment advice.