The name of the book is If You Can. This “book,” if you can call it that, has gotten attention from some corners of the financial services industry. While you may not be familiar with Bill Bernstein, his work has influenced many investors. Most advisers and brokers would say in a bad way, but I believe in a wonderful way.
Written for millenials, many of the themes apply to people of all ages. Three things struck me about the book. First, his recommendation that you only need to invest in 3 funds. Fantastic!! Using low-cost broadly diversified index funds, put 1/3 of your money in a total us stock market fund, 1/3 in a total international stock market fund, and 1/3 in a total bond market fund. Then leave it alone for 40 years. Awesome! I agree completely. It really is that simple. Do this and in the long run you will be better off than the vast majority of investors.
Second was his advice to avoid almost all “finance professionals.” I couldn’t agree more – and I suppose I would be considered a “finance professional.” I need to come up with another way to describe the work I do…
Third, it is basically free and takes 15 minutes to read. The book is available for $.99 on Amazon. If you have a dollar and 15 minutes, it is an excellent investment!
