A Wealth of Common Sense: Why Simplicity Trumps Complexity in Any Investment Plan (Bloomberg)

My title says it all. Great book. Highly recommended for anyone who may or must manage their own life savings, in the capital markets.

I just finished. Ben Carson’s book A WEALTH OF COMMON SENSE:WHY SIMPLICITY TRUMPS COMPLEXITY IN ANY INVESTMENT PLANMore than merely building a case for simplicity in investing, this book is a well written guide for personal financial planning. With simplicity at its core it promotes foundational investing principles (not trading techniques) in simple language. Ben uses extensive references and links (kindle version) to source material from investing icons like Bogle and Buffet, as well as younger sources with much to contribute.Interesting examples and illustrations along with end-of-chapter summaries help the reader grasp and remember key concepts as the author builds his case for thorough portfolio planning without unnecessary, often detrimental complexity.Ben continually focuses on the vital few elements necessary to construct solid, low maintenance portfolios that blend the uniqueness of the investor’s needs, resources and temperament with historical market realities. He emphatically cautions the reader about market unpredictability and the need to account for it during portfolio planning, construction, and monitoring. He presents the statistical probability and real world results of many methods even “passive portfolio” advocates may employ as they overtly or unintentionally seek alpha (try to outperform the market). This is all done without being dry or overly technical.Having read numerous books on investing, this work by Ben Carson is among the best. It would benefit those fairly new to investing, those with a well rounded knowledge, as well as those that want to be sure they are considering best practices for managing an all-weather, sleep-well “investment plan.” (not merely an investment portfolio)If you are determined to be a stock trader, logic-be-damned, this won’t be what you want to read, although it contains a wealth of facts you should consider.Though written several years ago it’s not dated given that it stresses timeless principles for the long term investor. I read Ben’s market perspective regularly and although it does not always relevant to my investing needs, it never disappoints.I often recommend books to friends that I think will meet specific needs they have expressed. I sometimes do so with the promise that if they don’t think it was a worthy read, I’ll reimburse them for the cost. This is one of those books.Plan well and prosper

All in all I like the book. Similar content to others (cost matters, diversification, etc...) but presented differently. Many references to other great books and content. Ideally I would have like to see recommended or sample portfolio allocations; though I think there is hesitation for many writers to go that route due to the unknown consumption of the Information.Nearly all the content covered is also covered by Bogle, Schultheis, Bernstein, and others if you have read the likes of The Coffeehouse investor, The Four Pillars of Investing, Common Sense on Mutual Funds (all highly recommended BTW); albeit a little differently.

For anyone interested in investing, and especially for the long term, this is a very good book to read. I have been investing for over thirty years and I wish I had a book like this when I started to invest. It is a very practical book with no get-rich-quick schemes. Rather the emphasis is on simplicity, planning and patience. This includes creating a portfolio with a limited number of investments selected in accordance with an overall asset allocation plan, preferably (but not necessarily limited to) index funds, and being patient through all of the inevitable market crashes, hysterical media reports, and holding on for the long term. This thesis is buttressed by many charts and graphs and information of a historical nature that puts the entire exercise in perspective. An important theme covered in the book is starting the investment process as soon as possible and benefiting from compounding interest.I became aware of Ben Carlson from his blog, which I read religiously (I registered to receive emails). The blog is at http://awealthofcommonsense.com/. The blog is a very good place to visit to see if having the book on hand will help. Ben also provide links to other bloggers and writers on the subject of investing.

This is a great book for either an investing novice or a seasoned professional. Being a former middle school teacher I understand how difficult it can be to explain complex information in an understandable way without being insulting to your audience. The author receives an A+ in accomplishing his goal. The information is presented with humility and humor. Ben Carlson checks his ego at the door and boils things down to what is really important to investors. Keep things simple, automate your process and understand that there is nothing guaranteed when investing money. Carlson provides plenty of interesting and valuable data to back up his claims. He also relates investing to many other subjects. He gives examples from such wide ranging topics from the sports world to the prison system to make his points more relevant and understandable to the reader, Though I am a professional money manager, I learned a great deal from this book in both new material and different ways to reinforce concepts I was already aware of. If you are looking for a jargon free, readable, and entertaining book that wont take you forever to read, this is for you. This would also make a great holiday or birthday present for a young person. I highly recommend purchasing, reading, and sharing this book.

Good book for beginners to intermediate investors. There is a lot of sound advice in here to be sure. It focuses a lot on the behavioral aspect of investing, and how we should automate good decisions to avoid mistakes. I didn't rate higher because it doesn't give much specific advice or action steps and most of it is just repackaged information we've heard before. That said, if you don't read a lot of personal finance books, this is a good one to start with.