A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing (Twelfth Edition) 12th Edition, Kindle Edition

by Burton G. Malkiel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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ISBN-13: 978-0393358384

ISBN-10: 0393358380

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A Best Book For Investors Pick by the Wall Street Journal’s “Weekend Investor”

Whether you’re considering your first 401k contribution, contemplating retirement, or anywhere in between, A Random Walk Down Wall Street is the best investment guide money can buy. In this new edition, Burton G. Malkiel shares authoritative insights spanning the full range of investment opportunities—including valuable new material on cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, and “tax-loss harvesting”—to help you chart a calm course through the turbulent waters of today’s financial markets.

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the tenth edition of A Random Walk down Wall Street, Malkiel evaluates and emphatically stands by his original investment thesis, that it is extremely rare for an individual investor to consistently beat the stock-market averages. Investors are better off buying and holding an index fund than attempting to buy and sell individual securities or actively managed mutual funds. An index fund which buys and sells all the stocks in a broad stock-market average is likely to outperform professionally managed funds whose high expense charges and large trading costs detract substantially from investor returns. With commentary on numerous investment issues, this readable investment guide for individuals offers information on the full range of new investment products available, the results of current research by academics and other marketplace professionals, and a section on investment strategies for retired investors or those anticipating retirement. This excellent book offers important information for individual investors and is a valuable resource for library patrons. --Mary Whaley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Princeton University economist Malkiel has written the sixth edition of his classic (LJ 9/15/73). The term "random walk" refers to the impossibility of predicting tomorrow's stock prices today. Technicians with all their charts cannot do so, nor can fundamentalists with all their ratios. The random walk is essentially the same as the "efficient market" theory-all new information is immediately reflected in stock prices, so the average investor can't beat the market. What's left? Buy no-load index funds (unavailable in 1973) or good stocks and hold for the long term. Before reaching this conclusion, Malkiel walks the reader through other useless theories with gentle humor and an abundance of tables and charts. The last part of the book is an extremely useful "practical guide" covering various aspects of an investor's financial life such as insurance and home ownership. Recommended for public libraries.
--Alex Wenner, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Do you want to do well in the stock market? Here’s the best advice. Scrape together a few bucks and buy Burton Malkiel’s book. Then take what’s left and put it in an index fund.”
- Los Angeles Times

“Talk to 10 money experts and you’re likely to hear 10 recommendations for Burton Malkiel’s classic investing book, now in its 10th edition.”
- The Wall Street Journal

“Not more than half a dozen really good books about investing have been written in the past fifty years. This one may well belong in the classics category.”
- Forbes Magazine

“A Random Walk has set thousands of investors on a straight path since it was first published in 1973. Even if you read the book then or more recently, a refresher course is probably in order…. A lucid mix of the theoretical and the pragmatic.”
- Chicago Tribune

“Almost every list of must-read investment books…includes Malkiel’s Random Walk.”
- Booklist

“If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to improve your personal finances, here’s a suggestion: Instead of picking up one of the scores of new works flooding into bookstores, reread an old one: A Random Walk Down Wall Street.”
- New York Times

“An engagingly written and wonderfully argued tome.”
- Money Magazine

“Imagine getting a week-long lesson on investing from someone with the common sense of Benjamin Franklin, the academic and institutional knowledge of Milton Friedman and the practical experience of Warren Buffett. That’s about what awaits you in the latest edition of this must-read by Burton Malkiel.”
- Barron's

“A must-read for any investor.”
- The Browser --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Burton G. Malkiel is the Chemical Bank Chairman's Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University. He is a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers, dean of the Yale School of Management, and has served on the boards of several major corporations, including Vanguard and Prudential Financial. He is the chief investment officer of Wealthfront. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Amazon.com Review

It's unlikely that you'll spot many dog-eared copies of A Random Walk floating amongst the Wall Street set (although bookshelves at home may prove otherwise). After all, a "random walk"--in market terms--suggests that a "blindfolded monkey" would have as much luck selecting a portfolio as a pro. But Burton Malkiel's classic investment book is anything but random. Since stock prices cannot be predicted in the short term, argues Malkiel, individual investors are better off buying and holding onto index funds than meddling with securities or actively managing mutual funds. Not only will a broad range of index funds outperform a professionally managed portfolio in the long run, but investors can avoid expense charges and trading costs, which decrease returns.

First published in 1973, this seventh printing of a A Random Walk looks forward and does so broadly, examining a new range of investment choices facing the turn-of-the-century investor: money-market accounts, tax-exempt funds, Roth IRAs, and equity REITs, as well as the potential benefits and pitfalls of the emerging global economy. In his updated "life-cycle guide to investing," Malkiel offers age-related investment strategies that consider one's capacity for risk. (A 30-year-old who can depend on wages to offset investment losses has a different risk capacity from a 60-year-old.) In his assessment of rocketing Internet stocks, Malkiel defends his "random" position well, explaining how "the market eventually corrects any irrationality--albeit in its own slow, inexorable fashion. Anomalies can crop up, markets can get irrationally optimistic, and often they attract unwary investors. But eventually, true value is recognized by the market, and this is the main lesson investors must heed." Written for the financial layperson but bolstered by 30 years of research, A Random Walk will help individual investors take charge of their financial future. Recommended. --Rob McDonald --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From AudioFile

A RANDOM WALK DOWN WALL STREET, first published in 1973 and updated for the eighth time in 2007, is a million-selling financial classic that has never been more timely. In this first-ever audio edition, Kerin McCue imbues the text with an almost-disarming enthusiasm. Malkiel has a very readable style, and McCue takes it to the next level, using an engaging tone that one would expect in the reading of an adventure novel rather than an investment guide. The producers have also done a fine job meeting the challenges of adapting this book for audio, making a number of subtle changes to remove the references to tables and graphs that appear in the print edition. D.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Latest edition of Princeton professor Malkiel's bestselling investment guide.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN : B07DP6YGVX
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company; 12th edition (January 1, 2019)
Publication date : January 1, 2019
Language : English
File size : 20747 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 430 pages
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #11,441 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #8 in Retirement Planning (Kindle Store)
- #13 in Personal Money Management (Kindle Store)
- #23 in Investing Basics

Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States

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shawn

Good introduction to financial markets

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book has some pretty solid chapters that cover investment bubbles, fundamental vs. technical analysis, modern portfolio theory, index funds, etc, all topics I was being exposed to by taking Robert Shiller's free Financial Markets course on Coursera (Yale University). However, I was finding Shiller's course to be lacking in its abbreviated form and needed some additional reading to aid in my understanding. That's where 'A Random Walk' came in and saved the day.

I work in education, not finance, and I believe it was David Ausubel who wrote that the single most important thing you can do when teaching someone is to anchor new content on the learner's existing knowledge/framework. This book is pretty helpful in that regard. It's more of an introduction to financial markets, but not so basic as to be something you could easily learn from online articles like those on Investopedia (which a great site, but this book is better organized and more cohesive).

So, in short: maybe start with this book, then take Shiller's course, and move on to actual finance textbooks if you're inclined to go deeper. Or, if you just want a casual, future retiree's introduction to financial markets and investing, this book will help plenty.

36 people found this helpful

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justin r masuda

A good foundational book for investing. AND easy to understand.

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2019

Verified Purchase

I am a beginning investor, and with so much information out there Im sure you could do well learning on your own. But I feel that this books points you in good directions and gives historical evidence on why you might choose the authors direction when investing in your hard earned money. I wish I had read this earlier although im still quite young. The updated version is suggested although im sure the books foundational ideas were just as relevant then as they are now.

17 people found this helpful

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BLS

A broad overview of investing with dives that are too deep for a message that is very simple

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

I started with the hardbound version of this book from my local library and finished with the softcover cover version from Amazon.

Burton Malkiel gives a very broad overview of how our securities markets are structured, how they operates, and how we interact with them. This includes a history lesson in bubbles, booms, busts, depressions, recessions, and rallies from the Tulip craze to today's time. Malkiel covers everything from stocks to bonds to mutual funds and more. There's chapters on charting, modern portfolio theory, and CAPM. Although this book is meant to be an overview, there is a lot ... and, I mean ~a lot~ ... of information here. The text reads like a professor at a university trying to give an interesting lecture or presentation. Some of the chapters, like the history of market swings, I found interesting to read because I like history in general - the whole how and why of events and their influence on how we got to day.I also enjoyed the chapters on investing behavior and psychology. Other chapters, like on charting, beta, and government backed bonds did not captivate me much. The information was sometimes too technical in nature and sounded like a bunch of hooey to me or just didn't apply to my personal investing strategy.

The whole text can be boiled down to a few key concepts.

First, the market is irrational and unpredictable. Don't try too hard to outsmart it or time it just right. The blips and dips in security prices, random world events like terrorist attacks or government scandals, and unjustified exuberance or pessimism are too much for anyone or anything to take on. You won't win. You may get lucky and think you won but you could have just as easily lost. Hence, the random walk.

Two, despite all that dreck in #1 above, investing in the stock market still beats out any other investment in the long run. Buy, *hold*, **add**, and repeat. Don't fall prey to jittery emotions or the whims and wiles of "professional" investors with messages of doom and gloom. Like Warren Buffett said, the best holding time is forever.

Three, picking a winning stock is not easy. Suppose you are a young investor with a small sum of money like $5k. How will you invest it? Do you feel confident in picking a stock or two? Will your picks beat the market average? Maybe, if you pick right under the right conditions. However, the best way to invest in the market would be through an index fund that reflects the very market you want to invest in. The index fund, either as an ETF or Mutual Fund, will contain a little of everything that reflects the index it is benchmarked against. The SPY will follow the S&P, DIA will follow the Dow Jones, QQQ will track the Nasdaq 100. So, why risk picking one or two stocks when you can kind of have them all?

Four, diversify your diversification. The index funds diversify your money among many securities. You can go further and diversify by investing in international funds. The idea is some international funds can outperform US funds. They can also "zig" when the US funds "zag".

Five, and lastly, skip the services of a professional advisor. He's no genie or wizard. You can do just as well as he can if not better.

I agree with 1, 2, and 5 above but I disagree somewhat with 3 and 4.

Regarding 3, you ought to be able to open up any index fund and see exactly what it is holding and how much. For example, if you want to know what SOXX is holding then go to the iShares website and look at it. It's all there. Rather than buying SOXX I can skip the middleman and his approximately 0.5% fee and just buy those securities ... or, at least the top 10. Many brokerage firms, like Fidelity, offer fractional trading down to 0.001 shares as long as the resulting purchase price is at least $0.01. Now, that means you ought to put in some work and learn how to follow a stock. At least you have a starting point.

Going further, assume you rolled over a pension or 401(k) into a traditional and/or a Roth IRA. You may find yourself with a large sum of money, like $100k or more. With money like that you can build up a serious version of your own equivalent of an index fund with anywhere from 20 to 80 securities.

Now, I will counter myself and repeat what I said above. This will involve quite a bit of work over a long period of time. You have companies to keep track of and all that. It can become like a second job, In that case, maybe a simple all-in-one index fund is all you need.

Regarding 4, I think you ought to use some of the advanced charting tools or total returns calculators available from your broker or somewhere else online to compare how US securities performed compared to international securities. Compare some of the US best like QQQ, SPY, SOXX, and IGV to country specific funds that focus on New Zealand, China, and Russia. If you see these international funds outperformed their US counterparts then you have a starting point for a case for international diversification. Personally, I didn't see it. I saw the US centric ETFs and securities far outperform a majority of international funds. Diversification here wouldn't make sense. Why would I split money between two markets, one that can grow >8% per year over 10 years and one that can grow ~4% per year over 10 years? I'd rather pour everything that I can into the highest performing instrument available. If something better comes around after a couple of years then I divest one and buy the other. Or, even better, buy more of the depressed security knowing that it will rebound.

So, while I don't agree with everything Malkiel says it did provoke a lot of thought in my mind and for that I give it 5 stars.

11 people found this helpful

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Windjammer

The latest edition of this classic remains relevant with indispensable investing advice

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

I read the first edition when I was a young Finance Professor years ago. At the time, it did a superb job of summarizing the research and explaining its implications for the average investor in a manner that was accessible and understandable for the non-academic. The latest edition has been updated based on the more recent research, and with minor tweaks, the underlying and time-tested strategy remains relevant today: for the small investor the most reliable investment strategy is to buy and hold a well-diversified portfolio of low-cost passively managed index funds.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in saving and investing for a comfortable retirement.

16 people found this helpful

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Jennis0212

Great for beginners

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

Someone told me to read this if you are unfamiliar with the stock industry and want to learn more. It is an easy read and I find it very interesting. There are tips in here that I would not even think of on my own. I hope to continue to learn more and become successful at trading stocks.

Please let me know if my review helped in your decision making process one way or the other. =)

36 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Nat Whilk

Why it pays investors to keep things simple

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

Most investors aim to outperform their peers. Either they try to identify investments that have better than average prospects, or they try to buy low and sell high, or they pay an investment manager to play the money game on their behalf. Professor Malkiel's thesis is that they would probably do better to put their capital into cheap, passive mutual funds that seek to do nothing more ambitious than merely track market indices. If they follow this strategy, he suggests, they'll not only save themselves a lot of time, hassle and worry; in the long run, they'll probably also make more money than most of those who think that markets can be outsmarted. Discussing cash, gold, property and collectibles as well as fixed-interest securities and equities, Professor Malkiel's book tells you everything that you need to know in order to put his investment philosophy into practice, including how to tweak your asset mix according to your age, your appetite and capacity for risk and how the markets are fluctuating.

Professor Malkiel's argument is, I think, very persuasive. His notably accessible book - clear, humorous and free from mathematical gobbledegook - makes his case very cogently indeed, and adduces a mountain of evidence to support it. If I'd read it as a youngster and followed its advice, by now I'd be a multi-millionaire.

I can think of only two caveats. The first is that the book is aimed primarily at American readers. Its core ideas are as applicable in the UK as in the US, but some of Professor Malkiel's material about taxes and pensions is irrelevant to people in Britain. Secondly, and more importantly, adopting the professor's method entails sharing in the profits of businesses whose activities not everyone is comfortable with - companies involved in tobacco, alcohol, armaments, pornography, environmental degradation... Some people - myself included - would say that this objection to passive investment is insurmountable. If you're not one of them, this book could well be one of the most useful that you'll ever read.

25 people found this helpful

Good read but do not expect in-depth knowledge.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2020

Verified Purchase

Good read but not detailed as to what exactly one should do. It’s more of concepts than practical day today use of knowledge. But it’s good for building fundamentals understanding about investment.

Maria S.

Must read if you are interested in investing or trading.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

Gives sound advice to those who are able to invest or are thinking of trading. Wished I read it years ago.

Amazon Customer

Must read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book is must read, eye opener in some instances

Monika Stratieva

Top book for beginners

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book was easy to understand even for me with basic finance, economics understanding. Also amusing and gives practical tips on how to get started investing.

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