Seize control of your financial future with rock-solid advice from two of the worlds leading investment experts

Investors today are bombarded with conflicting advice about how to handle the increasingly volatile stock market. From pronouncements of the death of diversification to the supposed virtues of crypto, investors can be forgiven for being thoroughly confused.

Its time to return to the basics. In the 10th Anniversary Edition ofThe Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor, investment legends Burton G. Malkiel and Charles D. Ellis deliver straightforward, digestible lessons in the investment rules and principles you need to follow to mitigate risk and realize long-term success in the markets.

Divided into six essential elements of investing, this concise book will teach you how to:

Focus on the long-term and ignore short-term market fluctuations and movementsUse employer-sponsored plans to supercharge your savings and returns and minimize your taxesUnderstand crucial investment subjects, like diversification, rebalancing, dollar-cost averaging, and indexing

So, forget the flavor of the week. Stick with the timeless and invaluable advice followed by the worlds most successful retail investors.

BURTON G. MALKIEL is the Chemical BankChairmans Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University and the author of the bestsellingA Random Walk Down Wall Street. Malkiel has served on the Presidents Council of Economic Advisers, as dean of the Yale School of Management, as chair of Princetons Economics Department, and as a director of major corporations. He is currently the Chief Investment Officer of Wealthfront.

CHARLES D. ELLIS is a consultant to large public and private institutional investors. For three decades, he was managing partner of Greenwich Associates, the international business strategy consulting firm. He has taught investing at both Harvard and Yale and is the author of seventeen books, including the bestsellingWinning the Losers Game.

Preface to Anniversary Edition xi

Foreword to Original Edition xv

Foreword to the Anniversary Edition xix

Introduction xxi

It All Starts with Saving 1

I. Save3

First Do No Harm 5

Start Saving Early: Time is Money 6

The Amazing Rule of 72 7

Savvy Savings 11

Small Savings Tips 14

Big Ways to Save 15

Let the Government Help You Save 17

Own Your Home 18

How Do I Catch Up? 19

II. Index23

Nobody Knows More Than the Market 24

The Index Fund Solution 27

DontSomeBeat the Market? 29

Index Bonds 33

Index Internationally 34

Index Funds Have Big Advantages 36

One Warning 37

Confession 39

III. Diversify41

Diversify Across Asset Classes 43

Diversify Across Markets 46

Diversify Over Time 47

Rebalance 51

IV. Avoid Blunders57

Overconfidence 59

Beware of Mr. Market 61

The Penalty of Timing 65

More Mistakes 66

Minimize Costs 67

V. Keep It Simple71

Review of Basic Rules 72

Asset Allocation 79

Asset Allocation Ranges 81

Investing in Retirement 85

Getting Specific 86

VI. Timeless Lessons for Troubled Times95

Volatility and Dollar-Cost Averaging 97

Diversification is Still a Time-Honored Strategy to Reduce Risk 99

Rebalancing 101

Diversification and Rebalancing Together 103

Index at Least the Core of Your Portfolio 104

Fine-Tuning a Bond Diversification Strategy 107

A Final Thought 111

A Super Simple Summary: KISS Investing 113

Appendix: Save on Taxes Legally115

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) 115

Roth IRAs 117

Pension Plans 118

Tax-Advantaged Saving for Education 120

Recommended Reading 123

Acknowledgments 125

About the Authors 127

Index 129