The Investor's Manifesto: Preparing for Prosperity, Armageddon, and Everything in Between

Foreword

Bill Bernstein—investment advisor, neurologist, economic historian, bestselling author, thinking person’s financial guru—is perhaps the smartest man I know. And, fortunately, he is also one of the most approachable. Indeed, during my 13 years as the Wall Street Journal’ s personal- finance columnist, he was the source I invariably turned to when the well ran dry.

“So, Bill, what’s on your mind these days?” I would croon down the telephone, hoping a certain jocularity would mask my desperation as yet another column deadline loomed. Bill, thank goodness, almost always delivered. Because he had turned his considerable intelligence to the financial world relatively late in life, he had enthusiasm and insights that eluded the rest of us, who had grown jaded from watching the Wall Street money-go round for too long.

You will discover that enthusiasm and those insights in The Investor’s Manifesto, delivered in plain English and with a touch of hyperbole and a helping of humor. Bill and I do not agree on everything, but there is one thing we are both convinced of: The recent economic and market debacle is a great “teachable moment,” to steal Bill’s phrase from the preface, and it may represent the best investment opportunity in a generation.

So what should you learn from the 2008-2009 financial collapse? You will get Bill’s take in the pages that follow. To get you warmed up, here I highlight five important—but perhaps less obvious—lessons.

1. Many of us are not as brave as we ...