My Recommended Reading List for Investors

(MoneyWatch)  As I mentioned on Friday, many investors may not have gotten the education they need to make wise investing decisions. Not everyone needs to be a financial advisor, but having a basic knowledge of how markets work would go a long way in shaping your financial future for the better.

The following is a list of books that I recommend to people interested in learning more about the financial markets.

• Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them by Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich -- A great explanation of the behavioral mistakes investors make simply because they are human.
• Capital Ideas by Peter Bernstein -- An extremely well-written history of modern finance and the management of risk. I highly recommend all of his books.
• The Four Pillars of Investing by William Bernstein -- Simply one of the best writers on finance we have today. He's another one where I highly recommend all of his books.
• Winning the Loser's Game by Charles Ellis -- A simple book with a simple message. Every word is gold. His book Investment Policy is also a classic.
• Investment Illusions by Martin Fridson -- A highly entertaining book that exposes the false assumptions many investors and professional money managers have when playing the stock market.
• The Fortune Tellers by Howard Kurtz -- An expose of the conflicts of interests between the media and investors and how information-hungry investors are often too quick to follow publicity bandwagons.
• A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel -- Simply a classic.
• Beyond Greed and Fear by Hersh Shefrin -- A wonderful tour of the field of behavioral finance.
• The Fortune Sellers by William Sherden -- A well-written expose on the failure of the economic and stock market forecasting professions.
• The Prudent Investor Act by W. Scott Simon -- Required reading for any fiduciary.
• Unconventional Success by David Swensen -- Describes how the actively managed mutual fund industry provides a disservice to investors.
• Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb -- Clearly shows how most investors are prone to confusing dumb luck and skill.
• The Terrible Truth About Investing by Bruce Temkin -- A great book on investment strategy.
• The New Coffeehouse Investor by Bill Schultheis -- A great book for the novice investor.

My own books may also be a great source of information, in particular the trilogy of "Only Guides" -- Winning Investment Strategy for equities, Winning Bond Strategy for fixed income and Alternative Investments for less common investments -- as well as Wise Investing Made Simple. Finally, I would recommend any book by John Bogle, who is not only a great writer but a great man.