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I have been tuning into Money Mondays since the New Year and find your tips useful and very easy to understand. A few of your segments touched upon investing, which sparked my interest to learn more. How do I begin educating myself? – Monique, Jacksonville, FL

First, thank you for the positive feedback. I am delighted that you find the tips useful. The best way for Monique to educate herself on investing is by hitting the books! And what better summer past-time is there than reading?

That said, the thought of reading books with business and investing focuses may sound daunting, but it does not have to be. In fact, you might be surprised to learn how many fascinating books – real page turners – exist that offer valuable insights, regardless of your business or investing experience. I’ll start by talking about four books with an investment focus.

1. “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” by Burton Malkiel. This terrific read provides a great foundation for those new to investing. Whether you plan to manage your own investments or work with a financial advisor, this book teaches the fundamentals of evaluating a wide range of investments, from stocks and bonds to real estate and collectibles.

2. “Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist,” by Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett also known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” is one of the greatest investors of our time! His book gives you the inside scoop on who he is professionally and personally. Specifically, the reader learns valuable insights on his investment philosophy and who he is as a person – from his early career, his marriage and philosophy on child rearing.

3. “One Up on Wall Street,” by Peter Lynch. Lynch, another superstar investor, employs an investment approach similar to Warren Buffett. In this book, Lynch provides his perspective on how he built a tremendous track record as the portfolio manager of Fidelity’s multibillion-dollar Magellan Fund. Additionally, you will learn about his investment philosophy, which is based on the idea that people can reap significant rewards by investing in companies with easy-to-understand products that are encountered in everyday life.

4. “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t,” by Jim Collins. This book reads like an investor’s road map. Collins does an incredible job of identifying and explaining the elements that take a company from, as the title implies, good to great. Most importantly, he talks about two things: Leadership quality and focus, which happen to be criteria that Ariel’s investment teams consider when evaluating companies for its portfolios.