Fixed Income
Categories
Demographics & Culture
Your summer reading list: 5 ideas from our investment team
Jared Franz
Paul Benjamin
Chris Buchbinder
Matt Miller
Mark Casey
July 3, 2024
In her acclaimed memoir The Glass Castle, author Jeanette Walls wrote: “One benefit of summer was that each day we had more light to read by.”
Indeed, the lazy days of summer offer ample opportunity to kick back, relax and enjoy a good book. With that in mind, here is a new selection of titles personally recommended by Capital Group team members. As loyal readers know, these book recommendations have become a popular tradition in recent years.
So, here’s your summer reading list, borrowed directly from the nightstands of our portfolio managers and economists:
What types of books are Americans reading?
1. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
With the arrival of artificial intelligence as a ubiquitous tool in our work and personal lives, economist Jared Franz says Co-Intelligence is a smart yet accessible introduction to the rapidly evolving world of AI. Jared should know: He’s spent the past 20 years studying the technological, social and financial market implications of AI. He believes it will have a profound impact on our lives over the next two decades.
“It’s a great book for anyone who wants a non-technical explanation of large language models, the backbone of popular AI programs such as ChatGPT,” Franz says. “It’s approachable, understandable and interesting.”
Co-Intelligence, published two months ago, was written by Ethan Mollick, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, who specializes in entrepreneurship and innovation.
2. The Psychology of Money
Portfolio manager Paul Benjamin selected The Psychology of Money, which features 19 short stories about the sometimes odd ways that people think about money. The book argues that becoming wealthy isn’t just about picking the right investments; it is also highly influenced, for better or worse, by patterns of human behaviour.
“In the real world people don’t make financial decisions on a spreadsheet,” writes author Morgan Housel, a partner at The Collaborative Fund and a former columnist with The Wall Street Journal. “They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing and odd incentives are scrambled together.”
Benjamin said he found the book, published in 2020, fascinating because of the case it makes for taking behavioural matters as seriously as valuation issues. “As a personal finance book, it provides a window into the way people think about money and retirement and sustainability without scaring the heck out of you,” he explains. “It’s a great read.”
3. The Creative Act: A Way of Being
You might think a book about creativity wouldn’t be of interest to a financially minded professional. It’s a left-brain versus right-brain thing. But equity portfolio manager Chris Buchbinder says it was right up his alley. The Creative Act, written by Grammy-award winning producer Rick Rubin, explores the power of creativity and how it can be applied in all walks of life.
Rubin is best known as the co-founder, along with Russell Simmons, of Def Jam Recordings, a legendary New York record label that helped popularize hip hop music, working with artists such as the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Run-DMC and many others.
“It’s really a book about the creative process, oriented toward artists, but the best investors I’ve known in my career are also quite creative,” Buchbinder explains. “I’ve found a lot of wisdom in this book that’s applicable to my work. Normally, I’m not someone who takes notes or highlights when I read books, but I found myself doing a lot of highlighting as I went through this one.”
4. How to Know a Person
Author and New York Times columnist David Brooks recently spoke to a large group of Capital investment professionals about his new book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. As the publisher explains, it’s a guide to the art of truly knowing another person to foster deeper connections at work, at home and throughout life.
As such, the book is Capital Group political economist Matt Miller’s selection for our summer reading list. He invited Brooks to speak shortly after the title was released late last year.
“Now you may be thinking, how is this relevant to investing?” Miller said to the group. “Well, as portfolio manager Anne-Marie Peterson noted when she planted the seed for this call, Capital Group’s culture and success are rooted in deep relationships, and we could all benefit from a little thoughtful guidance on how to improve ours.”
5. Resistance Money: A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin
True to tradition, portfolio manager Mark Casey recommended a book about Bitcoin — as he is known for doing in person around the halls of Capital Group.
Resistance Money, released this month, “is the first book about Bitcoin to be published by an academic press, but it’s still very accessible and readable by a general audience,” says Casey.
The book explains the history of Bitcoin, its unique place among other forms of money, and the philosophy behind its creation that makes it such an important part of the cryptocurrency universe. Bitcoin isn’t meant for criminals or speculators, but rather, the authors argue, it is designed to fight “rampant inflation, creeping authoritarianism, surveillance, censorship and financial exclusion.” Thus, they consider it “resistance money.”
“It does a great job of delving into the philosophy behind Bitcoin,” Casey says, “which isn’t surprising because the authors — Andrew Bailey, Bradley Rettler and Craig Warmke — are philosophy professors. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about Bitcoin, and why it’s the only cryptocurrency that I find interesting.”
Learn more about
Our latest insights
RELATED INSIGHTS
-
Fixed Income
-
-
Economic Indicators
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in investment funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Investment funds are not guaranteed or covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any other government deposit insurer. For investment funds other than money market funds, their values change frequently. For money market funds, there can be no assurances that the fund will be able to maintain its net asset value per security at a constant amount or that the full amount of your investment in the fund will be returned to you. Past performance may not be repeated.
Unless otherwise indicated, the investment professionals featured do not manage Capital Group‘s Canadian investment funds.
References to particular companies or securities, if any, are included for informational or illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as an endorsement by Capital Group. Views expressed regarding a particular company, security, industry or market sector should not be considered an indication of trading intent of any investment funds or current holdings of any investment funds. These views should not be considered as investment advice nor should they be considered a recommendation to buy or sell.
Statements attributed to an individual represent the opinions of that individual as of the date published and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Capital Group or its affiliates. This information is intended to highlight issues and not be comprehensive or to provide advice. For informational purposes only; not intended to provide tax, legal or financial advice. We assume no liability for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. The information contained herein has been supplied without verification by us and may be subject to change. Capital Group funds are available in Canada through registered dealers. For more information, please consult your financial and tax advisors for your individual situation.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual events and results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made herein. We encourage you to consider these and other factors carefully before making any investment decisions and we urge you to avoid placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
The S&P 500 Composite Index (“Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Capital Group. Copyright © 2024 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC.
FTSE source: London Stock Exchange Group plc and its group undertakings (collectively, the "LSE Group"). © LSE Group 2024. FTSE Russell is a trading name of certain of the LSE Group companies. "FTSE®" is a trade mark of the relevant LSE Group companies and is used by any other LSE Group company under licence. All rights in the FTSE Russell indices or data vest in the relevant LSE Group company which owns the index or the data. Neither LSE Group nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the indices or data and no party may rely on any indices or data contained in this communication. No further distribution of data from the LSE Group is permitted without the relevant LSE Group company's express written consent. The LSE Group does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication. The index is unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly.
BLOOMBERG® is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (collectively “Bloomberg”). Bloomberg or Bloomberg’s licensors own all proprietary rights in the Bloomberg Indices. Neither Bloomberg nor Bloomberg’s licensors approves or endorses this material, or guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, or makes any warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained therefrom and, to the maximum extent allowed by law, neither shall have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith.
MSCI does not approve, review or produce reports published on this site, makes no express or implied warranties or representations and is not liable whatsoever for any data represented. You may not redistribute MSCI data or use it as a basis for other indices or investment products.
Capital believes the software and information from FactSet to be reliable. However, Capital cannot be responsible for inaccuracies, incomplete information or updating of the information furnished by FactSet. The information provided in this report is meant to give you an approximate account of the fund/manager's characteristics for the specified date. This information is not indicative of future Capital investment decisions and is not used as part of our investment decision-making process.
Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. Returns represent past performance, are not a guarantee of future performance, and are not indicative of any specific investment.
All Capital Group trademarks are owned by The Capital Group Companies, Inc. or an affiliated company in Canada, the U.S. and other countries. All other company names mentioned are the property of their respective companies.
Capital Group funds are offered in Canada by Capital International Asset Management (Canada), Inc., part of Capital Group, a global investment management firm originating in Los Angeles, California in 1931. Capital Group manages equity assets through three investment groups. These groups make investment and proxy voting decisions independently. Fixed income investment professionals provide fixed income research and investment management across the Capital organization; however, for securities with equity characteristics, they act solely on behalf of one of the three equity investment groups.
The Capital Group funds offered on this website are available only to Canadian residents.