Book Review: 'Smarter Investing' (4th Edition) by Tim Hale

Introduction

Tim Hale is a popular figure in the financial planning community. He is the founder and Chairman of Albion Strategic Consulting, which provides investment consultancy services to many leading financial planning firms throughout the UK.

The first edition of Tim's book "Smarter Investing: Simpler Decisions for Better Results" was released in 2006. The third edition was published in 2013, and given the ever-changing investment landscape, many investors (professional and DIY alike) were hoping a revised version would be published. Their prayers were answered in 2023 when the fourth edition, with numerous updates, was published.

Smarter investing: 4th edition

There are five parts to the book:

1. Smarter Investing basics

2. Smarter philosophy

3. Smarter portfolios

4. Smarter implementation

5. Smarter insight

The book starts with some "eye-opening" facts, one of which is that the average investor is terrible at investing (see challenge fourteen in our 4% rule series), typically underperforming their chosen investments by 1.7% per year.

Tim states that good investing is about owning a low-cost, highly diversified portfolio that is periodically rebalanced, and we'd agree! He also addresses why a portfolio containing 100% equities might not be the right choice for many investors and why it is so difficult for active fund managers to outperform the market.

The book analyses portfolio constructions from first principles, covering the various risks of the potential constituents in a portfolio (for example, credit risk in bonds). It also looks at advanced topics, including whether factor investing should be incorporated into your approach.

Once the basics are covered, the book looks at how to shortlist potential portfolio funds from the thousands of available funds and makes some fund suggestions (a welcome update from the third edition!).

A whole chapter addresses sustainability and the challenges of making a genuine difference if you want to invest sustainably.

The book covers the pros and cons of DIY vs hiring a financial adviser and, if you do decide to partner with a professional, how to find the right one.

The final part of the book covers which assets should be considered for the portfolio and which shouldn't. Gold and structured products do not make the cut!

Conclusion

The number of links in this article to our blog shows how much our mindset at Pyrford Financial Planning aligns with Tim's. It's the book we recommend most to investors, whether they are starting out on their journey or have many years of experience.

Want to find out more?

If you would like to find out more about making smarter investment decisions, please schedule a free, no-obligation call.

About us

The team at Pyrford Financial Planning are highly qualified Independent Financial Advisers based in Weybridge, Surrey. We specialise in retirement planning and provide pension advice, investment advice and inheritance tax advice.

Our office telephone number is 01932 645150.

Our office address is No 5, The Heights, Weybridge KT13 0NY

Please note: This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

Although best efforts are made to ensure all information is accurate, you should not rely on this blog for your personal situation or planning.

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.